The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand is calling on Government to urgently increase the Work and Income Funeral Grant after the release of July 1 council burial and cremation costs.

A sample of 17 council sites shows the average burial cost is now more than $4000 with significant jumps happening in Tauranga, Hastings, Nelson, and the Far North over the last two years.

Tauranga City Council parks and recreation manager Warren Aitken says council increased user fees and charges, based on a cost-recovery model, as the service was not paying for itself.

'This was consulted on through the 2021-31 Long Term Plan, and now puts Tauranga in line with other similar cities. Burial costs now sit just above average, where we were previously sitting well below the average.”

Chief executive Gillian Boyes says this takes the nationwide average cost of a very modest funeral with a burial to around $8400 against the Work and Income Funeral Grant which currently sits at $2280.70.

'This matters because Māori and Pacific families are disproportionately represented amongst those applying for the grant, and it's these families for whom burial remains the preferred funeral option.

'Our funeral directors have significant concerns about the wellbeing impact of them not being able to farewell their loved ones in a culturally appropriate way.”

The Association raised the issue of the inequity of the current Funeral Grant amount prior to the 2022 Budget but only recently received a response from the Minister.

'We were told the grant amount would be considered as part of the welfare overhaul. But progress on that to date has been glacial. With costs that funeral directors can't control going up like this, we can't wait.”

The association suggests a more equitable amount would be $6300, close to the Funeral Grant allowable under ACC.

'This is not a handout going to all New Zealanders. It's designed for a small group of the most vulnerable who are already struggling with significant post-Covid cost-of-living increases.

'Our funeral directors have to sit in front of these grieving families and tell them they probably can't have the funeral they want. It's deeply unfair on both families and on the funeral directors.

'Fixing this problem is not a big fiscal ask but can make an enormous difference to individual families.”

1 July 2020 vs 1 July 2022 burial costs