Tax hike increases funeral costs

The funeral industry has warned that grieving families could be charged up to $150 more after a Baillieu government move to increase WorkCover premiums.

Funeral directors have criticised the government for its lack of consultation, which will raise premiums by more than 50 per cent. Australian Funeral Directors Association spokesman Mark Osborne told the media this week that the industry will be forced to pass on extra costs.

''It will affect bereaved families, there's no doubt about it,'' he said. ''There is simply no capacity to absorb the increases.

''For the Liberals to put 60 per cent increase on a tax on top of everything else ...it's certainly not what you'd expect.'' Victorian companies pay an average of 1.4 per cent of their payroll to WorkCover to compansate injured workers. Funeral companies have in the past paid average premiums of around1.8 per cent for funeral directors, but under the new rates being introduced, this will rise to some 3 per cent.

The increase will bring the premium into line with the state's cemetery workers who are employed by state-owned cemeteries and whose premium is set to be cut under the new arrangement. Mr Osborne said it was outrageous that funeral companies were being forced to pay the same to insure their workers, when funeral directors faced less risk of injury than those who operate heavy machinery and work outdoors. He said the increase could force smaller operators out of business. Opposition WorkCover spokesman Robin Scott said the Baillieu government's lack of consultation with the industry meant legitimate concerns had not been aired.

Workcover Minister Gordon Rich-Phillips told the media that the classifications had changed last year and were modelled on recent Australian Bureau of Statistics classifications, which were the national standard and which group funeral directors and cemetery workers together. The Minister declined to say if it was fair to group the two sets of workers together when they faced different risks.