Direct cremation vs a traditional funeral

When someone dies, most families have never had to compare the options before. The two main paths in Australia are a traditional funeral and a direct cremation, and the difference between them is simpler than the industry makes it sound.

What is actually different

A traditional funeral bundles everything into one package: the funeral home's care of your loved one, a viewing, a service in a chapel with a celebrant or clergy, cars, flowers, orders of service, and the burial or cremation at the end. It all happens within days, at a venue, on a schedule.

A direct cremation is the essential part on its own. Your loved one is brought into care, all paperwork and doctor's certificates are handled, the cremation is carried out privately and respectfully, and the ashes are returned to your family. There is no service attached, which is exactly what keeps the cost down, and what lets you hold your own farewell later, your way.

Neither is "more proper" than the other. The cremation itself is identical in both. What you are really choosing is whether the goodbye happens on the industry's timetable or on your family's.

What each one costs

The government's Moneysmart website puts the cost of a funeral in Australia at anywhere from $8,000 to around $20,000, depending on the type of funeral you choose. Most of that money goes to the things wrapped around the cremation: the venue, the cars, the flowers, the professional fees.

A direct cremation with Ashes to Ashes is one flat, published price: $1,990 + GST. That covers your loved one brought into our care, mortuary care, all paperwork and doctor's certificates, the coffin, transport to the crematorium, the cremation fee, registration of the death, and the ashes returned to your family. The price is on our pricing page for anyone to see, and anything that could cost extra is explained plainly before anything happens.

If parts of a traditional service matter to your family, the gathering, the stories, the music, you can still have all of them. Families simply hold their own memorial once the ashes are home, at a place and time that suits them, usually for a fraction of a venue's cost. We have written about what that can look like in FNQ.

When a traditional funeral is the right choice

We are not here to tell you a traditional funeral is wrong. For some families it is exactly right:

• When faith or cultural traditions call for a particular service, led a particular way
• When a burial is wanted rather than a cremation
• When having everything organised by one provider, quickly, matters more than the cost
• When the structure of a formal service is itself a comfort

If that is your family, a good funeral director will look after you well. It is worth asking any provider for an itemised quote first, so you can see exactly what you are paying for.

When families choose direct cremation

• When the person themselves asked for it. "No fuss, don't waste money on me" is one of the most common instructions people leave, and honouring it is not cutting corners. It is listening.
• When family is spread out. In Far North Queensland, the people who matter are often in Brisbane, Perth or overseas. A direct cremation removes the deadline, so the farewell can wait until everyone can be there.
• When the money matters. The thousands saved can go to the family, or to a memorial that actually feels like the person.
• When a big formal service just isn't them. Some people were never chapel people. A gathering at the beach, the club or the backyard says goodbye better.

How it works with us

One phone call starts everything, any hour of the day or night. Shane looks after Cairns, the Tablelands, Port Douglas, Innisfail and everywhere in between personally: your loved one is brought into our care, every form and certificate is handled, and the ashes come home to your family. Everything is explained plainly before anything happens.

If you are not sure which path is right, ask. There is no obligation and no sales pitch, just straight answers from someone local who does this every week.

Call Shane any hour on 0461 543 517, or read how a direct cremation works.