Yes, we are Funeral Directors, and deliver a complete funeral service from beginning to end. We’re all experienced industry professionals, but we’ve recognised that there’s a better way to do funerals. We’re dedicated to providing that – a more personalised, more compassionate, and more affordable offering. We work with a quality network of people that share our beliefs and help achieve our aim – everyone from florists and limousine companies to coffin providers and crematorium owners.
We want to help you create the most perfect farewell that’s possible for your friend or loved one. We want it to be absolutely authentic and true to their memory – we strive to make it as personalised as possible. We also want it to be a more affordable experience – we believe in total price transparency from beginning to end (plus we donate 5% of our profit to your choice from our charity partners)
As part of our total price transparency, we have no hidden charges or markups. Instead, we opt for a flat 35% service fee on top of the actual funeral costs. This results in prices that you’ll find are well below the average. For example, our direct cremations (which are the simplest service) start from around $2,535 (including GST).
We understand what a difficult time it is – we’re here to help guide you every step of the way. Call us on 02 9067 9537 (or email us if you prefer), and one of our experienced people will be there to provide comfort and reassurance while sensitively taking you through all your options.
We understand how emotional this can be – we’re here to help guide you through this difficult time. Please don’t feel rushed or pressured – the hospital is equipped to continue to sensitively and professionally look after your loved one. Just give us a call when you’re ready and we’ll organise their transfer into our care. We’ll get you to sign an “Authority to Collect” form in order for that to happen.
It’s totally understandable that dying at home surrounded by loved ones is a common last wish of many Australians. However, as you’d expect, there are a number of formalities that have to be taken into account.
You will need to be in contact with your loved one’s doctor, as once the death occurs, the doctor will need to visit the home to issue an Attending Practitioners Medical Certificate Cause of Death form. That form then allows your loved one to be transferred into the care of the funeral director.
If there is going to be a cremation, then you will also need to get the doctor to issue an Attending Practitioner’s Cremation Risk Advice form.
Please note that none of this needs to be rushed when the death occurs – it’s important that you spend time with your loved one, and then call the doctor when you are ready.
Once the doctor has visited and issued the forms, call us and we will come and transfer your person into our care.
This can obviously be very traumatic for friends and family. The first thing to do if a loved one dies unexpectedly or through self harm is to call 000, as the case will automatically go to the Coroner’s, and the Police will need to come and take statements. Once your person arrives at the Coroner’s, the case can be days, to weeks, depending on how busy they are, or if the case is a complex investigation. The Coroner will inform Picaluna once the investigation is complete, at which stage we will transfer your person into our care.
If your loved one dies in a nursing home, the staff will notify you of the death and ask if there’s a particular funeral director that has been chosen to conduct the funeral. Unfortunately, most nursing homes don’t have the specialised facilities to keep your person for a long time, so they’d like the funeral director to transfer your person into their care as soon as possible (preferably within several hours of the death).
Although difficult to contemplate at the time, one good option is to start thinking about a funeral director when your person is first admitted to a nursing home, and then let the nursing home know of your choice. Many people find that it makes the process much less stressful when the time comes.
There are a large number of options available to you when you sit down to make an end of life plan – we understand that it can be quite confusing. Our experienced directors at Picaluna are very happy to take the time to discuss with you the different choices available. We can also talk to you about things like Advance Care Directives, Pre-paid Funerals and Funeral Bonds.
For some people, keeping the body of a loved one at home for a number of days following their death can bring great comfort in a time of grief. Whether for religious reasons such as holding vigil, or simply to wash, dress, and share the space with them, it can be a very special time. Picaluna can help with the necessary arrangements including things like a cooling plate or bed.
A cooling bed or plate allows you to keep your loved one in a home environment for up to 5 days. Picaluna works with a number of experienced Death Doulas in the greater Sydney area who can help access one if required.
No is the simple answer. There are no regulations that stipulate the funeral must be held within a particular time after the death has occurred. Each situation is different, with a range of practical and religious considerations that can have an impact. Your funeral director will help organise a timing that best suits your particular needs.
You can be absolutely certain that it is their ashes. There are strict legal guidelines that have to be followed by the crematorium, independent or otherwise. Those guidelines include allowing only one body at a time into the single-body cremator. All the ashes are then required to be cleaned from the cremator after every cremation. A name plaque that is generally created at the mortuary travels with your loved one’s body through every step of the cremation process.
Picaluna has locally based funeral directors living all around the greater Sydney and Melbourne Metropolitan areas, Newcastle, Wollongong, Blue Mountains, NSW Far North Coast, NSW South Coast and Geelong, VIC. They have close ties with their local communities and work closely with local suppliers to the funeral industry, including mortuaries, churches, crematoriums, and function centres.This means we can use any of the funeral venues throughout Sydney, Central Coast, Melbourne, Geelong and afar without being tied to any. This also allows us to offer a more personal service because we can arrange a funeral where you feel most comfortable. It means we can deliver a more personalised and memorable service that is authentic to the memory of your loved one.
