Supplying funeral services

If you are a funeral director, or your business arranges and conducts funerals in Queensland, from 1 July 2022, you must comply with the Fair Trading (Funeral Pricing) Regulation 2022 which requires you to display an itemised price list on your business website and in-store.

You will also need to display the price of your least expensive package for consumers wanting a simple funeral.

What is the purpose of the regulation?

The regulation aims to introduce greater price transparency for consumers, as well as create a level playing field and a more competitive market for businesses.

What do funeral directors need to do?

From 1 July 2022, all funeral directors must display information on the price of goods and services they offer for burials and cremations. This information is called funeral information and it must be displayed at each place of business and on any public website maintained by the funeral director.

Funeral information includes:

• the price of each of the following:
  • the transport of the body before burial or cremation
  • the storage of the body at a mortuary or holding room
  • the hire of a refrigeration plate
  • each type of coffin, casket or shroud, or the price range for all coffins, caskets, or shrouds supplied by the funeral director
  • the care and preparation of the body before burial or cremation
  • a viewing of the body before burial or cremation
  • the arrangement and conduct of a funeral service, including the hire of a venue
  • the burial or cremation of the body
• the location of the mortuary or crematorium used by the funeral director
• if the funeral director uses a mortuary or crematorium that is not owned or managed by the funeral director, the name of the owner or manager
• a reasonable estimate of the following:
  • the cost of obtaining a death certificate from the registrar under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003
  • the costs of getting any certificates or permits needed under an Act in relation to the body including, for example, a permission to cremate the body under the Cremations Act 2003
  • any fee charged by a cemetery or crematorium for the burial or cremation of a body supplied by the funeral director
• the price of the least expensive combination, or least expensive package, of goods and services offered by the funeral director. This is in addition to the itemised price list of goods and services.
• how a body is transported before burial or cremation.

Requirement to display and give information

Under the regulation, there is a requirement to prominently display funeral information at each place of business and on the business website. This may include (but not be limited to):

• A brochure of funeral information displayed on the reception counter of each place of business.
• A  link on the homepage of the funeral director’s website in larger and/or contrasting font linking to the funeral information.

If a customer requests a cost-itemised quote before entering an agreement to carry out a funeral, the funeral director will have to provide the quote within 48 hours (or longer if agreed), or before the agreement is signed, whichever happens first.

A funeral director must not enter into an agreement with a customer for the supply of goods and services for burial or cremation unless the funeral director has given the following information:

• An itemised price list of each good or service that will be supplied under the agreement.
• The cost of all disbursements.
• The total amount payable by the customer.