The Funeral Directors Association says members who agree to arrange funerals for people who die with no money are being left out of pocket by public agency policies.
By Torben Akel of RNZ
Funeral directors absorb substantial costs arranging cremations and burials for people who die with no money - what's known as an "indigent funeral".
Typically, they are asked to do so by a rest home or hospital if a body goes unclaimed.
It's voluntary, and while they can be reimbursed, it's still costing them thousands of dollars per death - leading to more of them saying no.
Jim Goddin, owner of Rosetown Funerals in the Waikato town of Te Awamutu, said that in the year to June, he and his staff undertook 11 indigent funerals.
"I believe it is an important service to the community and one that deserves to be carried out with compassion and professionalism."
However, he said many funeral homes chose not to because of the significant amount of work involved, and uncertainty around payment.
"These cases often require many hours of administration and investigation, with no guarantee that the funeral director will recover their costs.
"This often includes liaising with police, doctors, hospitals, Health New Zealand, lawyers, Public Trust, Work and Income and local authorities.
"We may attend the deceased's home with police to search for next-of-kin details, make extensive enquiries to locate family, arrange legal documentation. There is a substantial amount of work involved before the funeral even takes place."
And substantial costs when it does. The cheapest caskets cost around $400, certifications $200, hearses are $300 per trip, and council cremation fees range from $647 in Rotorua to $1300 in Invercargill.
Add wages and fuel, and the cost to the home is 2000-3000, depending on location.
But that excludes the funeral directors' professional fees.
Government grants
Government funeral grants are available for "reasonable" costs: Work and Income pays up to $2697 for deaths from natural causes, and ACC up to $8236 for accidents.
But payment isn't certain.
"Initially, I encountered considerable resistance," Goddin said. "However I have since established contact with a [Work and Income] manager who has been willing to review these applications on their merits."
Simplicity Funerals Christchurch manager Jamie Harvey undertook 22 indigent funerals in the year to June.
"We do take this on as we believe everyone should be given the respect and dignity even if there is no one to be there."
He estimated that even with the Work and Income grant they wrote off 1500-2000 each time, so at least $33,000 in a year.
But he'd also had difficulty with Work and Income, which is administered by the Ministry for Social Development (MSD).
"We do often have issues with MSD because we do not have access to the deceased's banking information or their current financial situation."
Harvey said sometimes a body goes unclaimed at a morgue for days or weeks, during which time their bank accounts can be drained by bills.
"When we go to apply, we have been declined because MSD have advised [the deceased] did have funds available at the time of their death.
"[So] these funds are no longer available, but MSD will not factor this into their decision-making, and we are left having provided a service with no form of payment."
MSD said all grant applications were considered on a "case-by-case basis". It said the Social Security Act was clear that grants could only be approved if costs could not be paid from the estate "before the payment of any other debts".
"This means that if there were enough funds in the estate to cover funeral costs, even if these have since been spent to cover other debts, we are still bound by legislation to assess eligibility based on the original amount."
Regardless, MSD said its grant "is not intended to cover the whole cost" of a funeral.
Council fees
Some councils were also ensuring they get paid first too - insisting cremation or burial fees were paid with any grant approved.
Funeral Directors Association (FDANZ) chief executive Gillian Boyes said that was "at odds with" the governing legislation.
The Burial and Cremation Act says councils "may, and upon an order signed by a justice shall, permit the body of any poor person" for burial or cremation "free of charge".
Boyes saw that as a clear directive that councils should not be charging funeral homes for indigent deaths, regardless of any MSD grant.
"We don't believe this is in line with the intent of the act."
However, both councils disagreed with that interpretation.
Tauranga City Council (TCC) said the law "does not require TCC to provide a free cremation service on request".
"It allows TCC to permit a burial or cremation free of charge" if a Justice of the Peace confirms there are no means to pay.
"Any relevant ACC or Work and Income entitlement is part of that assessment, because it bears directly on whether the charge can be met."
Dunedin City Council (DCC) echoed that, adding that a 2012 Supreme Court case - about who has the right and duty to bury a loved one - confirmed the act "operates as a safety net", providing free burial only where "insufficient means are available".
DCC said if a Work and Income grant was granted it "considers this to be a relevant source of funding that should be taken into account" before waiving fees.
TCC also noted the Law Commission recommended modernising the act in 2015.
The Law Commission said councils should "have a duty to dispose of the body of any person for whom there is no other person available to do so", if necessary, paid for by Work and Income.
Boyes said most of the Commission's recommendations were yet to be actioned though, and on that one, "we don't agree".
Private or public loss
At issue is whether private businesses should be making a loss when offering a public service, rather than public agencies with deeper pockets, to whom the deceased very likely once paid rates and/or taxes.
"We think every New Zealander deserves dignity in death," Boyes said. "That includes those who die with nothing and no one.
"That's what motivates my members to provide what they consider a community service at a direct cost to themselves. Frankly, it's shameful public agencies are not driven by the same motivation."
She said indigent deaths will inevitably increase alongside the 44 percent rise in annual deaths forecast over the next 20 years - from 37,500 last year, to 54,000 in 2045.
"At the same time people are living longer, which means partners and close relatives may no longer be alive to assist.
"It's those changes that lead us to worry about what happens in future, particularly if other councils determine their costs should come out of the [Work and Income] grant."
Goddin said without a sustainable funding solution, "more funeral homes may decide they are no longer able to undertake this work".
Harvey put it bluntly, saying "funeral homes cannot afford to be a charity".
"If all funeral homes said, 'We are not going to look after people in this situation,' what will happen to hospital mortuaries? Who will take responsibility then?"
SHARE ME