Our service fee includes some of the following:

• 24 hours, 7-day provision of service
• Attendance at the arrangement conference
• Provision of licensed facilities to Health Department specifications
• Access to the chapel if required
• Liaison between all groups required for the conduct of the funeral service namely clergy or celebrant, cemetery or crematorium and any others involved
• Organization of either Medical Certificate of Cause of Death or Coroners Order, as well as applicable Cremation Certificates in the case of Cremation
• Placement of newspaper notices in local, metropolitan, or others as required.
• Attending to the registration of the death with the Registrar of Birth Deaths and Marriages
• Order Certified Death Certificate from Birth Deaths and Marriages
• Provision of memorial book and attention to signatures of those in attendance at the funeral
• Ordering and liaison with a florist for suitable tributes, if required
• Provision and usage of licensed mortuary facilities for the necessary time before the funeral
• Provision of a hearse and necessary staff in attendance at the funeral
• Maintenance of all occupational health and safety issues for staff and persons involved in the funeral as required by appropriate government legislation
• Liaison with clubs and organisations involved in the funeral, if required
• Provision of musical limited equipment if required
• Liaison for orders of service or memorial cards with printed and production company
• Provision of all necessary equipment for the conduct of the funeral service
• Provision of Australian Flag for RSL services
• Attendance to all special requests and family instructions relating to the funeral

This is not to be taken as a complete list but shows many of the direct services that are provided by the Funeral Director. Our company provides the infrastructure to conduct a funeral service long in advance of a family’s time of need.

(NB not all families will require the full ranges of services for all funeral services. Those specific items that can be separated are charged on an at request basis i.e. embalming, viewings, mourning cars and transfers etc.)

The fee is calculated by a process taking into account overhead costs, vehicle operation and replacement costs, interest costs, premises expense, staff costs etc, and then divided by the number of families we serve on an annual basis. Every 6 months we review our costs to ensure our services are maintained at the high levels we require and pricing is correct. 

 

Fee definitions for funeral service

The Single Service:

This occurs when the funeral is held at one location namely at a crematorium, graveside, and church service in its entirety or other location.

The Dual Service:

Involves the attendance at the initial service namely, church, chapel, or other location, and then a cortege to the final place of disposition or in certain circumstances at a later time. The difference relates to extra labour and equipment time involved only.

All services outside the Sydney Metropolitan area are costed as required.

Transfer Fee:

The transfer fee is based upon the costs of transport to our facilities between working hours from any point in the Sydney Metropolitan area. After hours fee takes into account the overtime and on the costs of our staff only. Two transfers are required for the funeral, firstly from the place of death and secondly on the day of the funeral itself.

Operational Areas:

All service costing is based on a Monday to Friday structure during normal business hours of 8.30 am and 4.00 p.m. Services outside these hours can be arranged but will incur additional fees. All such fees are on an at-need basis.

 

Medical certificate and Death certificates.

In New South Wales there are certain procedures that must be followed in order for a funeral to take place. One of the most important of these is the preparation of certificates. In most cases, a Doctor will issue what is call a “Medical Certificate of Cause of Death”. A registered medical practitioner can only issue this document. It is often mistakenly called a “Death Certificate”. Primary and secondary causes of death are stated in this document. In some cases, a copy of the document will be sufficient evidence of death to third parties.

A “Death Certificate” comes from the Registrar of Birth, Deaths, and Marriages and is available after the funeral. It contains both all details from the “Medical Certificate of Cause of Death” together with the “Death Registration Information” collected from the family at the arrangement conference. Information is then lodged on-line after the funeral and used to prepare the “Death Certificate”. Completed certificates are mailed directly to the person arranging the funeral. This certificate will be needed for probate

In cases where the State Coroner is involved medical documents are replaced by the “Coroners Burial Order”. This is used for the funeral and registration with Birth, Deaths, and Marriages.

In the case of a cremation, separate documentation will also need to be prepared by either the doctor issuing the medical certificate or the coroner in matters of their jurisdiction.

All necessary documentation and registration are organised by us as part of our services.

Access to Bank Accounts

The payment of the funeral account is the responsibility of the person authorising the funeral, whether or not that person is the executor.

The funeral account at law is the first charge on any estate of the deceased.

It is not commonly known that the person authorising the funeral can immediately access the decease’s bank account, for payment of funeral expenses. Production of the signed funeral account at the deceased bank is usually sufficient to allow a cheque to be made in favour of the funeral director. However, it is important to note that once this has been done, most banks will then freeze the accounts until the Certified Death Certificate is available.

Many families find this method of payment an easy alternative and alleviate the claiming of funeral expenses back from the estate, which can take some time.

Please contact us for further information on this issue.

To see our pricing, please download our Pricing Disclosure.