CREMATION OR BURIAL

Most Victorian burial or cremation fees are set by government regulated trusts over which no funeral director has any control. Although prices vary between cemeteries, those by different funeral directors quoting for the same cemeteries should not vary. The decision between cremation and burial is the most straightforward choice you’ll make.

The most common funeral in Melbourne is the cremation service, which is cheaper and easier than a burial. A cremation fee usually costs between $700 and $1000 (including medical certificates).

A Burial service will only be as low-cost as cremation if you already own a grave. If you need to buy a grave and have it dug in the Melbourne area, burial will start at around $3200, and can escalate rapidly. (Country areas may be available for half as much.)

Lawn graves (with only a plaque) are the cheapest option, then headstone graves, then full monumental graves (and don’t forget the cost of gravestones or monuments which will add more thousands). Crypts in a Mausoleum often cost tens of thousands of dollars per slot (though they will not usually require much additional expensive work by stonemasons).