Association News

Victorian Division

*All upcoming meetings and events listed are COVID-19 dependent.

ZONE MEETINGS

The first Zone Meeting for the year was held on 5 February at the Mid City Hotel in Warrnambool. The guest speaker for the evening was Jason Kelly from Dementia Australia. Jason has been a Counsellor and Dementia Consultant at the Warrnambool office for over ten years, supporting families living with dementia and carers across South West Victoria. Jason will also present at the April Zone meeting at The Caledonian Hotel in Echuca.

Jason provided invaluable information about how to better support colleagues, family and clients who may present with the signs and symptoms of dementia, advice to assist people in how to understand ways to respect and acknowledge the voice of someone with dementia, especially when it comes to making decisions about funeral arrangements. Jason also afforded suggestions about how to interact with and support a person living with dementia.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Division is currently exploring options to hold the AGM Weekend on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 July in Bright. The VIC Division is also in the early planning stages with the TAS Division discussing the possibility of holding another joint AGM in 2021, after the positive success of the 2019 joint AGM at the Pepper’s Silo in Launceston on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 August 2019.

MEMBER SUPPORT PROGRAM

Members are encouraged to chat with their Member Support contact about any issues or concerns ahead of each Divisional Council meeting, Industry Stakeholder meeting or when an item of concern arises. A template covering off specific Government and Industry topics has been generated to assist Councillors when talking to their member firm. This template also includes an overview about the most recent Zone meeting and the guest speaker, and the date for the upcoming Divisional events.

DIVISIONAL COUNCIL

The first VIC Divisional Council meeting for 2020 was held on Tuesday 25 February 2019 at the National Office in Kew East. Councillors discussed the release of the tender for the Coroners Court of Victoria’s (CCoV) contract for ‘Transport of Deceased Persons’, Birth Deaths and Marriages (BDM) service delivery and the upcoming meeting on Thursday 19 March 2020 with Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (SMCT) staff to discuss SMCT’s internal policy change to lowering devices.

BIRTHS DEATHS AND MARRIAGES

Divisional Councillors continue to meet with BDM Registrar James Lawson and Jo Clements to maintain awareness of the AFDA’s concerns about ongoing issues of the RIO system. Regular quarterly meetings have been added to diaries with the next meeting scheduled for early May, just prior to the next VIC Council meeting on Thursday 21 May 2020.

CORONERS COURT OF VICTORIA (CCOV)

On Wednesday 29 January 2020, AFDA received confirmation that the Coroners Court of Victoria’s Transport of Deceased Persons tender contract was released. A public briefing for registered parties was held on Tuesday 5 February 2020, with deadlines for the submission due on Wednesday 26 February 2020. The scope of Services in the tender includes the following Service Categories:

Melbourne Metropolitan Collections;

Regional Collections; and

Regional Repatriations.

Queensland Division

*All upcoming meetings and events listed are COVID-19 dependent.

NEW MEMBERS

The QLD Division recently welcomed two new Members, David Clayton from Newhaven Funerals in Mackay and Tim Connolly from Newhaven Funerals in Stapylton.

FUNERAL ARRANGER TRAINING

There has been an excellent response to both of the Funeral Arranger Training days. The first on 15 February was fully booked. The second scheduled for 23 May is also fully booked with more on the waiting list for this day. This is a significant cost to the Division and will provide improved skills for AFDA Members and staff that are both new to the industry and for those who wish to learn and share their knowledge. More days will be planned for the second half of this year which will include some regional locations.

MORTUARY TRAINING

The Division held a number of mortuary training days across the State in 2019 which were very well attended. As there TOOWOOMBA QUARTERLY MEETING

The first quarterly meeting of the year was held at the recently renovated Burke & Wills Hotel in

Toowoomba. Despite the stormy conditions that made for a very wet and overcast weekend a record number of members and suppliers attended. The weekend commenced with a welcome dinner in the hotel on Friday night which gave an opportunity for those members and staff who had not attended an AFDA event before to meet with other members and suppliers.

