Strife after death: 60% of Australian adults leave funeral costs to their relatives
Perth is the most expensive city in Australia to have a funeral.
More than half of the Australian adult population is leaving their loved ones to pick up the bill for their funeral, according to research from finder.com.au.
The survey of 2,005 Australian consumers found that 60% didn't have financial plans in place for their funerals. This equates to 11.2 million Australians.
Just 4% of Australians have prepaid their funerals, with another 4% currently paying off the costs of their prepaid funeral plans.
Of those surveyed, only 8% had funeral insurance, with 14% thinking the costs would be covered by their life insurance.
NSW residents were the least organised, with 65% not planning to prepare for their funeral. QLD and SA residents were the most prepared, with 47% saying they planned on funding their funeral.
Which city is the most expensive for a funeral?
It is more expensive to have a funeral in Perth than in any other capital city in Australia, with the average funeral costing $7,764. The Australian capital, Canberra, had the lowest average funeral cost ($6,131).
| # | City | Average funeral cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perth | $7,764 |
| 2 | Sydney | $7,621 |
| 3 | Melbourne | $7,586 |
| 4 | Brisbane | $7,259 |
| 5 | Adelaide | $6,657 |
| 6 | Hobart | $6,508 |
| 7 | Canberra | $6,131 |
The research found that it is slightly cheaper to be cremated than buried in Australia, with the average cremation costing $6,900 compared to $7,430 for the average burial.
The relatively low levels of financial preparedness reinforce the findings from a Real Insurance report in May 2017.
The study found that 66.8% of those surveyed were either unsure of whether their life insurance covered their needs (22.5%) or of whether they even had life cover (6.5%). A further 37.8% didn't have life insurance at all.
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