About us

Bereavement Assistance is a not-for-profit funeral director, registered with the Australian Tax Office as a ‘public benevolent institution’ (that is, a charity). We provide the actual funeral service: cremation or burial, including chapel service with an experienced funeral celebrant if required.   Regrettably we are unable to provide funds to pay for a funeral service where a contract has been signed with a commercial funeral director.   We provide low-cost funeral services for the victims of fire and natural disasters, for those on social security or people with no family or friends.   We are partly funded by the Victorian Government  and partly by providing full-service funerals.  We work with the State Coroner's Office and Victoria Police. We relieve poverty and distress by providing practical assistance — a dignified funeral service and cremation where the alternative is a ‘pauper burial’ at state expense or a commercial funeral that surviving relatives or friends are unable to afford.  We provide counsel and advice to bereaved families to assist them to cope with the death of a relative and obtain the full value of any government benefits that might be payable   We can assist you to negotiate effectively with funeral firms. We can also provide a high-class funeral service equal to the best that a commercial funeral director can offer.  Our fees are lower than a commercial funeral director.  Any surplus from this type of funeral goes towards providing funerals for the less fortunate in our society.