'Changing paperwork is not going to fix funeral debt': Association slams call to remove funeral directors as cre
RNZ - 8 June 2025
Funeral Directors Association chief executive Gillian Boyes said reducing the amount of paper work is not going to fix funeral debt for families.
"Mr Wheeler is suggesting somehow that paperwork is what's causing the price of funerals and that's just simply not true," she said.
"Anyone can do the paperwork, but many people choose to use the services of a funeral director because the funeral director is doing all the other things that are needed, such as transporting, you know, the deceased, preparing them, supporting the family, arranging the funeral, all those things are the things that cost money."
Boyes said on average a simple cremation funeral could cost around $7,000 while a simple burial was usually around $10,000 to $12,000.
She said there were three issues compounding funeral debt for New Zealanders.
"One is you've got to have price transparency. Now, that's something that members of the Funeral Directors Association have, but not all funeral directors are required to be transparent in their pricing, so if you don't know what you're signing up for, you can't control your costs.
"A second thing is an increase in the asset testing limit for prepaid funerals. That's set at $10,000 for many, many years. If people could put aside a more realistic amount, such as $15,000, then they won't go into debt because they'll have already put aside the correct amount of money.
"The third thing is an increase in the Work and Income funeral grant, so that really is the protection for people who have no money at all and that's at a really unrealistic amount of about $2600 at the moment."
She said funeral directors are all private businesses who have to make money in order to continue offering services.
"The only support government provides is to those who are very vulnerable, so they can apply for a funeral grant through Work and Income.
"Now, your income levels have to be incredibly low for that. So it really only helps a tiny percentage of the population, everyone else has to fund it themselves.
"There's all sorts of issues with the Act at the moment that need resolving, tidying, making it a fairer process for New Zealanders.
"The current laws are dated 1964, the Government did a first principles review of those but there's been very little action on the many, many recommendations that came out of that review.
"So we think it's well overdue for the government to actually finish that work, provide better support for families, provide clearer rules around funerals, and just help the industry out.
"But, you know, just changing paperwork is not going to fix funeral debt." Read more...