The NSW government has just announced new rules to make it easier for people in Sydney to access price information when planning a funeral.
Under previous NSW Fair Trading Regulations, funeral homes were only required to disclose a price list for a basic funeral service – and only if they offered one. Now, all funeral providers in NSW must provide the price of each of their goods and services. Funeral homes must also display the cost of their least expensive package.
Funeral directors in Sydney will also have to give a cost-itemised quote, in writing, to a consumer before entering an agreement to carry out their funeral services. The industry has been given a deadline of 1 February 2020 to adopt the new requirements.
What about itemised funeral pricing in the other States?
Although, the new regulations in NSW are welcome, funeral pricing disclosure still remains largely unregulated in Australia.
According to Peter Erceg, owner and founder eziFunerals, “Consumers organising a funeral in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart, are still exposed to misleading sale practices at one of the most emotional and stressful times in their lives”.
“Sadly, many of our customers tell us that some funeral directors pressure them to buy a package at an unexplained total cost rather than itemising each aspect of a funeral for buyers to see exactly what they’re purchasing.”
In our experience, “funeral homes that provide prices online tend to be cheaper than those that don’t. Itemised pricing allows consumers to pick the specific goods and services they want and compare costs. That’s important given the wide disparity in funeral-home prices, even in the same area”, he says.
“The new rules in NSW are a step in the right direction, however the best way to protect consumers is for uniform legislation across Australia’, he said.
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About eziFunerals
eziFunerals supports individuals and families cope with end of life decisions, death and funerals in Sydney, Melbourne and across Australia. We are an independent, Australian-owned and operated company, and are not a subsidiary of any other corporation. We are not part of any other funeral company.