Fair Trading (Funeral Pricing) Regulation 2022

1Short title

This regulation may be cited as the Fair Trading (Funeral Pricing) Regulation 2022.

2Commencement

This regulation commences on 1 July 2022.

3Definition

In this regulation—

funeral director means a person who, for reward, arranges the collection, transport, storage, preparation or embalming of bodies for the purpose of burying or cremating the bodies.

4Display and provision of funeral information to prospective customers

(1)A funeral director must prominently display the funeral information in relation to the goods and services offered for supply by the funeral director—

(a)at each place of business of the funeral director; and

(b)on any public website maintained by the funeral director.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.

(2)Subsection (3) applies if a person asks a funeral director about the goods and services offered for supply by the funeral director.

(3)The funeral director must give the person the funeral information in relation to the goods and services offered for supply by the funeral director before the earlier of the following—

(a)the expiry of 48 hours after the person asked for the information or, if a longer period is agreed between the funeral director and the person, the longer period;

(b)an agreement is entered into with the person for the supply of goods and services by the funeral director.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.

(4)In this section—

funeral information, in relation to the supply of goods and services by a funeral director for the burial or cremation of a body, means all of the following information—

(a)the price for the following goods or services offered by the funeral director—

(i)the transport of the body before burial or cremation;

(ii)the storage of the body at a mortuary or holding room;

(iii)the hire of a refrigeration plate;

(iv)each type of coffin, casket or shroud, or the price range for all coffins, caskets or shrouds, offered for supply by the funeral director;

(v)the care and preparation of the body before burial or cremation;

(vi)a viewing of the body before burial or cremation;

(vii)the arrangement and conduct of a funeral service, including the hire of a venue;

(viii)the burial or cremation of the body;

(b)the location of the mortuary or crematorium used by the funeral director;

(c)if the funeral director does not own or manage the mortuary or crematorium mentioned in paragraph (b)—the name of the owner or manager of the mortuary or crematorium;

(d)a reasonable estimate of the following disbursements—

(i)the cost of obtaining a death certificate from the registrar under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003;

(ii)the costs of obtaining any certificates or permits required under an Act in relation to the body, including, for example, a permission to cremate the body under the Cremations Act 2003, section 6;

(iii)any fee charged by a cemetery or crematorium for the burial or cremation of a body;

(e)the price of the least expensive combination of goods and services offered by the funeral director for the burial or cremation of a body;

(f)how a body is transported by the funeral director before burial or cremation.

5Provision of information to consumers about proposed agreement

A funeral director must not enter into an agreement with a person in relation to the supply of goods and services for the burial or cremation of a body unless the funeral director has given the following information to the person—

(a)the price of each of the particular goods and services that will be supplied to the person under the agreement;

(b)the cost of any disbursements that will be payable by the person under the agreement;

(c)the total amount that will be payable by the person under the agreement.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.