Celebrating Transparency, Celebrating Lives

When I was appointed Managing Director of Tobin Brothers Funerals in February 2011, I had many things on my ‘to do’ list.

One of my main priorities was to take the transparency of Tobin Brothers Funerals to new levels. For far too long I felt the funeral industry had hidden behind what I have termed ‘a veil of secrecy’ which created far too many myths and misinformation surrounding death.

One of the first things we did in 2011 was to build a new website www.tobinbrothers.com.au. Shortly thereafter we launched the first funeral App in the world, MemoryMaker. Both of these initiatives assisted client families to make informed decisions when planning a funeral for a loved one. It also went some way to dispelling many of the myths and much of the misinformation.

Since creating that new website and our MemoryMaker App in 2011 we have seen many other companies try to follow suit. Some funeral providers’ business has improved as a result of having a very good website. Whilst the website is a gateway to the information the community and in particular client families are looking for in their absolute time of need, it takes far more than a very good website to be a competent, caring and professional funeral provider.

Before you engage a funeral company these are the questions that need to be satisfactorily answered.

1. Does the funeral company provide a detailed goods and service price list and information on its website in accordance with the Funeral Act of 2006?
2. Is the funeral company a member of the Australian Funeral Director’s Association?
3. Are their facilities accredited including their chapels, mortuaries (do they have a mortuary?), vehicles and equipment?
4. Does the funeral company’s website you are looking at have professionally trained and qualified staff caring for your loved one, you and your family?
5. Are the facilities displayed on their website their facilities? Many will use pictures on their website of facilities owned by cemeteries, churches etc.
6. Is the funeral company you are dealing with a household trusted name?

The bottom line is that many funeral companies have good websites but when you put these questions to them they struggle to come up with answers. Never forget that funerals are too important to leave to just anyone to do.

I will answer these questions I have proposed on Tobin Brothers Funerals behalf:

1. Does the funeral company provide a detailed goods and service price list and information on its website in accordance with the Funeral Act of 2006?  Please click this link to download our Tobin Brothers Goods and Services Price List.
2. Is the funeral company a member of the Australian Funeral Director’s Association?  Tobin Brothers Funerals has been an active member of the Australian Funeral Director’s Association since the late 1930s.
3. Are its facilities accredited including its chapels, mortuaries (do we have a mortuary?), vehicles and equipment? Tobin Brothers Funerals' chapels, mortuaries, vehicles and equipment are inspected every 2 years by the Australian Funeral Director’s Association.
4. Does the funeral company’s website you are looking at have professionally trained and qualified staff caring for your loved one, you and your family? Tobin Brothers Funerals has 195 professionally trained, qualified staff. We are the only funeral company in Australia that is a registered training organisation. All of our Embalmers are qualified and members of the Australian Institute of Embalmers.
5. Are the facilities displayed on funeral directors’ websites their facilities? Many will put pictures on their website of facilities owned by cemeteries, churches etc. Tobin Brothers Funerals has 22 branch locations throughout Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula and Echuca. All of these facilities are accredited by the Australian Funeral Director’s Association. Our facilities can be viewed on our website.
6. Is the funeral company you are dealing with a household trusted name?  Tobin Brothers Funerals has been a trusted name in Melbourne since 1934.

To find out more about transparency at Tobin Brothers Funerals, you can view our documentary series ‘A Day In The Life Of…’ where we take you behind the scenes of our company to meet: A Funeral Planner, a Funeral Director’s Assistant, an Embalmer, and many of the staff dedicated to providing excellence in every aspect of our service to families in Victoria.

This series will clearly demonstrate why Tobin Brothers Funerals is the most transparent funeral company in the world!

This week we have launched a new website: www.tobinbrothers.com.au. Once again we have taken transparency to new levels. 

If you need personal assistance, guidance or information our 24 hour Funeral Advice Line is available to assist you: (03) 9373 7000.

I would like to leave you with one more question…

Is the funeral company you are viewing online totally transparent?

Tobin Brothers Funerals celebrating transparency…celebrating lives.

James MacLeod
Managing Director