By Scarlett Richards
A funeral director and star of reality TV show The Casketeers has criticised the process for accessing Work and Income Funeral Grants, saying they "add extra stress onto whānau in times of grief".
In a post on Facebook, Kaiora Tipene said the process is 'archaic' and 'daunting'.
The means-tested Funeral Grant helps low-income families who need financial aid to pay for a funeral.
To access a grant of up to $2,559.20, applicants must fill out a 12-page application and physically hand it in over the counter at any Work and Income office or via the post.
Tipene questioned why there were no online portals for grieving families to submit application forms.
She also said there had been instances where WINZ refused to accept confirmation from funeral directors, or newspaper obituaries, as proof of death - despite the grant application form stating they were acceptable.
Tipene said the processes needed to be updated to recognise other ways of confirming death.
"Btw, there's a large population who would rather notify passing of loved one on social media so maybe you can review your process."
Her post received dozens of supportive comments, with one person saying WINZ were unsympathetic, and wanted more proof of death than confirmation from a funeral director.
The commenter agreed there needed to be a better system: "I would hate for others to suffer the same fate as me, the shame, hurt and being overwhelmed by all the hoops... I stood in the middle of winz office full of people brawling my eyes out [sic]."
But the Ministry of Social Development's Jayne Russell said it's Funeral Grant page online had been updated to make the process clearer.
"Our policy is that death certificates, newspaper notices and funeral director confirmations should all be considered valid when people apply for a funeral grant," she explained.
"Our policy also includes other ways to confirm a death. For example, if the person who died was a stillborn child, our policy is to accept a birth certificate, a letter from an obstetrician or midwife, or the hospital discharge report.
"It's important to us that New Zealanders can access clear, consistent information about the support they may be eligible for."
Russell also said she understood that organising a funeral was "a very diffucult experience", which is why grants were intended to help eligible people pay for some of the costs.
"Because they can be up to $2,559.20, we ask for verifying information before we approve payment. This information can either be provided in person at a service centre, or it can be sent to us by post. This can take place after the funeral.
"To confirm the death, we generally ask for either a newspaper death notice or a death certificate. Death certificates can be ordered online for $33. If someone doesn't have either of these, we may be able to get the information another way. For example, our policy is that a medical examination will suffice until a death certificate is obtained."
The Funeral Directors Association of NZ chief executive Gillian Boyes expressed frustration over the Government’s Budget announcement last month after it failed to include an increase for the Funeral Grant.
"National has missed an opportunity to address a problem the Association has been raising since the Grant was last reviewed over 20 years ago," Boyes said.
"We know the low level of this Grant disproportionately impacts Māori and Pacific Peoples who are the very communities who need to spend more at death because of their cultural preference for burials."
She said the $2,559.20 allocated for a grant no longer covers average burial costs.
"And we know without the funds for a meaningful farewell, those families will struggle more with grief, or, if they have borrowed money, will struggle with death debt."
