Home Funeral Director Salary
Funeral Director salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a funeral director is $68,600 per annum, before tax, up $14,300 since 2018.
Pay moves with the hours you carry: on-call rosters, evening and weekend work and public holidays usually attract loadings or overtime. Directors who also embalm, or who move into managing a funeral home's operations, tend to earn more, and a small regional firm may pay differently from a large metropolitan provider.
Roles that pay more than funeral director
The largest typical pay rise is $16,400 a year, moving into Event Coordinator.
- Event Coordinator+$16,400/yr
- Family Support Worker+$1,600/yr
How to negotiate a higher funeral director salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time funeral director salary is $68,600; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Operations management and Regulatory compliance tend to command a premium over general funeral director experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Event Coordinator pays a typical $16,400 a year more and draws on similar skills, even mentioning you're weighing it up is a legitimate data point in a pay conversation.
- Time it deliberately. Reviews, the end of a project you delivered, or taking on responsibility beyond your job description are stronger moments to ask than an arbitrary date on the calendar.
- Ask for a number, not a raise. "Based on the market rate and [specific contribution], I'd like to move to X" gets a clearer answer than "I think I deserve more."
Funeral Director salary questions
How much do funeral directors earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a funeral director is $68,600 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is funeral director pay rising or falling?
The median funeral director salary is up $14,300 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than funeral director?
Event Coordinator pays a typical $16,400 a year more and draws on similar skills to funeral director.