Learn how to arrange funeral and religious services that honour your loved one and reflect their cultural or spiritual beliefs.
| Understanding funerals | Many people have no previous experience organising a funeral and little knowledge of what to do. Funerals can be an important part of the grieving process. They allow family and friends to share their grief, say goodbye and celebrate the person’s life. Funerals can be personalised to suit cultural or spiritual beliefs. |
| Who arranges the funeral? | The executor of the will or a family member usually arranges the funeral service. Most people use a funeral director, who can organise the service, coffin or casket, newspaper notices and flowers, and help with many of the legal responsibilities such as registering the death. |
| Do you need a funeral director? | You can organise these details yourself if you prefer; you do not need to use a funeral director. |
| Prepaid funeral plans | If the person has a prepaid funeral plan, it will usually include details of what they wanted and also which funeral director to use. Even if the person has prepaid their funeral plan, they may also have left instructions or talked to you about their wishes. |
| Deciding on funeral arrangements | If you don’t know the person’s wishes, you might need to decide. This can be difficult and stressful, especially as other family members may have different ideas about what should happen. You may choose not to have a funeral or to have an event such as a celebration of life. |
Help finding a funeral director
The information on this page can help with if you need to find a funeral director.
Podcast: Caring for Someone in Their Last Months
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Fiona Wiseman, Senior Social Worker, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Grace Berwald, Consumer; Peta Brydon, Metastatic McGrath Breast Care Clinical Nurse Consultant, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, NSW; Kate Bunyan, Social Worker, Psychosocial Lead, Cancer and Palliative Supportive Care, Canberra Region Cancer Centre, ACT; Hayden Christie, Medical Oncologist and Clinical Director Cancer Care Service and Clinical Lead of the VAD Service for Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service, QLD; John Clements, Consumer; Claire Davies, Spiritual Care Practitioner, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Joanne Dean, Nurse Practitioner, PEACE Team, Clare Holland House, ACT; A/Prof Michael Franco, Medical Oncologist and Palliative Medicine Physician, Deputy Head – Monash Medical School, Monash University, VIC; Dr Sally Greenaway, WSLHD Director of Supportive and Palliative Care, Senior Staff Specialist Clinical Haematology and Clinical Ethics Service, NSW; Maree Grier, Clinical Psychologist, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Dr Catherine Joyce, National Manager, Advance Care Planning Australia; Mattesse Kitchin, Consumer; Penny Neller, Project Manager, End of Life Law for Clinicians, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Queensland University of Technology, QLD; Caitriona Nienaber 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; Palliative Care Australia; A/Prof Joel Rhee, Head of Discipline of General Practice, School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW.
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