After the General Meeting update and Open Forum the first education session was presented by Peter

Mulqueen who gave an overview of how GST works in the funeral industry, providing examples of the most recent and commonly was also an excellent Despite the stormy response to this conditions that made training in 2019 more for a very wet and training will be made overcast weekend available to members a record number of in the second half of members and suppliers this year. attended asked questions such as what are the main types of GST income, Prepaid funerals and their various GST treatments and how the GST is applied for

religious services. The second education session was presented by Liz Crowe who gave a very informative and often funny view on ‘The Good, The Bad and the Meaning – Can You Thrive in the Funeral Industry?’ After lunch the delegates travelled to TS Burstow Funeral Home for a tour of the facilities and afternoon tea.

The dates and locations of the quarterly meetings for this year are as follows:

15-17 May Grand Chancellor Hotel, Townsville, QLD

14-16 August Peppers Salt Resort, Kingscliff, NSW (Joint Annual General Meeting Weekend with

NSW/ACT) 6-8 November Brisbane, QLD

Tasmanian Division

*All upcoming meetings and events listed are COVID-19 dependent.

NSW / ACT Division

*All upcoming meetings and events listed are COVID-19 dependent.

PETER FUGLSANG MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Nominations for the 2020 Peter Fuglsang Memorial Scholarship will open on 15 May. The Peter Fuglsang Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually and provides an opportunity for the successful applicant to receive a complimentary registration and accommodation to attend the Tasmanian Division AGM Weekend at the Old Woolstore in Hobart. The Peter Fuglsang Memorial Scholarship is generously funded by SUREWiSE. Applicants are required to write a short essay detailing how they would benefit from participating in the 2020 AGM Weekend. Entries close on 15 June.

MAY TRAINING DAY

The Division will hold a training day in May at the Hockey Centre in Hobart. An invitation will be extended to industry participants including palliative care and aged care/

GENERAL MEETING

The next General Meeting will be held on 1-3 May at the Novotel Brighton and will be a short weekend format. There will be a Council meeting on the Friday afternoon followed by a dinner. The education session on Saturday will include a special keynote speaker who will be giving a presentation on ‘Leadership in Challenging Times’ which will be followed by a presentation by Peter Mulqueen on ‘Funeral Goods and Services Information’ and what you need to have done in order to be compliant.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

A joint Annual General Meeting will be held from 14-16 August 2020 at the Peppers Salt Resort in Kingscliff, NSW with the QLD Division. The education session on Saturday will have Harry Mills as a keynote speaker. Harry Mills is an internationally recognised expert on sales, negotiation, presentation and the marketing of professional services. An accomplished consultant and trainer with over 25 years experience, Harry addresses over 100 seminars and conferences annually. Harry advises a number of international blue-chip companies and public sector organisations. The Aha! Advantage client list is nursing home staff to encourage a better working relationship and highlight the importance of using a funeral director who is on the Prescribed Business Register as well as the professional standards of AFDA funeral directors.

The AGM Weekend will be held on 24-26 July at the Old Woolstore in Hobart. A Divisional Council meeting will be held on the Friday 24 July followed by a casual dinner on the Hobart waterfront. The education sessions will take place on the Saturday.

AUDIT OF PRESCRIBED BUSINESSES

Divisional Councillors have provided updates to the Prescribed Business Register which has been returned to the Department of Premier and Cabinet. This allows the Department to ensure they are up to date with industry information as required under legislation.

a who’s who of international business and includes Unilever, IBM, Toyota, Oracle, AMP, Astra Zeneca, and Ericsson. He has a strong understanding of the challenges in positively influencing our market and will be speaking about ‘The value and purpose of meaningful funeral experiences’.

PUBLIC HEALTH ACT REGULATION

The NSW/ACT Division sent a response in regard to the Repeal of the Public Health Act Regulation. The AFDA NSW/ACT Division is of the view that there is no need to make any immediate changes to the current regulation however the AFDA is concerned that enforcement and penalties for contravention of the Funeral Regulation are not being given a high enough priority and that we fully support better regulation of the funeral industry.

