Breathing new life into funeral traditions

Tomorrow Funerals' Kate Morgan aims to shake up the industry, particularly in regional Australia. (Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOS)

Funerals in regional Australia are evolving, with a new player on a mission to shake up the "outdated" industry and clients driving change.

Kate Morgan co-founded Tomorrow Funerals in 2021 after combing through businesses and finding they farewelled people the same way they did a century ago.

Options were particularly sparse in some rural and regional areas, where a single funeral parlour was often the go-to for generations of families who did not know people could be farewelled differently, Ms Morgan said.

"We have been told by people that we have worked with that in regional areas, it feels like there are no options - whether they like it or not, they have to go to the local funeral home," she told AAP.

"That quasi-religious feel really does limit what's possible in really reflecting that person as the essence of who they are."

Tomorrow Funerals - which bills itself as a modern alternative to the traditional funeral parlour favouring a fixed price package over upselling - is expanding nationally, aiming to reach all Australian cities and key regional areas within five years, Ms Morgan said.

"The funeral industry is widely outdated and so we feel that we should shake up the traditional model, which is long overdue," she said.

"In general, people seem to feel distrusting of the traditional funeral industry and so I think people are really open to looking at doing things quite differently."

Barbara Kruse, a funeral and marriage celebrant who has presided over more than 1000 funerals and memorials in Victoria and NSW, agreed things were changing but said the regions offered more ways and places to celebrate a life.

"Whether it's down by the river, whether it's in mountains, one of the most memorable services I ever did was in a barn on a very elderly lady's property, surrounded by her beloved animals, and it was just the most beautiful experience you could imagine," Ms Kruse told AAP.

"To have all her beautiful animals around us, the horses, the chickens, the dogs, the cats all in with us, was just so beautiful."

The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the industry paradigm, which now involved streaming companies and drone footage to capture special locations and reach absent friends and family.

"I actually things are changing, and perhaps changing for the better, because I don't think boomers want to accept the status quo," Ms Kruse said.

"They want something different."

Competition in the funeral industry is dominated by two major players  - InvoCare and Tobin Brothers - with InvoCare owning three national brands, White Lady Funerals, Simplicity Funerals and Value Cremations, along with about 40 other funeral homes in Australia.

Ms Kruse said while most pre-burial or pre-cremation ceremonies were still held in chapels - particularly in colder months - funeral directors were always accommodating to people's needs despite the market consolidation.

About seven in 10 Australians are opting for cremation over burial, while other non-traditional approaches such as natural burials are also gaining popularity.

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