INTHEBLACK April/May 2024 - Magazine - Page 46
F E AT U R E
The global deathcare
sector is expected to grow
up to 60 per cent by 2030.
Change is a constant in
the deathcare sector, but
it happens more slowly
than in other sectors.
Cemeteries are being
transformed into public
spaces used for various
community purposes.
Death care
reinvented
Disrupted by rising funeral costs, decreased space in
cemeteries and a new focus on sustainability, the global
deathcare sector has begun to embrace innovation.
Words Chris Sheedy
Funerals to mark the death of a loved
one are a common practice across the globe.
However, funeral costs cause financial
hardship for 26 per cent of people who
arrange a loved one’s funeral, says the
Australian Funeral Industry: State of the
Nation 2021 report.
While 67 per cent of respondents believe
Australian funerals are overpriced and
45 per cent say the funeral industry needs
to change, 63 per cent of people who arrange
funerals for loved ones do not seek a quote
before agreeing to a funeral service. Of the
people who do seek a quote, 36 per cent are
too overcome by grief to obtain more than
one quote.
The most recent Australian Seniors
Cost of Death report, released in June 2019
before the pandemic disruption, notes
that just one in four seniors had funeral
arrangements in place. At the time, the
average cost of burial was A$9055 and
cremation was A$6334. Almost a third
46 INTHEBLACK April/May 2024
of respondents who had paid for a funeral
experienced financial hardship as a result.
With the current cost of living crisis,
caused largely by high inflation and interest
rates, it is becoming more important to
consider pre-planning a funeral with care.
This may include doing thorough
research before committing to a plan.
The global market for deathcare
services is estimated at US$118.3 billion
(A$179 billion). It is projected to grow
by almost 60 per cent to US$189.8 billion
(A$286.6 billion) by 2030, according
to the 2024 Death Care Services: Global
Strategic Business Report.
PANDEMIC DISRUPTION
While it would be easy to assume that
the pandemic created a surge of demand
for funeral directors across the globe,
the opposite was true in Australia, says
Martin Tobin, founder of Funeral Direction,
a Melbourne-based funeral consultancy.
