Australia's back in business - but nothing is usual

Andrew Pinder goes to work every day in a recession-proof industry. Despite booming unemployment and the worst economic downturn in decades, demand in the funeral business goes on all but unabated.

The 51-year-old first worked at his father's business in the northern suburbs of Melbourne as a schoolboy. Their profession is a family tradition on both sides. Pinder's great-great-grandfather was an undertaker in Victoria's Wimmera region as far back as the 1860s.

"Our role as funeral directors is to say 'yes' to people. It's to deliver what they want, to help make the most difficult time a little easier," he tells AFR Weekend.

"It's very important for people to be together physically, to be physically present together," he explains. "To hug, to kiss, to touch, to support, laugh, cry, to share in the moment together."

But like every other aspect of life in the time of coronavirus, death is being disrupted. Services at his business, Ern Jensen Funerals, have been reorganised to navigate attendance limits, protect health and stop the virus spread. The president of the Australian Funeral Directors Association, Pinder says his members are among the 70 per cent of Australian businesses changing how they operate.

As COVID-19 restrictions are eased by state and territory governments, different and often inconsistent rules are being put in place across the country.

When someone dies, it's as hard as it gets. To add another layer of pain, having to select people to be included, is incredibly difficult.
— Andrew Pinder, Australian Funeral Directors Association

"In Queensland, from June 12, 50 people will be able to attend a funeral but only 20 are allowed to be in a restaurant," Pinder says. "Does that mean the funeral wake limit is 20 but the attendee limit is 50?

"Western Australia isn't at 50 people yet. In South Australia, from Monday, 80 people can go to a restaurant or a pub as long as they're in separate rooms of 20 but only 50 can go to a funeral."

On Friday, NSW moved to bring religious services and funerals into line with rules for hospitality, capping attendance at 50 people.