Bereaved families living in Australia’s New South Wales will have full access to funeral home prices beginning in February 2020. This is similar to the United States’ Funeral Rule, enacted by the Federal Trade Commission on April 30, 1984, which was designed to protect consumers by requiring that they receive adequate information concerning the goods and services they may purchase from a funeral provider.
This new information standard, according to NSW Government’s Fair Trading website, will ensure that “funeral directors provide customers with:
- information about their ‘basic funeral’ option if they have one, its cost and what it covers, by giving a ‘basic funeral notice’
- an itemised quote before entering into any funeral arrangement
- an itemised statement of the goods and services provided and their costs before accepting final payment.”
The reasoning for this new policy wasn’t shared in the governments September 2 announcement, but there are speculations as to what prompted it. The announcement came after a recent investigation by CHOICE, Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group. CHOICE investigative journalist Saimi Jeong describes their findings, saying, “”Families are being taken advantage of when they’re at their most vulnerable. Our investigation found an industry where manipulation, overcharging and misinformation were the norm.”
CHOICE is a very proactive group, and it is heartwarming to see such a caring collective being fought for by those in NSW. They have many submissions and reports in place, including their submission to NSW Fair Trading, which can be accessed here.
During their investigation, CHOICE surveyed 548 people who had recently organized a funeral and, in addition, mystery-shopped 36 funeral homes. Their discoveries proved seriously concerning:
- Quotes for direct cremation ranged from $2400 to $5600 (the cheapest was from an independent business)
- 14 funeral directors didn’t provide written (via email) price quotes within 48 hours, and 9 never replied at all
- Only 17 funeral homes provided itemized pricing of any sort
- “Body viewing” added a cost of $110 to $1600 to a basic funeral
- Only 17 of 36 funeral homes provided the cost of their cheapest coffin, which ranged from $980 to $1850
The inquiry into funeral homes seems to be a trend, considering that the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also launched an investigation into funeral pricing in 2018. As stated by CHOICE, “Arranging a funeral can be an emotional and time-sensitive process. When coping with grief and arranging a funeral, we’re almost always reliant on funeral suppliers and are limited in our ability to shop around. The new rules are a step in the right direction and will make it easier for people to find options that are fair, affordable and appropriate. It’s important that the industry is monitored and these new rules are enforced effectively.”
No one should have the additional burden of being taken advantage of during such an intense time of grief, and it is absolutely commendable that governments around the world are stepping in to take care of an obvious industry issue.
