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Welcome to Australian Funeral Directors, Peter J Jackson's information centre

Glossary of terms used in the funeral industry

Medical Certificate: Before issuing a death certificate, the authorities require a certificate from a physician or coroner to validate the cause of death and the identity of the deceased. The family does not get this certificate. Medical Certificates are confidential documents and should be delivered to the relevant authority that requires it. In certain circumstances, a Medical Certificate may be required by a third party, and the doctor may issue it if it appears to be appropriate.

Certified Death Certificate: document issued by a government official such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death.This is issued to the family by the Registrar General after death registration.

Arrangement: Funeral directors are responsible for meeting with the family of the deceased to
make arrangements for the funeral service. Making the funeral arrangements with the funeral arranger.

Viewing: To make arrangements to view the deceased at an allocated time.

Autopsy: A post mortem is a step by step external and internal examination of the body by a doctor

Coroner: A public officer whose primary function is to investigate by inquest any death thought to be of other than natural causes.

Eulogy: A laudatory speech or written tribute, especially one praising someone who has died.

Cremation: the practice of reducing a deceased person to its essential elements by burning. In the ancient world cremation took place on an open pyre. It was practiced by the Greeks (who considered it suitable for heroes and war dead) and the Romans (among whom it became a status symbol). The pagan Scandinavians also cremated their dead. In India the custom is very ancient. In some Asian countries only certain people may be cremated (e.g., high lamas in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China). Christianity opposed cremation, and it became rare in Europe after AD 1000 except under extreme circumstances, such as that brought on by the Black Death. The practice reemerged in the late 19th century and was eventually accepted by both Protestants and Roman Catholics.