Tender Funerals Canberra Region

11/11/2025

We are very happy to have been invited to have a stall at the upcoming Harmony and Health Day 2025, hosted by The Butler Canberra and The Henry. We’re looking forward to meeting you.

Come along and meet some of the team from Tender. Whether you have questions about planning and preparing for funerals, the options available to you, death care or how to be involved as a volunteer, we’d love to chat with you.

The Expo is free!

For more information and to register, head to . Registrations close 12 November 2025.

Where?
The Clubhouse at The Henry
94 Fullagar Street
HIGGINS

When?
Thursday, 13 November
10am - 12pm

See you on the 13th!

10/11/2025

Yesterday our community held our first ever Gathering in the Grove, an annual picnic to remember people who were special to us. Held out the back of Tender amidst the birch trees and magnolias, we brought food to share, created art, listened to some incredible music and held a ceremony of remembrance together.

Special thanks to Su Hanfling of Wagtail Workshop for creating our beautiful art space. Families could write postcards to their person, which they could take home or post into our fire as part of our ceremony. They could also create message of support for our Kindness Exchange, or choose a message to take with them.

Hit 'n' Miss provided some fantastic African drumming to get us in the mood - what a great bunch of women!

And Poetry In Motion was the perfect accompaniment to our art-making and ceremony; thanks, Paul and Kate, for such wonderful music and words to comfort and uplift.

Most importantly, thank you to the individuals and families who came to create this first event with us. We are so proud and privileged to be part of this with you.

06/11/2025

Don't forget our Gathering in the Grove picnic this Sunday, 9 November from 4pm. Join our community for a chance to come together to remember people who were special to us.

Whether your bereavement was recent or long ago, you're welcome to join us. More information and registration can be found at https://events.humanitix.com/gathering-in-the-grove .

Hope to see you there!

04/11/2025

From the director of the Tender documentary comes this an exploration of a new (or very, very old) way to approach death.

We all know our lives will end and yet act as if death is a mirage. A pair of palliative care specialists allow renowned Emmy Award-winning artist Lynette Wallworth an opportunity to explore death with calmness, and even joy, through their use of psychedelics in a world-first trial for palliative care patients.

View the trailer: https://youtu.be/1G_bv4tB1WA?si=_VZYZxItEgCXWxGY

See it in the cinema next Thursday 13 November, 7pm at Dendy. Includes a virtual Q&A with Lynette and other members of the documentary team.
https://canberra.dendy.com.au/movie/edge-of-life

30/10/2025

Our volunteers are AMAZING! So we nominated them for the Volunteering Team of the Year in the ACT Volunteering Awards. That award is up to the judges, but the People's Choice Award is up to YOU! Please support our volunteers by voting at:

https://volunteeringact.org.au/contestants/20-tender-funerals-canberra-region/

The Vote Now button is up the top 🙂

Here are just some of the many words we would use to describe our volunteers...
Creative, Compassionate, Dedicated, Meticulous, Flexible, Friendly, Supportive... we could go on. Please help us show them how much they mean to us by voting for them in the awards

Thanks to for this opportunity.

28/10/2025

Here's another lovely example of the care and attention our volunteers bring to what we do with our families. We have quite a few families choosing us to support them with a natural burial. Natural burials require everything being buried with the person to be 100% biodegradable; clothes, linen, coffin or tray - everything!

Tess noticed we had some excess towels and other donated items that were 100% cotton and therefore suitable for natural burial. She's created a number of these natural burial-friendly pillows, ready for use. She also uses bark, leaves or dried flowers from other arrangements to decorate them. What a great way to repurpose items - thanks, Tess.

27/10/2025

We will hold a picnic on the evening of Sunday, November 9 as an opportunity for our community to come together to remember people who were special to us. Whether your bereavement was recent or long ago, you're welcome to join us. More information and registration at https://events.humanitix.com/gathering-in-the-grove

20/10/2025

Recently we were surprised with a lovely donation of scattering tubes by a member of the Canberra community.

Did you know…?

A scattering tube is a specially designed container a family can use to easily disperse a person’s ashes in a location that is meaningful to their person.

We are so grateful for the contributions from our local community. No doubt these scattering tubes will go to good homes.

If you’d like to learn more about Tender and your funeral options, please contact us on 6171 6229 to arrange a time to chat.

18/10/2025

This thoughtful article from Ginger Gorman in the ABC's Long Read series includes conversations with people all over Australia about what dying well can look like in modern Australia. We're proud to be included, with Ginger speaking to our GM, Catherine, and also the very first family we supported at our Fairbairn site, before we were officially open. Our team will never forget this family and the beautiful farewell they created for their person.

We hope this article helps many people think about what they want for their end-of-life, deathcare and final farewell and start planning with positivity. This kind of preparation is an opportunity! If you'd like to talk to us about how to get started, call or email. We can help you with your death care and funeral choices, but we can also connect you to other people and services for advanced care planning and more.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-19/death-funeral-deathwalker-dying-well-vad-palliative-care/105831418?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

Tender Funerals The Snow Foundation Community Bank Braidwood and Bungendore Hands Across Canberra

For many, voluntary assisted dying has come to symbolise control over how life ends. Yet dying well isn't just about those final hours. That's where a deathwalker like Zenith can help.

17/10/2025

These beautiful bags were made by our wonderful volunteers using donated quilt covers or other fabric stashes. When we look after somebody, there are often personal items we need to return to the families. We are so glad we can return these special items in a bag made with care by our community, for our community.

So much thought and care is put into the bags, whether that's utilising existing features of the quilt cover, like the button fastening or using different sections for contrast, or our volunteer sewist using their own stash to make something special. Thanks to Renate, Bernie, Robyn, Christine, Helen and all the other volunteers who have already made something or who have taken some fabric to work on.

06/10/2025

Have you ever wondered about how different cultural communities care for their dead? Richard Fidler talks to Katia Ariel about an incredible person who devoted his life to caring for families and their dead in Melbourne's Jewish community.

Listen here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/katia-ariel-ephraim-finch-death-melbourne-jewish-burial-ritual/105416136 or via the ABC Listen app.

02/10/2025

Here is an interesting insight into how the Melbourne Jewish community prepares their dead for burial.

Listen here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/katia-ariel-ephraim-finch-death-melbourne-jewish-burial-ritual/105416136 or via the ABC Listen app.