Ways to pay for a funeral

Payment options

If you organise the funeral you’ll need to organise payment. Payment can be made in many different ways, including:

• funeral insurance or bonds
• using prepaid funds in advance (kept with a funeral home)
• getting funds released from banks or other financial institutions
• the person's estate (as outlined in their will)
• lump sum or short-term bereavement payment from Centrelink (if eligible)
• assistance from Department of Veterans' Affairs if the person who has died was receiving a DVA pension (if eligible)
• registered clubs and associations (Rotary, RSL) and trade unions may offer to contribute to the costs of a member's funeral.

Learn more about paying for a funeral at LawAccess NSW.

If you cannot pay for a funeral

If you or the person's estate does not have the money or assets to pay for a funeral, the option for a 'destitute funeral' may be available. 

Depending on the situation, the cost of this basic funeral can be paid by the state government's Area Health Service, who will usually contact next of kin about any funeral arrangements.

Find out more about what happens when there is no money for a funeral at LawAccess NSW.

If the person died from a motor vehicle accident

If a person has died as a result of a motor vehicle accident in NSW, the compulsory third party (CTP) green slip insurance scheme can cover funeral expenses, including:

• funeral director and service
• coffin
• cemetery site
• flowers
• newspaper notice
• death certificate.

If the person who has died was visiting NSW at the time of the accident, it also includes the cost of transporting their body to either:

• an appropriate place for preparation for burial or cremation, or
• to their usual place of residence.

How to make a CTP claim

Submit a claim for funeral expenses within 3 months of the accident. This can be done before or after the funeral.

If it’s been longer than 3 months, you’ll need to give a written explanation for the delay.

You can submit a claim for funeral expenses if you're the:

• legal personal representative of the person who has died (usually the next of kin), or
• person who has paid or is responsible for paying for the funeral, where there is no legal personal representative.

Find out more about how to make a CTP claim for funeral expenses at the State Insurance Regulatory Authority.