Funeral and burial plot costs rise across Australia: What you’ll pay

As the cost of burial plots hits new records, Australians are looking at cheaper alternatives for their end of life plans. See the list.

Exclusive: Demand for no service, no attendance funerals has skyrocketed as Australians get thrifty with their end of life plans.

Record burial plot prices and a massive drop in religiosity are driving the trend as the living get smashed by rising costs for essentials.

Gathered Here, Australia’s largest funeral comparison site, has seen inquiries for ‘direct cremations’, where a body is cremated with no funeral service, rise 125 per cent in the year to June 2022.

The average cost of a direct cremation in Australia is $3530 compared to $6141 for a traditional cremation, the site has found.

People wanting a funeral service will pay on average $5322 but this excludes extras like a headstone, flowers and transport and the burial plot itself.

Gathered Here CEO and founder Colin Wong said Australians were spending more time preparing for the end of life

“The emerging trend in both prepaid funerals and no service, no attendance cremations is being driven by a growing cost of living pressure combined with changing attitudes to what constitutes a modern farewell,” Mr Wong told News Corp.

“We are seeing rapid growth in prepaid funerals, direct cremations and across the board as increasingly tech-savvy consumers drive a shift to conduct research and purchase funeral, cremation and farewell services online.”

Gathered Here CEO Colin Wong says people are shopping around online. Picture: Supplied

As well as taking the burden off loved ones by getting organised, Australians are saving big bucks by securing their end at today’s price.

“With a prepaid funeral the funds are held in a trust account, so they are secured in the event a funeral director is no longer able to fulfil the service,” Mr Wong said.

“But the benefit is you can organise it and buy the funeral at today’s price, not what it is going to cost in the future.”

It comes as the cost of burial plots reach new heights across the country.

IN MELBOURNE, a lawn grave at Fawkner Memorial Park has jumped by more than $4000 in 10 years. In 2012 it cost $2050, in 2017 it rose to $5185 and in 2022 it rests at $6265.

“Each year a CPI (cost of living) increase is applied to all Victorian cemeteries’ products and services,” a spokeswoman for the The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust told News Corp.

More popular locations including the prized Melbourne General Cemetery charge more exuberant prices. Depending on the location, grave sites vary from $14,085 for Bronze to $36,845 for Platinum.

A spot in Saint Michael the Archangel Mausoleum Level A ranges from $44,550 for a single crypt to $89,505 for a pair crypt.

Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria quarterly data for April-June 2022 reveals of the 11,916 deaths the majority of bodies were dealt with by cremation (7101) followed by burials (4582) and other (127) (combination of burial/cremation, sent overseas, not recovered or not stated).

Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton is a prized location for those willing to spend big bucks on their resting place.

IN SYDNEY, prices range from $2700 for a lawn burial (minus a headstone) at Sandgate in Newcastle; $6370 at Macquarie Park in North Ryde, Sydney; $7420 at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park in Matraville, Sydney.

Elsewhere in Sydney, a plaque lawn burial costs $9830 at Woronora Memorial Park in Sutherland while a lawn burial package (headstone included with the inscription) at Macquarie Park Cemetary in North Ryde and at Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery in Davidson will set you back $10,660.

OneCrown Cemeteries, which manages the five Crown cemetery operations in metropolitan Sydney says the land managers have not increased prices since 2021.

“Where possible, we consult with our stakeholders in relation to pricing reviews when they occur. We are committed to providing accessible and affordable options for all,” a OneCrown spokeswoman said.

OneCrown data shows a burial at Rookwood General Cemetery’s Presbyterian lawns had risen from $8000 in 2014 to $9109 in 2018 and again to $9663 in 2020 where it has remained.

IN BRISBANE, the City Council offers a lawn burial package for $4862 a plot with plaque and one inscription.

Further north, a standard plot at Mackay Cemetery costs $2705, while a lawn grave at Redland Bay cemetery fetches $2950 and Pinnaroo Cemetery $4863, Gathered Here data shows.

Tony Hollands Funerals quotes $8747 as a starting price for a burial and funeral service (using an existing grave) or $11,243 (new grave). In comparison a cremation with a funeral service starts from $7212 compared to a direct cremation which starts at $1485.

“Brisbane City Council is a consistently lower-cost provider of cemetery services than private suppliers,” a Brisbane City Council spokeswoman said.

The cost of traditional lawn graves is driving Australians to other more affordable options. Picture: Tertius Pickard

IN ADELAIDE, prices start from $4850 for a traditional lawn burial (50-year purchase). That’s up on 2017 when it sold for $4150 and nearly double since 2012 when it cost $2550.

“Increasing maintenance costs, water costs and the limited supply of land are reflected in the price for burial,” a spokeswoman for Adelaide Cemeteries told News Corp.

Adelaide has also seen strong demand recently for sites across both Enfield Memorial Park and Cheltenham Cemetery with 29 single and companion sites (holding two people) purchased last financial year at a cost of $76,580 each.

The organisation is increasingly seeing people pre-purchase “their end of life services”.

“In many cases you can even choose to pay in instalments with no interest or ongoing administration fees,” she said.

A burial in the lawn section at Stirling Cemetery costs $7421, while at Scott Creek Cemetery it’s listed at $5990, Gathered Here shows.

The cost of cremation however has remained unchanged since 2017 at around $700. And the vast majority of people who die in South Australia are cremated (70%), according to Adelaide Cemeteries.

Australasian Cemeteries and Crematoria Association CEO Chris Harrington said “there are many factors affecting the price of burial, rights of interment, and memorial sites across the country”.

“From inner city cemeteries, out to small country town locations, prices will differ greatly. There are also concentrations of cultural populations in some areas and not so much in other areas. Diminished land space available for burial will also have an impact on pricing.”

Jane Ireland is taking the burden off her son by organising her end of life plans. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Jane Ireland would rather spend the money she is putting toward her funeral on a car for her teenage son. But time is not on her side.

At just 51, the single mum is battling deadly lung cancer. That she is still alive five years after diagnosis is a win.

“I am one of 11 per cent with my type of cancer that has lived more than five years,” Ms Ireland, from Surfers Paradise, explained.

Ms Ireland, who spoke to News Corp last year about rising cases of lung cancer on the Gold Coast, is one of an increasing number of Australians considering a no service, no attendance cremation.

She considers traditional burial service too expensive and old fashioned.

“It’s definitely going to be a burden, that could be buying my son a new car but it’s something we all have to do,” she said.

All her friends and family live interstate or overseas. She wants them to remember her in whichever way they want.

“If I am cremated everyone can get a little bit of me,” she said.

“I’ve gone to some funerals and there are so many time constraints I can see people want to say more but they are cut off. I say no, I want people to go to the beach and talk forever about me, have a glass of wine you know.”

Originally published as Funeral and burial plot costs rise across Australia: What you’ll pay