Funeral Directors in Brisbane

Death is a part of the natural cycle of life and allowing children to attend a funeral can be a positive way to celebrate the life of someone they love. Many Australian adults express regret that when they were kids, they were not allowed to attend the funeral of a loved one such as a grandparent or even a parent.
Many people take great comfort from the presence of children at funerals. They can be a wonderful and unexpected source of empathy and support.
If the child is old enough, you could ask them if they’d like to attend. Explain what happens at a funeral and that they will see adults upset and crying, which they might find distressing.
If a child is too young to understand what a funeral is but you’re confident they can sit still during the service and not be a distraction, then their presence will be welcome.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Only you can decide what’s right for your child and your family.

Caskets are usually more expensive than coffins. They are rectangular in shape. Caskets can have a half lid or full lid, which people open when they have an open viewing or a funeral with an open casket.
Coffins are usually less expensive as there is less hardware involved in the design. The design of a coffin is a narrow at the head and the foot and wider at the shoulder area. They usually have a removeable lid that comes off fully.
The main difference between a coffin and a casket is its design. Coffins are a tapered design with it being narrow at the top and foot, wider across the shoulder area, and they have a removeable lid.

Choosing burial or cremation your personal choice, but more and more Australians are choosing to be cremated. Because burial plots are less available in city areas, cremation funeral numbers are much higher in the city while in rural and remote areas, burial numbers are higher. It is expected that cremation numbers will continue to increase over the coming years.
In some cultures and religions, cremation is not allowed or not favoured while in other cultures, cremation is preferred.

Embalming is a process used to preserve the body, control infection, and enhance the presentation of the deceased.
Embalmers replace bodily fluids with chemical fluids. Sometimes only minimal or no embalming is needed. Partial embalming may be needed if families want to hold a viewing of the deceased. If the body is to be moved interstate or overseas, full embalming will be required. Some cultures also require full embalming.

When a body has been cremated, only the heavy bones are left. The bones are granulated, which create the ‘ashes’.

Discuss your needs with your Funeral Director. Each funeral home or crematorium has its own way of handling the ashes.

If the death is expected, then the deceased’s doctor or palliative care team will have left instructions for what to do. This will most likely be to call their GP and ask them to visit so they can get the Medical Certificate Cause of Death underway. You need this certificate before you can arrange a funeral.
If the deceased doesn’t have a regular doctor or if the death was unexpected, call 000 and ask for help.

A doctor needs to certify that the death has happened. You usually need the signed death certificate to organise a funeral. Only when you have the certificate can the Funeral Director take the deceased into their care.

Most deaths in Australia happen in hospital or other care facilities such as an aged care home. In these situations, staff at these facilities will notify the next of kin and take care of the initial paperwork.

If the death was not expected, the doctor may not be legally allowed to issue a Death Certificate if there the need for police and the coroner to be involved.

In this situation, contact the relevant authorities in your state or territory as regulations vary across Australia.

Nursing home and hospital staff have procedures in place for taking caring of things if someone dies while in their care.  First, they will contact the next of kin. If you’re the next of kind, they will let you know what the next steps are.
The hospital might have its own mortuary where your loved one will be kept until the chosen funeral home collects the body.

The Coroner becomes involved if the doctor cannot certify the cause of death and needs to contact the police. The police the liaise with the Coroner’s staff. The Coroner will be involved if the:

• death was unnatural and caused by violence, an accident or unusual causes
• person dies while under anaesthetic (or within 24 hours of the anaesthetic being administered))
• death was unexpected
• person died in an institution, prison or police custody, or a drug or alcohol rehabilitation centre
• cause of death is unknown
• deceased had a dementia diagnosis.

In these situations, the Coroner’s or a Funeral Director appointed by the government will transfer the deceased person to the Coroner. If the deceased had a dementia diagnosis, the police may decide this step is not necessary.

A pathologist examines the body performs and autopsy to establish the cause of death.

If you find yourself in a situation where the Coroner’s office is involved in the death of your loved one, approach your Funeral Director of choice as soon as possible. The Funeral Director will then liaise with the Coroner’s staff about when the deceased can be released into their care.

A Death Certificate is registered with the Births, Deaths and Marriage Registry in the state where the person died. It must be registered within 7 days of the funeral service. Your Funeral Director takes care of the paperwork and the Registry will then provide a copy of the Death Certificate to the next of kin.

In most situations, the next of kin such as a spouse or partner, child, parent or sibling will be responsible for organising the funeral.

In some situations where there are disputes and where a will exists, the nominated Executor will be responsible for the funeral arrangements. The Executor can appoint someone else to make arrangements with  a Funeral Director. These situations are rare, though. Most funerals are arranged by the next of kin.

In rare situations where a person may not have any known relatives, authorities in institutions may need to arrange the funeral. A social worker or other authorised officer usually does this.

