Frequently asked questions about cremations

• What is cremation?

  When someone you love has passed, you may be compelled to honour them with a memorable funeral service. But some people are not buried in cemeteries. Instead, they have cremation services. The body is turned into ashes and placed in a container that can be kept in a private or public place of remembrance.

• How is a cremation service arranged?

  At Southern Cross Funeral Directors, we have a fully automated system to capture the information about your loved one. Once we’ve been engaged, all arrangements can be completed by video call or over the phone. If required, we can send a consultant to complete all the arrangements at your home, saving the extra burden of organising family members to meet at one of our offices.

  The Laws governing cremation are very complex. Our consultants complete all the legal formalities, gather the information to lodge the required documentation on your behalf with Births Deaths and Marriages and then make all the arrangements with the crematorium. We also book all relevant timeslots with places of worship, crematoriums and wake locations.

• Is cremation more expensive than burial?

  No. The primary reason for this is that a gravesite needs to be purchased for a burial. If the cremated remains are to be interred at a later date or if they are to be scattered, no actual plot of land is required and therefore no grave has to be purchased. Only a memorial nameplate would have to be purchased to mark the area where the cremated remains were placed.

  Depending on the cemetery, a grave can cost many thousands of dollars. There is an opening fee in cases where the family already own a grave and this will often cost more than the cremation itself.

• I thought that some religions do not allow cremation?

  Yes, that is correct. All current Christian religions allow cremations including the Catholic Church. Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism also allow it. However, within the Orthodox Jewish and Muslim faiths cremation is not permitted.

• Can I travel overseas with my loved one’s ashes?

  The guidelines on taking ashes abroad can vary depending on your destination and how you’re getting there. You’ll need to contact the airline you’ll be travelling on and ask what their guidelines are. To travel with ashes, you will need the death certificate and a certificate of cremation which we can organise on your behalf.

• Do we have to have a coffin for a cremation?

  Yes. NSW law states that all deceased persons must be placed in a coffin. In Australia, the default method of cremation is to conduct it in a combustible coffin or casket.

• Is the coffin cremated?

  Yes, the coffin is always cremated with the deceased.

• Do I need to purchase an urn?

  As personal as the stories behind your memories, cremated remains are yours to keep or share; to hold or scatter. Funeral urns aren’t a must, but there are many reasons families choose them, including tradition, preservation, and the ability to protect ashes from the elements.

• How do we know the ashes are ready and the Cremation Complete?

  The crematorium will contact the next of kin explaining the options available to the family regarding the placement or picking up of the ashes. This usually happens within 21 days of the service. Alternatively, an authority can be signed giving permission for a Southern Cross team member to collect the ashes on your behalf from one of our offices.

• What restrictions are there to scattering ashes after cremation services in Sydney?

  Ashes can be scattered at a place that was significant to the deceased and their family. This could be on private land, a beach, in a river, public park and at sea. In New South Wales it is important to get permission from the owners of private land or from the local council for parks, beaches and playing fields as scattering of ashes may contravene certain bylaws.