Um no, there are significant differences between a Funeral Arranger/Director and Funeral Celebrant. While it is not a legal requirement to engage the services of a Funeral Arranger, they do organise the legal paperwork, offer guidance and support during what is often a vulnerable time for family and friends.
In Australia, there are three legal components that must take place when someone dies.
- Obtaining a Medical Certificate, Cause of Death (MCCD) or a Verification of Death (VOD) or a Coroner’s Disposal Order. This is required to transport a body from the place of death into the care of the Funeral Director.
- The body must be disposed of in a legally approved manner. In Australia this means burial (traditional or natural) or cremation (direct, shrouded or aquamation)
- Registering the death with Births, Deaths and Marriages
A Funeral Director will organise the logistics, legal requirements, coordinate transportation, manage paperwork, care for the deceased, organise viewings and support families and friends navigating the process of making the arrangements.
A Funeral Celebrant takes on a ceremonial role working collaboratively with the family to create a personalised, meaningful and heartfelt service to remember the life of your person. They may begin with creating a warm and gentle space to hold and express grief, allowing the healing process to begin. A Funeral Celebrant will guide and help you plan a ceremony using ritual, storytelling, song, candle lighting, visual tributes, floral tributes, selecting specific items for a memorial table and anything else that may reflect the life of your person. Services may be secular, spiritual or religious – it depends on the values of the family and your persons’ wishes.
The same person may be the Funeral Arranger/Director and Celebrant or you may chose for someone else to be the Celebrant. There are no specific rules when it comes to arranging a ceremony that truly reflects your person.