DESTITUTE FUNERALS AND PERSONS WITHOUT MEANS CONTRACT

Robert Coleman from Strategic Procurement Services Corporate at NSW Health advised that the renewal timeline for this contract has not been determined due to resource issues. The contract may be extended further beyond its original terms. No further information has been received.

Western Australian Division

*All upcoming meetings and events listed are COVID-19 dependent.

DIVISIONAL EVENTS AND TRAINING

The final event for 2019 was the Divisional Christmas Dinner on Friday 22 November at Must Wine Bar in Highgate. A Mortuary Training session has been confirmed for Saturday 1 August 2020 to be facilitated at Bowra & O’Dea’s Mandurah location. Planning is still in the early stages for the Divisional AGM Weekend which will be held in Northam from 11-13 September 2020.

DIVISIONAL COUNCIL

The WA Division held their first Council meeting for the year via teleconference on Monday 19 February 2020. Councillors discussed the positive The Division has written to the Public Trustee to meeting recently held with representatives from the Department of Health, the State Coroner’s Office and request revision of Public Trustee in relation the valuation for to formalising a process reasonable funeral for unclaimed deceased. expenses Councillors also discussed concerns about privatisation of crematoriums and agreed that a meeting with the Premier was needed. The next Divisional Council meeting will be Thursday 2 April.

UNCLAIMED DECEASED

The Division recently attended a meeting on Thursday 30 January, with representatives from WA’s Department of Health, the State Coroner’s Office and the Public Trustee to discuss the need to formalise a process for unclaimed deceased. The WA Council were represented by Divisional President Dianne Tinetti, Senior Vice President Nikki Boyes and Divisional Treasurer Bernardine Brierty. At this meeting, the Divisional Executive successfully conveyed that especially in regional areas there is minimal understanding for aged care, hospitals and funeral homes of what process

should be followed in relation to an unclaimed deceased, creating misinformation. Set actions for each of the attending stakeholders were generated from this meeting, with the Divisional Executive Officer following through for regular updates.

PRE-PAID FUNERALS CODE REVIEW

The Division has been in communication with the Policy Officer at Consumer Protection Division, in relation to when the consultation draft document (Mandatory Code of Practice for Pre-Paid Funerals) will be released to stakeholders for final review. Consumer Protection Division is hoping to release this document to key stakeholders around late February/early March. Depending on the timeframe allocated for final stakeholder feedback, if needed, the Division will forward a letter requesting an extension of the feedback period.

PRIVATISATION OF CREMATORIUMS

The Division has written to the Premier of Western Australia, to request a meeting to discuss our concerns around the proposed privatisation of crematoriums, believing these changes will have considerable adverse effect on both metropolitan and regional funeral homes throughout Western Australia.

PUBLIC TRUSTEE

The Division has written to the Public Trustee to request revision of the valuation for reasonable funeral expenses, for a person for whom you are administering a deceased estate, asking for the Public Trustee to consider reasonable funeral costs to be in parity with, for instance, Victims of Crime, the Road Safety Commission and Centrelink.

South Australian / NT REGIONAL MEETING A Divisional Regional meeting is in calendars for Friday 12 and Saturday 13 June 2020 and

Division will be held at The Vine in the Barossa Valley. A dinner will be held on Friday night followed by a Divisional Council meeting and education *All upcoming meetings and sessions on the Saturday. events listed are COVID-19 The AGM Weekend is still in the early planning dependent. stages but is in calendars for Friday 28 and Saturday 29 August 2020 at Hahndorf. The Divisional Executives are planning to run a Culture and Practice The SA/NT Divisional Council has workshop following the Council meeting on Wednesday 28 October 2020. Planning is been asked to represent still in the early stages but our industry through the meeting and workshop the Education and will be held in the Heysen Services Industry Skills Lounge at Centennial Park. Council (ISC) Council is also planning to again hold their annual Industry Forum, in Adelaide on 18 November 2020.