The circumstances under which the person died can impact the timeframe for when the funeral is held, especially if the death was unexpected and comes as a shock. In that situation, the family may need more time to prepare. Most funerals are held within 7 of the person’s death.
If people are travelling from overseas or interstate, you may choose to delay the funeral until they can be there.
There might be religious reasons for holding a funeral within a specific timeframe. However, there is no legislation saying you must hold a funeral by a certain time after a person’s death.
Let your Funeral Director know the expected timeframe as they may need to undertake some preservative techniques to ensure your loved one will be well-presented at the service.

The only time a family does not have absolute choice with funeral arrangement is in the case of a Coronial Coronial investigation and in some murder cases. The Coroner may only grant permission for a burial only.

A Funeral Director will present options to a family but it’s the family’s right to choose if they want a burial or cremation, if they meet legal requirements. In most situations, the Health Departments in each Australian state or territory requires the deceased to be in a coffin or casket for cremation or burial. In the family chooses cremation, the casket or coffin must be combustible.

In some states, the government might help those if the family has insufficient funds to cover the funeral costs. In these situations, the families will be limited on choices. They will need to advise the Funeral Director, social worker or relevant government authority.

A viewing is when the deceased is prepared to be viewed by family and loved ones before, or in some cultures, during a funeral service. It gives families the chance to spend time with the deceased.

Before funeral arrangements are made, an identification viewing is needed in situations where the Coroner’s office is involved. This happens at the Coroner’s facility before funeral arrangements can be made. In some Australian states, a person who knew the deceased must also view the body and sign an official identification form. The crematorium authority must sight this form before cremation. They must also retain it.

There is no obligation to hold a viewing. Some people find a viewing has therapeutic benefits and helps the grieving process. However, it is entirely a matter of personal choice. Children can also have the opportunity to view the deceases, provided they understand and can make the choice for themselves.

Some people use the viewing to bring about closure, confirm that the death is real and say things directly to the deceased that they wish were not left unsaid.

Your Funeral Director will liaise with necessary government departments such as the Department of Home Affairs and Australian consulates overseas to repatriate the body. Funeral Directors also work with their overseas counterparts to work out the arrangements.
If the death occurs in a different state to where you want to hold the funeral, your Funeral Director will liaise within their network to repatriate the deceased back home.

There is no timeframe for grief. Grief is a natural process and does not have a set timeframe.

You may feel like you could never be happy again, but while you may never ‘get over’ the death of your loved one, most people learn to adapt to the absence of the person and move ahead in their life. There is no set timeframe around how long this will take.  We all heal in different ways and at different times.

When a friend, colleague or family member has just lost someone they love, let them know you’re sorry. That’s often all you can say.

Encourage them to talk about their loved one and their experience of grief. Offering practical support also goes a long away. The grieving person might experience those first few weeks in haze, but they’ll remember you being there to help out with housework and grocery shopping or even looking after their kids.

If you have suicidal thoughts or thinking about self-harming, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 straight away. This is a 24-hour crisis counselling hotline.

Talking to a bereavement counsellor can also help if you’re finding it difficult to get through your days and the pain of loss is overwhelming.

Talk to a bereavement counsellor at the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement.

Funerals costs can vary between conservative and very expensive. There are some unavoidable costs. While some of these costs are fixed, some will be negotiable. While cremation is usually less expensive than burial, this might not be the case if you already have a licence or lease for a grave which allows for further interments. In this situation, a reopening and digging fee would apply.

How much a funeral will cost depends on which options you select, from your choice of coffin or casket, through to the Funeral Director’s fees.

The money you pay for a funeral covers a wide range of services funeral homes provide. This includes transportation of the body, embalming fees, and burial or cremation fees. It also covers the cost of the coffin or casket, flowers and the service on the day.

Other costs include the Funeral Director’s time for arranging the funeral details and undertaking the legal paperwork required, such as registering the death with the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry.
Plus, at Logan Funerals, because we are a not-for-profit organisation, a portion of our profits are re-invested back into Community work right here in Logan, plus other Humanitarian and Mission work.

Yes, burial is more expensive than creation in Australia due to the cost of securing a burial plot at a cemetery.
Space in many cemeteries across Australia is now at a premium. The price of burial plots is expected to continue to increase in the future.

A Funeral Director undertakes many activities before, during and after the funeral to accommodate your wishes and provide a meaningful and fitting tribute for your loved one.

The Funeral Director’s fee covers conducting the funeral service, including:

• care and guidance from professionally trained staff
• availability of chapels and offices for meetings, viewing and other services
• placing newspaper tributes if needed
• paperwork to register the death with the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages
• liaising with and delivering to the cemetery or crematorium
• liaising with clergy or celebrant
• liaising with florist, caterer, musician and any other service providers required
• providing all necessary staff, hearse and vehicles for the day of the funeral
• care, support and follow-up after the funeral.