Melbourne-based Tomorrow Funerals looks to shake up the “widely outdated” industry

Country Australians are forced to contend with an “outdated” funeral industry, binding them to tradition and limiting how they can celebrate life, an operator says.

Kate Morgan co-founded Tomorrow Funerals in 2021 after combing through existing businesses and finding they farewelled people the same way they did a century ago.

Options were particularly sparse in some rural and regional areas, where a single funeral parlour was often the go-to for generations of families who did not know people could be farewelled differently, Morgan said.

“We have been told by people that we have worked with that in regional areas, it feels like there are no options — whether they like it or not, they have to go to the local funeral home,” she told AAP.

“It limits choice (and) it limits creativity.

“That quasi-religious feel really does limit what’s possible in really reflecting that person as the essence of who they are.”

Tomorrow Funerals — which billed itself as a modern alternative to the traditional funeral parlour — was expanding nationally, aiming to reach all Australian cities and key regional areas within five years, Morgan said.

The national rollout would be staggered, starting with a shift from a predominantly Melbourne-based business, to 40% based in Sydney, 40% based in Melbourne and 20% in the rest of the country over the next 18 months, she said.

Tomorrow Funerals offered a single, fixed-price package compared to other companies, which upsold clients, Morgan said.

The business also does cremations ahead of its memorial-style funeral services, putting the primary focus onto curating the events.

Competition was also limited within the industry, Morgan said.

Two major players dominated it — InvoCare and Tobin Brothers — with InvoCare owning three national brands, White Lady Funerals, Simplicity Funerals and Value Cremations, along with about 40 other funeral homes in Australia.

“The funeral industry is widely outdated and so we feel that we should shake up the traditional model, which is long overdue,” Morgan said.

Seven in 10 Australians opted for cremation over a burial.

The enduring traditional funeral model was designed around burials and the industry just retrofitted the old burial process, Tomorrow Funerals co-founder Luke McInnes said.

This article was first published by AAP.

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