Funeral live streaming 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.

Funeral live streaming sends a service, as it happens, to people who cannot be in the room, usually through a private link. In New Zealand the funeral director normally arranges it, and the Funeral Directors Association (FDANZ) lists live-streaming at an indicative $200 to $500. Music played in the stream has its own licensing rules.

Live streaming a funeral means broadcasting the service over the internet so family and friends overseas, unwell or too far away can watch in real time, and sometimes watch a recording later. In New Zealand there are three routes: a funeral home with built-in chapel cameras, a funeral home that brings in an outside streaming company, or a family member setting up a camera and a video link. The published cost of a director-arranged stream is in the low hundreds of dollars, set out below with sources. The less obvious issue is music: OneMusic, the licensing body run by APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ, has a Funeral Services licence that covers streaming over a password-protected website for 60 days, but its separate Domestic Use Video licence, which covers videos made for private viewing, does not extend to productions put on public sites such as YouTube or Facebook. Ask who holds the licence before the service.

How does funeral live streaming work in New Zealand?

A camera and microphone capture the service, software sends it to a viewing page, and invited people open a link at the time of the service. A recording can be kept so people in other time zones can watch later. What differs is who owns the equipment and the link.

Three funeral providers describe their own arrangements. These are what each publishes, read on 20 October 2026, and not a ranking.

Provider	What it says	Cost stated
Davis Funerals (Auckland)	Webcasting at its Mt Eden, Henderson and Pakuranga chapels; a professional streaming and recording company at other venues. Access to the stream is kept on a personalised obituary site provided free of charge	Not stated
Dils (North Shore, Auckland)	Livestreaming and recording, so people can attend in real time or watch later; a secure link and guidance for guests	Webcast $350 on its May 2026 price list
Simplicity Funerals Christchurch	A private link, shared with the people the family wants to include; viewers can request access through a form on its web streaming page	Not stated

Davis also says it can bring in a streaming company at its other funeral homes or at a location the family chooses, so the venue does not have to be one of those three chapels.

How much does professional funeral live streaming cost in New Zealand?

FDANZ's financial matters page gives an indicative range of $200 to $500 for live-streaming (indicative as at July 2025, and it says prices vary per funeral director). Dils' own list shows $350 for a webcast. Those are the only two published figures we could find, so treat them as the going range for a director-arranged stream rather than a quote.

We found no published price for a separate videographer or multi-camera crew, so we do not give one. If a family hires someone outside the funeral home, ask for a written price and what it includes: number of cameras, a recording, editing and how long the recording stays available.

For the wider bill, FDANZ's 2026 survey puts a full cremation funeral for 50 attendees at an average of $11,700, so a stream is a small line within it. See what a funeral costs in New Zealand and the funeral costs hub.

What are the music rules when a funeral is streamed?

New Zealand's Copyright Act gives songwriters and publishers the right to control how their music is used, and APRA AMCOS says that music played publicly, "made available online" or copied almost always needs a licence (APRA AMCOS: Why do I need a licence). For funerals, OneMusic runs a dedicated Funeral Services licence for funeral homes and independent funeral directors. Its page says the licence allows a director to:

copy music into audio or video programmes and slideshows played at funeral services
make and give out up to 50 copies of a funeral video to relatives and friends, free, for personal use
stream music as part of a funeral "for live, on-demand or time-delayed streaming over a Website (for a period of 60 days)", where the website is owned or controlled by the licensee and accessed by password

OneMusic also says it does not charge a licence fee for the public performance of music during a funeral service itself, and that FDANZ and OneMusic have negotiated a discounted rate for FDANZ members (OneMusic: Funeral Services, read from an archived copy dated 22 September 2024 because the live site refused automated access; check the live page before relying on the 60-day detail).

The practical points follow from that wording:

A stream run through a licensed director's password-protected page is the case the licence describes.
OneMusic's music in video page says its Domestic Use Video licences, for videos made for clients' private domestic use, do not cover productions "made for broadcast or internet transmission without any password protection (including upload to sharing sites like YouTube or Facebook)".
We have not tested how public platforms treat recorded music, and we found no NZ source on it, so we do not say what they will do. If your own stream will play recorded songs, ask the director whether their licence reaches it, or use a private, password-protected link and keep the music to what the licensed arrangement covers.

How can you set up a private, low-cost stream yourself?

This section is QuoteHub's practical suggestion, not a sourced rule. Ask the funeral director and the venue first, because some chapels already have cameras and some venues set their own rules.

Name one person to run the stream. They should not also be speaking, reading or carrying.
Use an invitation-only or password link, not a public post, and send it only to the people you mean to include.
Do a test call from the seat the camera will sit in, with the microphone near whoever will speak.
Record locally as well, in case the connection drops.
Tell the celebrant and speakers the service is being streamed, so nobody is surprised.

How do you protect privacy and cope with dropouts?

Ask whether the stream page is public or needs a link, and for how long it stays up. If a family wants a recording, ask how it will be delivered. For dropouts, the main protection is a recording made at the venue, because a live link can fail even when the cameras are fine.

What about a graveside or a marae?

Davis says it can bring in a streaming company to a location the family chooses. We found no NZ source on outdoor equipment, so ask any provider about mobile coverage, wind and sound at that site.

For a tangihanga, Davis says it works with whānau and communities to respect protocols, timing and venue when whānau want a stream. Ask the marae committee and kaumātua before anyone films, since filming on a marae is a matter for them to decide. Our tangihanga guide explains the process.

Questions to ask before you book

Who films, and who is responsible if the link fails?
Who holds the music licence, and does it cover a stream?
Is the link private, and how long does it last?
Is a recording included, and in what format?
What does it cost, in writing?

If cost is the worry

A stream does not replace a gathering afterwards; see our guide to a wake or celebration of life and the cost of a direct cremation with a memorial later. Funeral insurance pays a fixed benefit towards costs, it does not pay a funeral bill directly, and total premiums can end up larger than the benefit; with Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, only an accidental death is covered in the first 24 months, and other deaths in that window pay no benefit (premiums are refunded). Saving a set amount is the other way to prepare. The funeral insurance hub explains the options. The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application; QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and may earn a commission, and Momentum Life Limited holds an A.M. Best financial strength rating of B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, which sits in A.M. Best's "Vulnerable" range (Momentum financial strength).

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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

For most families the simplest route is to ask the funeral director to include a stream in the plan, because the director can arrange the equipment, the private link and, where the director holds a OneMusic licence, the music rights. A DIY stream can work, but it leaves privacy, sound and music licensing with you.

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

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Funeral Livestream NZ: Services and Options. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/funeral-livestream-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.

References

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