PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE - Parliament of Victoria

Inquiry into Regulation of the Funeral Industry
100
Stress
Daily stress
3.94 For people working in the funeral industry, as in any other
workplace, there are stressors which affect them on a daily basis.
Due to the particular nature of funeral service in constantly dealing
with the bereaved, funeral industry workers can experience
additional stress from assisting people during a highly emotional
period of their life.
Critical incidents
3.95 In the course of their work, funeral directors can be called to
the scene of a murder, suicide, traffic accident, drowning, fatal fire,
child or infant (SIDS) death, farm or motorcycle accident, explosion,
electrocution, plane crash, boat accident, natural disaster or
industrial accident. 18 It is recognised that emergency services
workers can benefit from critical incident debriefing yet the funeral
director, the person who has actually removed the body from these
kinds of situations, is not usually included in such debriefings.
3.96 In New Zealand, the FDANZ initiated a Peer Support program
in 1993 to provide this type of critical incident debriefing for their
members. The FDANZ pays for the training of volunteer Peer
Supporters who then give their time free of charge if their colleagues
need assistance. The service is not used often but is gaining
increasing acceptance among FDANZ members. 19
3.97 The high level of acute stress resulting from exposure to
situations which are outside the usual range of human experience is
an issue in funeral service. This form of critical incident stress can