{"id":762693,"date":"2026-06-27T00:58:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T00:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/762693\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T00:58:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T00:58:18","slug":"rising-funeral-costs-see-families-struggling-to-say-goodbye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/762693\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising funeral costs see families struggling to say goodbye"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exclusive: When Jye Campbell\u2019s family lost him last November, along with their heart-wrenching grief they were forced to confront a brutal reality – death<\/a> is an expensive business.<\/p>\n

At just 20, and a loving dad to two infant twins, Jye seemed to have years left to him, and his family certainly weren\u2019t expecting to have to plan his funeral.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

New dad Jye Campbell died in November 2025.\u00a0GoFundMe<\/p>\n

But not long after the Albury man tragically took his own life, his loved ones learned they couldn\u2019t even bury him without facing costs that ballooned out to $20,000.<\/p>\n

Jye\u2019s aunt, Emma Campbell, told nine.com.au the family had only wanted \u201cthe most basic\u201d burial, with just one \u201cextra\u201d – for the church bells to ring, and even that was an extra few hundred bucks on a rapidly swelling bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing into it, we didn\u2019t really understand the costs that were involved,\u201d Emma said, noting that the family were not wealthy by any means.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do you come up with that kind of money?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Campbells aren\u2019t alone, with GoFundMe saying its research showed a 70 per cent surge in funeral- and memorial-related fundraisers in Australia from 2020 to 2025.<\/p>\n

Last year alone, Australians raised $28 million in funeral-related donations, as the average cost for one rises to $14,000.<\/p>\n

GoFundMe\u2019s findings showed more than half of Australians (57 per cent) have no money<\/a> set aside for their own funeral, while four in five (81 per cent) have nothing saved for the funeral of a loved one.<\/p>\n

And 45 per cent said covering funeral costs would put them under financial strain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Campbells had not even thought of putting a callout for support, Emma said, until one family member made the suggestion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not something any of us had ever done before,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The response was mind-blowing for the family, with over $9000 ultimately raised.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone helped – friends, family, even people who\u2019d never known him,\u201d Emma said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor such a heavy time … to have people who didn\u2019t even know him help out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a light that came from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jye\u2019s mum was able to make sure the bells rang as his loved ones said goodbye.<\/p>\n

\"Sydney<\/p>\n

Burial and funeral costs are becoming increasingly expensive.\u00a0Tony Lowrey<\/p>\n

GoFundMe senior communications manager Lilia Villela said a broad cultural shift was under way, with Australians<\/a> more willing to reach out – and often to give back.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur data shows that while more Aussies are asking for donations in lieu of flowers when mourning the loss of a loved one, their communities are responding with generosity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are rallying around friends, family members and even strangers to help ease the financial burden of farewelling a loved one and remind grieving families that they\u2019re not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Funerals Australia national president Asha Dooley said that the funds raised were often used to support the family\u2019s daily expenses as they shouldered the burden of preparing to say goodbye, and taking time off work to grieve.<\/p>\n

She said much of the increase in costs was driven by rising cemetery and crematorium fees, which were outside a funeral director\u2019s purview.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuneral costs include the professional planning and coordination of the service, care of the deceased and a range of third-party fees. Many elements, such as flowers, celebrants and memorial items, are optional,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith pricing transparency laws now in place across most states, families can compare providers and choose arrangements that suit both their wishes and their budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlanning ahead, whether through a prepaid funeral, a funeral bond or simply discussing your wishes with loved ones, can help ease both the financial and emotional burden on families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emma Campbell also said it was important for people to plan ahead, to think of things like funeral insurance or even just discuss what their preferences would be.<\/p>\n

But in the end, she said, the family\u2019s experience showed that it was okay to lean on others in times of need.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will help. People care, at the end of the day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is in need of support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue. In the event of an emergency dial Triple Zero (000).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Exclusive: When Jye Campbell\u2019s family lost him last November, along with their heart-wrenching grief they were forced to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":762694,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-762693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=762693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/762694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=762693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=762693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}