What a funeral costs in New Zealand, and what the state pays toward it

The figure quoted everywhere for a New Zealand funeral is about $10,000, and it is not an official one. What the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand actually publishes is an itemised table of ranges, indicative as at July 2025, and it deliberately stops short of an average: its advice is to get a written estimate from a funeral director. Those ranges are below, alongside the other half of the question, which is published to the cent. What the state pays toward a funeral depends almost entirely on how the person died, and the gap between the two grants is larger than most families expect.

How often this changes: Both grants are adjusted annually, taking effect 1 April. Figures on this page were last checked on 9 Sep 2026.

Published New Zealand funeral cost ranges, indicative as at July 2025

Published New Zealand funeral cost ranges, indicative as at July 2025
Item	Range, GST inclusive	What the association notes
Professional services fee	$3,000 to $6,500	Transfer of the deceased, arrangements, documentation and registration of the death. Varies by type of funeral and part of the country, and may be less for a no-service cremation
Preparation, for example embalming	$700 to $1,050	Sometimes included in the professional services fee. Higher after a post mortem or significant reconstruction
Burial, plot plus interment	$1,000 to $8,000	Council burial costs from 2024. Varies significantly by part of the country. Private cemeteries and urupa may be much less
Cremation fee	$600 to $1,100	Council cremation costs
Ash burial, plot plus interment	$200 to $3,000	Council ash burial costs
Casket	$1,200 to $5,000	Lower priced cremation caskets may be available; high end caskets cost many thousands more
Chapel hire	$200 to $500
Hearse hire	$200 to $450
Celebrant or clergy	$300 to $900
Death certificate	$40
Doctor’s fee and medical referee	$100 to $400, plus $100 to $120	Cremations only
Catering	$15 to $25 per head

Source: Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand, funeral costs and financial support, read 9 Sep 2026.

The association publishes ranges rather than an average, and says the figures are indicative and vary per funeral director. Shaded items in its own table are external costs the funeral director usually pays and passes on. Add the bottom of professional services, preparation, a cremation fee and the cheapest casket and the total is already past $5,500 before a chapel, a hearse or a celebrant.

What the state pays toward a funeral

What the state pays toward a funeral
Payment	Who it is for	Maximum
Work and Income Funeral Grant	Any death, subject to an income and asset test on the person applying and on the estate	$2,697.43
ACC funeral grant	Accidental death only, no means test	$8,236.40
ACC funeral grant, homicide top-up	Families of murder or manslaughter victims	Up to $10,000 in total
ACC survivor’s grant, partner	Spouse or partner of someone who died in an accident	$8,830.47
ACC survivor’s grant, each child or dependant	Each child under 18, and each other dependant	$4,415.25

Source: ACC financial support after a fatal injury, and Work and Income Funeral Grant, both read 9 Sep 2026.

The ACC grants are payable only where the death was caused by an accident. Illness is not an accident, so for most deaths in New Zealand the only grant available is the Work and Income one, and it is means tested. That distinction is the single biggest thing people get wrong about this.

The Work and Income Funeral Grant means test

The Work and Income Funeral Grant means test
Test	What applies
Maximum payable	$2,697.43
Income limit, applicant aged 16 to 17 with no children, where the deceased is your partner	Annual income before tax under $33,518.68
Income limit, applicant aged 18 or over with no children, where the deceased is your partner	Annual income before tax under $38,522.12
Assets disregarded	The first $2,351.46 of your assets
Assets counted	The total amount of the deceased person’s assets

Source: Work and Income Funeral Grant, read 9 Sep 2026.

The deceased person’s assets are counted in full, which is why an estate with a house in it usually rules the grant out even when the person applying has almost nothing.

Ongoing ACC payments after an accidental death

Ongoing ACC payments after an accidental death
Payment	Amount	How long
Loss of the deceased’s income	Up to 80% of their earnings, divided between partner, children and dependants	Partner: five years, or until the youngest child in your care turns 18
Childcare, one child	$187.78 a week	Five years, or until the child turns 14, whichever comes first
Childcare, two children	$112.67 each a week	Five years, or until the child turns 14, whichever comes first
Childcare, three or more children	$262.88 a week in total	Five years, or until the child turns 14, whichever comes first

Source: ACC financial support after a fatal injury, read 9 Sep 2026.

All of this is accidental death only. None of it applies to a death from illness, which is the majority of deaths, and none of it is taxed.

Questions about what a funeral costs in new zealand, and what the state pays toward it

How much does a funeral cost in New Zealand?

There is a published answer, but it is a set of ranges rather than a single number. The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand publishes an itemised table, indicative as at July 2025: a professional services fee of $3,000 to $6,500, preparation of $700 to $1,050, a cremation fee of $600 to $1,100 or a burial plot and interment of $1,000 to $8,000, a casket of $1,200 to $5,000, and a list of extras. It deliberately does not publish an average, and directs people to a funeral director for a written estimate. The roughly $10,000 figure that circulates is not the association’s and is not official; where we found it, it was on funeral home price pages and funeral insurance marketing.

What is the maximum funeral grant in New Zealand?

It depends entirely on how the person died. For an accidental death, ACC pays a funeral grant of up to $8,236.40 with no means test. For any other death, the Work and Income Funeral Grant is up to $2,697.43 and is means tested on the applicant and on the estate. The gap between those two numbers is more than $5,500 and turns on a distinction most people do not know exists until they need it.

Is the ACC funeral grant means tested?

No. ACC does not means test it, does not tax it, and can pay the funeral director directly or reimburse you if you have already paid. The amount is set by the date the person died rather than the date you claim.

Why do other sites show a different ACC funeral grant amount?

Because the amount changes every year and most pages quoting it are not re-checked. Several New Zealand pages currently show $7,990.30, which is a previous year. The figure on this page is ACC’s own, read on the date shown at the top. If you are relying on it, check ACC directly rather than any third party, this page included.

Does the Work and Income grant look at the estate?

Yes, and this is what catches people. Work and Income counts the total amount of the deceased person’s assets, not only the applicant’s. The first $2,351.46 of your own assets is disregarded, but an estate holding a house will usually put the grant out of reach even when the person arranging the funeral cannot cover it.

Does funeral insurance change any of this?

It changes what you have to find yourself. The grants are fixed and, outside accidental death, small. Whether buying a policy to close that gap is worth it depends on how long you pay premiums for and what the policy pays: some funeral policies pay out less than the premiums paid if the person lives long enough. That is a comparison to do with the actual numbers rather than an assumption either way.

Where to go next

Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, For Brokers.