Australians turning to budget funerals with cost of dying on the rise

Australians are turning to budget funeral options as the cost of dying has skyrocketed in recent years, headlined by a doubling in NSW government taxes and a lack of burial space.

A second-hand site at Waverley Cemetery in Sydney’s east was put up for sale earlier this year for $100,000. Picture: Richard Dobson

Australians are in a cost-of-dying crisis, with the price of funerals, cremations and burial plots rising faster than the rate of inflation since 2019.

More grieving families are turning to budget and cost-conscious options as funeral directors say there also have been notable price increases in sourcing coffins and flowers.

Research from Australian Seniors found the cost of burials increased 22 per cent between 2019 and 2023 to $11,039. The cost of cremation increased 27 per cent over the same period to $8045.

The national inflation rise was 18 per cent for the same period.

The coffin/casket is the most expensive cost for a funeral, with a price around $2800, followed by headstones at about $2100.

Australasian Cemeteries and Crematoria Association chief executive Ben Kelly said the typical cost of a gravesite has been increasing at a rate of 2-5 per cent over the past decade.

“While it might not seem like a big increase, when you look at it over five, 10 or 20 years it does go up quite a bit,” he said. “That cost goes to maintaining the land and it’s the perpetuity. Once you’re in there, you are there forever.

“We recommend to people that you pre-purchase your sites to lock it in at today’s price instead of paying whatever price it might be in 20 or 30 years’ time.

“It can be a special process choosing your forever home.”

Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium charges $1372 for a 45-minute cremation service, a 12.5 per cent increase since 2020, which was the same margin plaques have increased. The provider has increased costs by 42 per cent to $30,949 for a single burial site at its Monumental Lawn location for an immediate need.

Between 2021 and 2024, Waverley Council increased the cost of a 25-year Renewable Interment Right burial by 13 per cent to $31,160, while the cost to renew that site for a further 25 years has increased by the same margin to $6232. Second-hand burial plots are now being sold for $100,000 at Waverley Cemetery.

Caskets can now cost as much as $50,000.

Sydney’s Rookwood Cemetery has had prices increase on average 12.4 per cent between July 2021 and July 2024. The site’s most expensive burial site was the Chinese Garen Estate at more than $40,000. Cremation lifted by the same margin to $1068.

Mr Kelly said the scarcity of land was driving up prices, with many cemeteries that were once on the outskirts of Sydney now located in very urban locations.

“If you look at the areas around Rockwood or Waverley and think about how much it costs to buy land in the area, it is the same situation as buying a grave plot due to land availability,” he said.

“There are places that are now charging a premium because they have no sites left. We probably need to change our mindset and get used to cemeteries being located back at the edge of cities again, as that would help improve availability and prices.”

The NSW government levies applied to burial interment have surged in the past three years by 107 per cent to $171.60. Funeral providers are offering caskets up to $50,000 in Sydney’s lower north shore, while flowers can range from $420 to $1895 – as fresh flowers have increased 13 per cent in the past 12 months.

NSW council cemeteries undertake more than 40 per cent of all burials on average. This rises to more than 80 per cent in rural and regional NSW.

Australian Funeral Directors Association national president Kelly Scott said funeral homes were experiencing what families did at supermarkets – price rises almost every week.

“Because we’re one of those services that rely on so many suppliers and services to provide products to us it does feel like we are getting price increases almost every week that we then have to pass on,” she said.

“It is all those little touch points at a funeral, everything from the coffins to the trim and those have gone up in price which just adds up. We are seeing more people look to alternative methods to save money, such as providing their own catering as $100 a head adds up.”

As Australians face mounting economic pressures, financial planning for funerals is becoming a necessary consideration.

Many in the industry recommend taking steps such as pre-purchasing burial plots or exploring options like funeral bonds, which allow individuals to save for expenses over time.

Forrester Financials’ Tina Gacovski said funeral bonds could only be accessed at the time of death to cover funeral costs.