Funeral Costs

A soon as you have settled on the type of funeral service to be arranged, we will prepare for you an estimate of costs associated with that format. You may even request two different estimates for two different types of service.

As well as being a detailed list of products and services supplied to you by the funeral home, the estimate and funeral invoice will also contain a detailed list of products and services supplied either in whole or in part by a third party. These items may contain a mark-up applied by the funeral home, or the funeral home may receive a modest commission from a third party. For example, the Invercargill City Council offers all local funeral homes an 8% commission, in appreciation that the funeral home will settle the burial or cremation fees on behalf of the family and by the due date.

You will also be advised of our Terms of Payment. We do not normally request a deposit prior to the service, but will seek formal assurance that the total amount will be paid within 30 days of completion of the funeral. We respectfully ask that payment of our invoice takes place within that period. This will enable us to administer the payment to our suppliers in a timely manner.

A few days after completion of the funeral service, the estimate will be transformed into the funeral service invoice, which will be emailed to you for your perusal, and approval of costs for additional items (if any) that have been requested by you after completion of the initial estimate. The funeral invoice will also be posted to you once we have received the official New Zealand Death Certificate.

The most efficient way of paying a funeral account is through online Bank Transfer of funds. This process will not incur any additional bank fees, and our bank account details will be found on our invoice. Payment from credit card and Paywave (contactless) are also accepted, but these payments will incur an additional 1.7% surcharge.

We provide below, a selection of possible funeral service arrangements which will give you a good indication of a likely estimated total of funeral expenses. 

Our professional service fee also includes the setup of a personal tribute page on our funeral home website, containing all details of the funeral service arrangements, and an opportunity for friends to send a message of condolence to the family.

Once the deceased person has been embalmed, dressed and casketed, families often request a transfer back to the home, where they can be viewed in the privacy of their own home. There is no hearse fee applied whenever this service is requested locally and carried out within normal business hours.

Our well-appointed Chapel and Catering Lounge is an ideal location to celebrate and farewell the life of your loved one. Our facility contains many features designed to make your experience at this sad time as pleasant as possible. We have a Chapel and Catering Lounge hire charge of $1500, which allows for unlimited use of both facilities, including recording of the service, Livestream,  photographic display. and technical attendance, or a charge of $1250 whenever the Chapel only is required.

The healing and comforting qualities of music, before and during the service. is sometimes overlooked as families discuss the content of the service. It was Louis Armstrong, that well-known composer of the song "What a Wonderful World", who said that "Music is life itself". At Fraser's, we believe that the inclusion of music that is appropriate to the life of the deceased, is a wonderful way to celebrate and remember the life of your loved one. We have a wide range of talented musicians to call on - organists, pianists, Pipers. Their fees will range from $150 to $240

Many families appreciate the opportunity to offer refreshments to their guest attendees in our catering lounge either before or after the Chapel service. Our catering suppliers are very happy to help in any way with specific requests such as gluten-free, or a special treat appropriate for the occasion. Our catering ladies in attendance are renowned for their cheerful and helpful manner. We have an all-inclusive charge of $16.00 per person for this service.

We are also happy to provide and deliver after-service refreshments to any other venue as requested by the family. This can be supplied locally for a charge of $16 per person, but there may be additional costs for the serving of the refreshments and the hire of the venue.

Unless otherwise directed by the family, our funeral accounts will include the costs of all third- party payments, known as disbursements. These are costs which are initially paid by the funeral home on the family’s behalf. For all services conducted within our Chapel, our in- house OneRoom system will record the service and, subject to family approval, Live-stream to anywhere in the country or around the world. 

Q. Is the family able to choose an option which is different to the options stated above, and receive an estimate based on our particular requirements?

A. Certainly yes. We are happy to discuss any arrangements that may best suit your family's particular requirements.

Q. Are there any additional charges applied whenever requested tasks are required to be done outside of the normal business hours Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm?

A. Yes there are some additional charges under these circumstances as we are required by law to offer consideration of payment to those who make themselves available for work duties after-hours. Our policy is to provide the same high standard of service regardless of the family's choice of day or time, but you can be assured that our fees for work carried out after-hours are based on cost recovery, not on profit. Some of our services, for example the transfer of the deceased to our premises, may require the assistance of a second person; and our attendance and direction of a funeral service will generally require the assistance of a second person, or sometimes a third person if the service arrangements are more complex.

Our fee for all such required services is $120 per hour.

The following scenarios are examples of services to the family that may be required to be completed outside of normal business hours:

Transfer of the deceased from local place of death to our premises over the weekend, or public holiday, or outside of normal business hours during the week. 

Attendance with family at an arrangement interview as required over the weekend, or on a public holiday, or outside of normal business hours during the week.

Attendance with the family and/or close friends for viewing of the deceased outside of normal business hours, over the weekend, or on a public holiday, or outside of normal business hours during the week.

Completion of necessary administration duties required for the notification of third parties, publication of scheduled details of the funeral service, or anything required to be done without delay for the general smooth running of the funeral service 

Attendance and direction of a funeral service that is scheduled in J Fraser and Sons' Chapel, or at any other venue, over the weekend, or public holiday, or outside of normal business hours during the week

Q How soon after death could we have our loved one prepared and brought back home?

A. Generally we would recommend a period of 12 - 24 hours after the person coming into our care, which would allow us to prepare with embalming, dress and place in the chosen casket, as well as opportunity for the embalming process to "settle down" following the procedure.

Q. Are we able to do some arrangement tasks ourselves, so that we can keep the costs to a manageable level?

A. Certainly yes. Sometimes a family will wish to use their own vehicle to transfer the deceased, or someone in the family will prepare the photographic slideshow, download and format the selected music, or design the service leaflets. Please be aware however, that we will need to maintain the integrity of our Professional Service Fee that is applicable to the form of service chosen, as this fee is vital to maintaining our ability to pay the regular overhead costs of our funeral home.

Q. Is someone allowed to make their own casket?

A. Yes, provided the casket is made to a standard of strength and suitable size, we will be happy to accept a self-made casket.

Q. How long is a person able to be held after the embalming preparation?

A. There is no set limit on the length of time an embalmed person can be kept in our care, but there may be some final finishing aspects that require our ongoing attention from time to time.

Q. Are there any Government grants available to help pay for funeral expenses?

A. You may be eligible to apply for a WINZ funeral grant, or in the case of an accident, the ACC will pay a lump sum towards the funeral expenses.

Q. Is it possible to access funds held in a Kiwisaver account?  

Kiwisaver account funds belonging to the estate of a deceased person may be accessed under a certain limit, otherwise application for probate. or letters of administration may be required to access the funds.

Q. What should I do if I want to prepay a sum of money towards my funeral expenses?

A. Our funeral home is a member of the FDANZ Funeral Trust. We will help you with the required application form and discuss with you the process, costs and benefits of prepaying towards your funeral expenses. Your family will only appreciate your forethought in taking this action. For further information about how to preplan your funeral arrangements, please visit our website section Create a Funeral Plan.