A guide for families
What happens on the day of a direct cremation
The day itself is the quietest part of the whole process, and nothing is asked of you. Here is exactly what takes place, and what has already happened before it can.
On the day of a direct cremation, your loved one is taken privately from our care to the crematorium and the cremation is carried out respectfully. There is no service, no chapel and nothing for the family to organise or attend. Everything that had to be arranged, the certificates and the permit, was done in the days before.
Families ask us this more than almost anything else, and usually quietly, as though it is a strange thing to want to know. It is not. When you have chosen a cremation with no service, the day itself can feel like a blank space, and not knowing what fills it is its own kind of worry. So here is the honest answer, start to finish.
Before the day: nothing happens without the paperwork
A cremation cannot legally take place in Queensland until two things are in hand: a medical certificate confirming the cause of death, signed by a doctor, and a permit to cremate. We chase the doctors, lodge the forms and follow them through. That is the part that sets the pace, and it usually takes a few days. If you want the full timeline, we have written a separate guide on how long a direct cremation takes in Cairns.
Until that approval comes through, your loved one is in our mortuary care. Nothing is rushed and nothing happens ahead of the paperwork. When the permit lands, we book the cremation, and that is the day this guide is about.
The transfer to the crematorium
Your loved one is taken to the crematorium in a private transport, not a shared run. They travel in the coffin included in the price, an environmentally friendly cardboard coffin, which is a genuine coffin and is what is used for the cremation itself. Families sometimes assume a low price means something makeshift. It does not. It means no chapel hire, no celebrant, no printed booklets and no flowers, because you have chosen to hold the farewell yourself, later.
The cremation itself
The cremation is carried out privately and takes a single day. There is no gathering, no order of service and no attendance expected. For most families this is the part that is hardest to picture and easiest to live with once it is explained: it is a quiet, practical, respectful process, handled properly, with nobody watching a clock or waiting on you to make a decision.
Do we need to be there? Do we need to do anything?
No. That is the whole point of a direct cremation, and it is not a lesser choice. You do not attend, you do not organise, you do not need to be dressed and composed and in a particular room at a particular hour in the worst week of your life. If you would like to know what is possible in your particular circumstances, whether that is seeing your loved one beforehand or anything else, ring Shane and ask. He will tell you straight what can and cannot be arranged, with no pressure either way.
Afterwards: the ashes and the certificate
The ashes are returned to your family, or to a nominated friend if that is easier. We also register the death and obtain the official death certificate, which is the document you will need for banks, superannuation, insurers and Centrelink. Most Cairns families have the ashes home within one to two weeks of the first phone call.
Then the day that actually matters is yours
A traditional funeral forces the goodbye into the first week, while everyone is still in shock and half the family cannot get flights. A direct cremation separates the two. Once the ashes are home there is no clock on anything: you can hold a memorial in a month, on a birthday, at the beach, in a backyard, however your family actually wants to do it. We have written a guide to holding a memorial after a direct cremation if you would like some ideas.
One flat price
The transfer, the mortuary care, the paperwork, the coffin, the private transport, the cremation, the registration and the return of the ashes are all covered by one flat price of $1,990 + GST. The only variable is a transfer outside office hours or on a weekend, which may cost more, and you will always be told the exact amount before anything happens.
Call Shane on 0461 543 517, any hour, or read more about how a direct cremation works.
Not sure what to ask? Ring anyway.
Shane answers the phone himself, any hour, and will talk you through exactly what would happen in your situation. No obligation, no pressure.
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for transfers. Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm