| Home | Forms | Publications | Requests | Fees and Payments | Contact Us
A prepaid funeral is where funeral arrangments are determined, a contract is signed and money is paid in advance. Many people pay for funerals in advance to ease the burden on families of paying at the time of a funeral. However, there were concerns about the details of prepaid agreements and about the security of money paid in advance.
Legislation
Requirements for Business
Register of Funeral Trusts
Further Information
Who to Contact
The Prepaid Funerals Act 2004 commenced on 1 March 2005. The Act contains a number of important provisions. These are:
The Prepaid Funerals Regulations 2005 exempt certain deposit schemes from the application of the Act. Sections 5(1)(d), 8(1) and 9 of the Prepaid Funerals Act do not apply where money paid under a prepaid funeral agreement is invested in a life policy or with the Catholic Development fund. A life policy means a life policy within the meaning of section 9 of the Life Insurance Act 1995 of the Commonwealth issued by a company registered under section 21(5) of that Act.
Funerals businesses must provide certain information to consumers before they enter into a prepaid funeral agreement. This information is detailed in section 5 of the Prepaid Funeral Act. Where the business receives money as payment for a prepaid funeral agreement that money must be paid into an approved funeral trust.
A funeral trust must be approved by the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading. If you wish the Director to approve your trust you can download an application form below.
Application for Approval of a Funeral Trust
You will need a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader to view PDF documents. Please contact us if you have difficulty viewing or printing the document
The completed application form should be posted to:
The Director
Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading
GPO Box 1244
HOBART TAS 7001
The Act also details reporting requirements that must be met each year.
Funeral businesses should seek legal and financial advice to ensure that they meet the obligations of the new Act. For general questions, you should ring Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading on 1300 654 499.
The Prepaid Funerals Act requires the Director to maintain a register of approved funeral trusts. This Register can be viewed by clicking here - register.
A copy of a pamphlet containing important consumer information about prepaid funerals is available below.
You will need a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader to view PDF documents. Please contact us if you have difficulty viewing or printing documents.
If you have any doubts at all, seek legal advice.
Other organisations that can assist are:
