Reguregu and Fijian funeral customs in New Zealand

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-10-20 · Reviewed quarterly, when the underlying data is restated.

Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.

We could not source a description of reguregu, or the protocols around it, to a New Zealand or Fijian institution, so we do not define it here. If you have been asked to take part, ask a family member or a community elder what is expected. What this page does give is sourced: which communities are involved, why their customs differ, what a large gathering costs and what help is available.

Fijian funerals in New Zealand are arranged by families from Fiji, who are not one community. Te Ara, the government's encyclopedia, describes indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians, and says the social and spiritual networks of Christian, Hindu and Muslim groups have helped sustain Fijian cultures here. Fijian Christians are mainly Methodist and Catholic, and in the main centres those churches offer services in Fijian (Te Ara: Fijian culture in New Zealand, archived copy read 20 October 2026). A funeral can therefore follow very different rites depending on the family's church or faith, island and home district. The legal frame is the same for everyone, and it is set out on our cultural funeral customs page.

Why we do not describe the protocol

Our research found no New Zealand government, council or community-institution page that sets out Fijian funeral protocol, and we do not draw on sources we cannot verify. Funeral protocol is also personal to a family. Describing it wrongly, or presenting one family's practice as the rule, would be disrespectful and could mislead someone about what to do or bring. We would rather say so than guess. The sections below stay with what we can verify.

One community, several traditions

Te Ara records an important point: religious networks are necessary for indigenous Fijians to keep traditional family customs in New Zealand, but many have found it impossible to continue holding elaborate ceremonies, which are "labour intensive, time consuming and better suited to a village environment". Some try to return to Fiji for ceremonies. That is the only sourced explanation we have for why a ceremony here may look different from one in Fiji. Te Ara's example of a ceremony families return to Fiji for is male circumcision, not a funeral, so it tells us nothing about funeral practice.

Because the Fijian population here includes Indo-Fijians as well, a Hindu or Muslim family from Fiji may follow the rites of its own faith rather than those of a Christian family; we have no source on how many do. Our guides to Hindu funerals and Islamic funerals cover those traditions to the level our sources support. If you are unsure, do not assume; ask.

What a large community gathering costs

Whatever the rites, a funeral for a large community has the same cost drivers. The sourced New Zealand averages from the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ) are $11,700 for a cremation funeral with 50 attendees and $14,300 with burial (FDANZ 2026 Industry Trends Report). If the attendance is larger, add catering for the extra guests. As an illustration, 150 more guests at FDANZ's $15 to $25 a head is $2,250 to $3,750 (our arithmetic), before any extra venue, tent or hall fee.

A budget worksheet helps, and the ranges below are FDANZ's indicative figures as at July 2025 (FDANZ: Financial matters):

Professional services: $3,000 to $6,500 for the funeral director.
Venue: chapel hire $200 to $500; ask the church or hall separately.
Catering: $15 to $25 a head.
Cemetery or crematorium: burial plot and interment $1,000 to $8,000; cremation fee $600 to $1,100.
Printed items and notices: service sheets $2 to $3 each; a newspaper notice $150 to $500 or more.
Live-streaming: $200 to $500, useful for relatives in Fiji or elsewhere.

Add a contingency for people travelling, and ask the director for a written estimate that lists every item.

Travel help and returning to Fiji

If a relative cannot afford to travel to a funeral, Work and Income may help with an Advance Payment of Benefit if they receive a benefit, or a Recoverable Assistance Payment if they do not; the money may have to be repaid. The qualifying relatives include a partner, child, grandchild, sibling, parent or grandparent, including step, foster, half and whāngai relationships (Work and Income: Bereavement and urgent costs). Our bereavement travel page has the detail.

If the family wants the burial in Fiji, the Funeral Grant's list of reasonable costs can stretch to moving the body, or to an overseas funeral, provided the person normally lived in New Zealand when they died (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). FDANZ's repatriation page says the airline and both countries set requirements, so the process can run longer than planned (FDANZ: Repatriation). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade lists the High Commission for the Republic of Fiji in New Zealand on its Fiji page. We did not find a published Fiji-specific repatriation price; see repatriation costs for what is published.

Paying for it

The Funeral Grant is capped at $2,697.43 (as at 1 April 2026) and tested on income and assets; it is a contribution only. FDANZ's Official Information Act data put Pacific people at 15% of claimants, but we found nothing that breaks the figure down by Pacific community, so we cannot say how many are Fijian.

Some families plan ahead for a parent's funeral. An adult child can own a Momentum Life Funeral Insurance policy on a parent, because the wording counts a parent as a relative. The parent must be a New Zealander as the policy defines it: living here and a New Zealand or Australian citizen, a permanent resident visa holder, or in New Zealand continuously for at least 12 months on a valid temporary work visa. Cover is for ages 40 to 75 and the benefit is a set $3,000 to $30,000. For the first 24 months only an accidental death (within 90 days of the accident) is paid; any other death in that window refunds the premiums. Total premiums can exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the funeral in full. Momentum's rating from A.M. Best is B (Fair); see its financial strength page. Our funeral insurance for parents page and the funeral insurance hub have more, and the Momentum buttons on this page lead to its online quote.

What to do now

Ask a family member what is expected of you before you bring gifts or money.
If you are arranging the funeral, ask the funeral director about experience with your family's church or faith.
Get a written estimate, then compare it with the budget list above.
Check the Funeral Grant tests early, because other help, including prepaid funeral cover, can affect eligibility.
Use what to wear to a funeral as a general guide only, and ask the family if they have specific wishes.

If you are planning ahead for your own funeral costs

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Funeral cover: Only accidental death is covered for the first 2 years. Total premiums can add up to more than the cover, and it may not meet the whole cost of a funeral.

Insurer: Momentum Life Limited. Financial strength rating B (Fair) from AM Best, affirmed 11 February 2026; B ratings sit in AM Best's 'vulnerable' range. The rating scale is available for inspection at every Momentum Life office in New Zealand. What this means

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Opens Momentum Life's online application; its guidance only covers eligibility. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy. General information, not advice.

Adviser's view

We could not source a description of reguregu or its protocols to a New Zealand or Fijian institution, so this page does not define it or the roles around it. Ask the family what is expected. What we can give you is sourced: the communities involved, the cost drivers for a large gathering, and the grant, travel help and repatriation facts.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Reguregu and Fijian Funerals in NZ: Costs and Help. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/fijian-funeral-traditions-reguregu-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.