SA/NT COUNCIL

The SA/NT Division held their first Council meeting for the year on Wednesday 12 February 2020 at Adelaide Cemeteries Authority’s Enfield Memorial Park. Councillors also held a morning planning session to formalise the remainder of the 2020 calendar of events, and meeting dates for the first half of 2021. These dates have been distributed to all nominated and Council representatives.

JOURNALISM SEMINAR

The SA/NT Divisional Council will again facilitate their annual Journalism seminar on Wednesday 9 September 2020, again at Alfred James & Sons funeral home. The seminar is presented to third year students and post graduate student journalists from the University of SA, along with tutors and lecturers.

THE ADVERTISER

The first stakeholder meeting for the New Year with The Advertiser newspaper representatives is scheduled for the third week of March 2020. Senior Vice President Andrew Skinner and Divisional Councillor Iain McQueen will be discussing the option to set profiles in the online portal for funeral homes, to assist to eradicate data entry errors. The Division is currently collating feedback from funeral homes to be discussed during this meeting.

BODY DONOR PROGRAM

The Division has been communicating with the University of Adelaide in relation to the timing of the tender process for the Body Donor program. The Division was advised during a stakeholder meeting in November 2019 it was likely to be released in January 2020. The most recent advice received is the University of Adelaide’s Procurement Department is currently working on the tender process, and would be in touch once timelines are confirmed. The Division is monitoring the SA Governments procurement tender website daily for release of the tender documents.

INDUSTRY SKILLS COUNCIL

The SA/NT Divisional Council has been asked to represent our industry through the Education and Services Industry Skills Council (ISC). The purpose of AFDA’s representation is to present to the State Government the current and future skills, training and workforce needs of our industry in South Australia. Divisional Treasurer Natasha Siebert and Councillor Claire Forgie recently distributed a member survey to all SA member firms which focused on the Funeral, Crematorium and Cemetery Services Industry, which is seen as a whole by the State Government, who currently do not yet hold any data on workforce issues, training obstacles and needs. This presents a unique opportunity to fill the information void with our workplace reality, and predicted future needs.

12th International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society

Grief and bereavement in a changing world: Personal, social and global perspectives MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA 13-17 July 2020

Keynote Speakers

Dr Paul A Boelen Ph.D

Utrecht University, Netherlands Emotional problems after traumatic bereavement: Nature, correlates, and treatment

Dr Emmy van Deurzen Ph.D

New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling at the Existential Academy, United Kingdom Rising from shattered lives: Psychotherapy and existential crisis

Dr Phyllis Kosminsky Ph.D, FT

The Centre for Hope, USA From practice to theory and back again

Dr Robert Neimeyer Ph.D

Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, USA Intervening in meaning: New directions in grief therapy

Dr Sheldon Solomon Ph.D

Skidmore College, USA The worm at the core: On the role of death in life

Bronze Sponsors Registrations

Conference registrations are now open. Early Bird Registrations end: 28 February 2020 at 5pm AEDT Registrations close: 30 June 2020 at 5pm AEDT

Registrations must be made online. For further information or to register, go to:

www.icgb2020.com

Pre-Conference Masterclasses

Two one-day pre-conference masterclasses, conducted by Dr Robert Neimeyer and Dr Phyllis Kosminsky, will also take place on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 July 2020.

Masterclass Day 1

Dr Robert Neimeyer Ph.D Monday 13 July 2020 Reconstructing the continuing bond: Transforming meaning and mourning in bereavement

Masterclass Day 2

Dr Phyllis Kosminsky Ph.D, FT Tuesday 14 July 2020 Attachment informed grief therapy: Interventions to create safety, strengthen self-capacities and promote re-engagement

Social Program

For further information about any of these programs visit:

www.icgb2020.com/social-program

Welcome Experience | Melbourne Sealife Conference Gala Dinner | Aerial Melbourne Coffee with Keynotes | MCEC Wellbeing Program | MCEC

Invited Speaker

Rosemary Wanganeen Founder & CEO Australian Institute for Loss and Grief

Thursday 16 July 2020 7.30AM - 8.30AM

Indigenous Healing