NSW Government profiteering from the bereaved

“The State Government has entered into the funeral business, by allowing Crown Land cemeteries and crematoria to operate their own funeral service. It appears to CPSA that this is simply a money-making exercise given that prices for the service will start from $7000.”

“It would appear that the State Government has realised there’s money to be made in the business of selling funerals. The big players in the NSW Funeral Industry make millions of dollars in profit each year and it seems that the government is keen to take a slice of that pie.”

“This is despite the NSW Government’s refusal to regulate the price of a basic funeral service in NSW, as well as the prices of cremation and burial.”

“The CEO of the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park (ESMP) (the fist park to offer funerals) George Passas claims that their funerals will be provided at a lower cost because they “will not be charging the same huge margins that private operators charge on coffins and other costs.”

“This comes from a man who commented about the tendency of families to not purchase a memorial space at the park to inter ashes. In ESMP’s 07/08 annual report Passas stated that ‘there is still, sadly, a large tendency for families to simply take the remains of loved ones off premises without a commitment to memorialisation. ESMP staff have continued to work diligently to inform families of the various options available in an attempt to stem this practice.’”

“Families are being pressured to buy memorial space by a government-owned cemetery & crematorium because it increases profits.”

“In 2007, ESMP’s net surplus was $2.75million. Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park’s fee for cremation is now over $1000, and generally increases by 10% per annum.”

“Other government-owned businesses which provide essential services have their prices regulated. The disposal of bodies is an essential service. ESMP and other cemeteries and crematoria sitting on Crown Land have a monopoly over cremations and burial space, yet are free to charge what they like because there’s no price regulation.”

“CPSA calls on the NSW Government to make compulsory that all undertakers must offer a basic funeral. The cost of a basic funeral must be regulated, as does the cost of cremation and a basic burial plot.”

Media contact: 0410 612 182

Charmaine Crowe
Policy Coordinator
Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association (CPSA)
Level 9, 28 Foveaux Street Surry Hills NSW, 2010
Phone (02) 9281 3588
Mob 0410 612 182
Fax (02) 9281 9716