The funeral industry in Australia has begun to change in recent years for a number of reasons. As Australia increases the variety of ethnic cultures, which form its multicultural base, these cultures bring with them different approaches to the way we perceive death. The days of only one form of ‘traditional’ service being the norm have long passed. Each culture has its own traditions. We have successfully delivered culturally appropriate funeral services to families from the following communities:

• Protestent (Western, Pacific Islander, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist) 
• Buddhist (Chinese, Indo-chinese, Vietnamese and Laotian)
• Catholic (Filipino, Italian, Polish)
• Orthodox (Greek, Armenian)

The modern perception of a funeral can also be different from the traditional. Today many people view a funeral as more of a ‘celebration of a life’. It’s the chance for family and friends to reflect and enjoy the achievements of the life passed.

Over the years, InvoCare has identified through research, four major segments of the market to cater to needs within the community. White Lady Funerals are staffed purely by women. They offer a more modern approach to the service provided along with ‘a woman’s understanding’.

Our Traditional Funeral Home brands, including Blackwell, Guardian, George Hartnett, Le Pine and Purslowe maintain the approach accepted by families over many generations, gently guiding you through the funeral arrangement process. The traditional arm of our business also includes Allen Matthews Funerals, Bruce Maurer Funerals, Canon and Cripps Funerals, Chipper Funerals, Christian Funerals, David Lloyd Funerals, Drysdale Funerals, Hansen & Cole Funerals, J&C Hardy Funerals, JW Chandler Funerals, Metropolitan Funerals (NSW), Northern Rivers Funerals (Byron District Funerals, Casino Funerals, Kevin Geaghan Funerals, William Riley & Sons Funerals, Oakwood Funerals, Somerville Funerals, Tobin Brothers Funerals (ACT) and Universal Chung Wah/ Funerals of Distinction

Simplicity Funerals offers a simple, dignified, respectful and affordable approach. Simplicity fits in-between the style of service offered by our female brands and our traditional funeral homes. To cater for those families who are somewhat restricted financially, the company has developed Value/Economy Funerals.

Each of our style of brands will cater to the individual requirements of families and endeavour to make the funeral as easy and as personal as it can be.

Our Cemeteries and Crematoria utilise the local environment to showcase the beauty of the region to create a peaceful and tranquil setting. When you travel to Pinegrove in Sydney’s west, Lakeside in the Illawarra, Forest Lawn in Sydney’s south-west and Castlebrook in the north west of Sydney, you discover a cemetery or crematoria is no longer a place where abandoned graves swell into the horizon. Instead you realise why InvoCare more aptly describes them as Memorial Parks and Gardens because of the forest like surrounds, open grassed areas, beautiful lakes, rolling hills and streams. Mixed among this, you also find the requirements of individual cultures or religions being catered for as strictly as demanded. A full list of InvoCare's cemeteries and crematoria is available here.

To meet the needs of specific communities, InvoCare's Multicultural Unit (MCU) exists to create appropriate memorials spaces. Many of InvoCare's memorial parks and gardens have dedicated sections designed in conjunction with feng shui advisors and outstanding crypts, vaults and family mausoleums preferred by many European communities.

MCU has created two Chinese complete memorial gardens, the Lung Po Shan Chinese Memorial Gardens and the Po Fook Shan which are specifically designed to provide authentic memorial spaces for Sydney's Chinese and Indo-chinese communities.

Memorials have also become reflective of the individual. Our Memorial Parks and Gardens offer the largest variety and most comprehensive range of memorial products in the market place. There are now literally hundreds of possibilities, from the traditional to memorials based around gardens, statues and streams. Families are now more receptive to the notion of establishing a place where they may all come to rest in time together.

Whilst InvoCare is a national company, we recognise the importance of maintaining a local identity. These relationships are actively encouraged and enthusiastically pursued by staff within the communities they service.

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