 | | Business Licensing & Regulation > Funeral Providers | | | Funeral Providers | |
|
| | | |
People arrange funerals at one of the most difficult and vulnerable times in their lives and rely on the funeral industry to provide services, advice and support.
Scope of the Funerals Act 2006
The Funerals Act 2006 applies to funeral providers who supply both funeral goods and funeral services to the public.
The Funerals Act 2006 enhances consumer protection by:
- regulating the funeral industry
- improving how the funeral industry is monitored
- improving how the funeral industry delivers its services and information to the public
- strengethening inspection powers
- strengthening enforcement powers.
[Back to top]
Registration as a funeral provider
All funeral providers are required to provide information to Consumer Affairs Victoria, including:
- the name of the business
- thy physical and postal address of the chief place of business
- the addresses of all sites from which the funeral provider operates.
This information is available to the public via the Funeral Provider Register.
Having this information will enable Consumer Affairs Victoria to monitor funeral providers more effectively, and also means Consumer Affairs can keep funeral providers informed of legislative requirements.
Registration is free.
[Back to top]
Price disclosure
Funeral providers are required to have an itemised price list of their goods and services freely available to anyone who inquires or to requests a copy of the price list.
The price list does not prevent funeral providers from offering funeral packages or discounted services.
If a client then goes on to discuss the arrangement of a funeral, the funeral provider is required to provide them with an itemised written statement of the cost of the goods and services they have selected for purchase.
This statement must separately list any fees and expenses. Funeral providers are expected to provide this itemised statement, or quotation, to the customer before any final agreement on the funeral is made.
[Back to top]
Pre-paid funerals
The Funerals Act 2006 repeales the Funerals (Pre-paidMoney) Act 1993 and incorporates it into the Funerals Act 2006 unchanged.
This means that the regulation of pre-paid funerals in Victoria continues uninterrupted and unchanged.
The Funerals Act 2006 provides that a register of pre-paid funeral contracts may be established in the future.
Prior to the introduction of a register there would be public consultation to ensure that itmeets the needs of the community and also appropriately protects the privacy of individuals.
[Back to top]
Industry code of practice
The Act gives the Minister for Consumer Affairs the power to introduce a code of practice for the funeral industry.
The code of practice may introduce requirements or standards in relation to the supply of funeral goods or funeral services and the storage, handling and treatment of deceased bodies.
[Back to top]
Handling complaints
Funeral providers are required to have written procedures for dealing with customer complaints.
Customers should be notified in writing about the complaint handling procedures and provided with details of who to contact if they wish to make a complaint.
[Back to top]
Inspection powers
Consumer Affairs Victoria inspectors have inspection powers for the purposes of enforcement of the Act.
The enforcement provisions enable inspectors, with appropriate safeguards, to apply to a magistrate for a search warrant where there are reasonable grounds to believe that evidence of a breach will be discovered.
The provisions also require funeral providers to cooperate with an inspector executing a search warrant.
[Back to top]
Funeral Industry Ministerial Advisory Council
The Funerals Act 2006 establishes a Funeral Industry Ministerial Advisory Council. The Council was set up in November 2007.
Funeral providers, funeral industry employees, and consumer and health industry representatives sit on the Council.
The Council monitors the operation of the Funerals Act 2006 and provides ongoing advice to the Minister for Consumer Affairs on issues relating to the operation of the funeral industry. It may also have specific issues referred to it by the Minister.
[Back to top]
More information on funeral providers
[Back to top]
Resources for funeral providers
[Back to top] |
|