Losing a loved one, whether a family member or close friend, often brings unbearable pain and grief.
When faced with an unexpected situation such as this in a foreign land, it can also be confusing and mystifying as to the next steps.
So, what should someone do next or who can they turn to for help?
With the increasing number of Nepali-speaking communities in Australia, there have been many reports of Nepali speakers losing their lives in incidents, accidents and suicides.
According to the office of the Honorary Consulate General of Nepal in NSW, five No Objection letters for body repatriation have already been issued this year alone.
Funeral Consumer Rights Source: Getty / Getty Images
Spiro Haralambous is a funeral director of a Sydney-based funeral management company.
He said the circumstances around a death determine the next steps.
"If they pass (away) in hospital due to an illness that doctors or (the) hospital can identify, it is pretty straightforward. A medical cause of death certificate is issued, and then the body becomes ready to release into the care of a funeral director,” Mr Haralambous said.
However, in unforeseen circumstances, it becomes a police and/or coronial matter, he said.
“The body goes to the coroner's office, and there is a different process,” Mr Haralambous said.
"Coronial investigations are conducted in cases like murder, suicide, unexplained death, and, in such cases, the process can be prolonged. It can take up to two weeks (before the body can be released)."
Deb Bahadur Gurung is the Vice-President of the Non-Resident Nepali Association Australia (NRNA).
He said that the process depended on the nature of the death.
"The first thing is the involvement of the police. They decide whether the body should be taken to a hospital for treatment or not. Usually, a body is taken to either a hospital or to the coroner," Mr Gurung said.
"In New South Wales, a body is taken to the coroner's office in Lidcombe.
"After the coroner determines the initial cause of death, he or she gives permission for the funeral."
The role of a funeral director
Funerals play a very important role in Australia when a person dies.
For example, cremation or burial management companies do not just carry out the work of cremation or burial, they also regularly communicate with the coroner’s office and help expedite the process.
Once permission for cremation or burial is obtained from the coroner's office, funeral companies also complete other necessary paperwork such as registering the death with government agencies.
They also make arrangements for burial, cremation or repatriation.
Spiro Haralambous is a Funeral Director of Sydney based funeral company. Credit: supplied
When to contact a funeral company
According to Mr Haralambous, family members should contact a funeral company as soon as they know of their loved one’s death.
He said that although a social worker from the coroner's office would contact the relatives of the deceased, it would be the funeral director's role to speed up the documentation and other processes.
"Funeral directors work at the backend to clear the processes, (and) paperwork (and to) make sure we get the correct paperwork for purposes of cremation, burial or repatriation,” Mr Haralambous said.
“There is different paperwork (associated with) each method of laying someone to rest.”
On the other hand, Mr Gurung added that since the funeral company would coordinate with all agencies, including the police, coroner and consulate, the family should notify them of the preferred method of burial or cremation.
"In (a situation) where the body needs to go back to Nepal, it might take seven to 10 days after the body is released from the coroner’s office," Mr Gurung said.
The main job of the coroner's office is to determine the actual cause of death.
If someone's death is suspicious or the cause of death is unknown, the coroner will need to investigate it.
If a coroner finds the actual cause of death is not suspicious. It therefore does not require further investigation by the police or other authorities, the body is released to relatives for cremation or burial.
Mr Haralambous said that while the request for the release of the body was put forward within a few days, there could be delays if additional tests were needed or if the coroner had a particularly busy schedule.
Cuando un estudiante internacional muere en Australia, la familia normalmente debe cubrir los gastos de repatriación del cuerpo. Source: Getty / Ron Bailey/Getty Images
Cremation or burial options
After the body is received, the funeral company will begin the process of laying the person to rest.
Depending on personal preferences and cultural traditions, relatives can decide whether to cremate or bury.
But for this, the relatives must first sign a permission letter.
Mr Haralambous said cremating a body in Australia was far cheaper than sending it back to the person’s homeland.
But service fees may vary.
"In Sydney, the cost of cremation and taking ashes back starts from $3,300," he said.
Death registration
Each state and territory in Australia has its own independent agencies for registering the death and issuing certificates.
Service New South Wales (NSW) is the government body registering a death in that state.
According to Service NSW, there were 60,000 deaths registered in 2022.
“The NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages issues a death certificate as the official record of a person’s death,” a spokesperson from Service NSW said in a statement sent to SBS Nepali.
“It can be used as proof of death for transferring or cancelling services or administering a will.”
The statement said that funeral directors would normally register a death and apply for a death certificate on the family’s behalf within seven days of burial or cremation.
“Most death registrations are processed within a week from when a complete application is received.”
If the body is to be repatriated, the process is expedited.
“Once a death certificate has been issued, the Australian Death Notification Service is available to inform multiple organisations of a person’s death with one single notification,” the statement said.
Repatriation and the associated cost
Some people request that they want to be cremated in their own countries after their deaths.
But not all funeral companies make such arrangements, so family members should inform them about the situation before selecting their services.
Additional paperwork is also required to send the dead body abroad.
“For repatriation, we typically involve (the relevant) health department, we have got to involve consulate and embassy bodies, (and) the body needs to be fully embalmed, dressed and sealed inside the coffin,” Mr Haralambous said.
In addition, he said all the documentation and certification had to be provided ahead of time to the airline chosen to transport the body.
According to Mr Haralambous, all of these processes could be done by the funeral company.
The funeral director is also responsible for registering the death with the relevant Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and getting a certificate.
“Usually, registration will take two to three weeks, (but) because it’s a repatriation, they will get it done within 24 to 48 hours,” he said.
“Sometimes (the federal Department of) Foreign Affairs needs to get involved, and the relevant consulate or embassy for the destination (country) needs to review all of the documentation (including details of the) embalming … they need to review certificates.”
Mr Haralambous said fees for repatriation were almost double those associated with cremation in Australia.
“It's pretty much double; we are looking at mid-$6,000-$7,000,” he said.
“And that includes everything - the coffin, the funeral director’s fee, the health department’s fee, any fee that may or may not be associated with embassies, freight, airlines, logistics … everything.”
Once the body leaves Australia, responsible family members or a friend in the destination country can contact the particular airline’s office and organise to receive the body.
Share
