Non-Religious Funeral Ideas in Australia

How a non-religious funeral works, what a civil celebrant does, where you can hold the service, and ideas for readings, music and rituals that make it personal, from lighting candles to a shared toast.

By Chris K, reviewed by Anne G · Last updated 5 October 2026 · Editorial standards

Key points

A non-religious funeral centres on the person's life, values and relationships.
A civil celebrant usually leads the service and helps the family shape it.
The service can be held in many places, not only a chapel, with the right permission.
Personal rituals, like lighting candles or a shared toast, give everyone a way to take part.
Religious relatives can still be included, for example with a quiet moment for private prayer.

Many Australian families choose a funeral that isn't built around a religious service. Sometimes the person wasn't religious; sometimes the family is mixed, and a non-religious service feels like the fairest way to include everyone. Either way, a non-religious funeral can be every bit as meaningful as a traditional one. This guide explains how it works and collects ideas you can borrow.

What Is a Non-Religious Funeral?

A non-religious funeral is a service that centres on the person's life, values and relationships, rather than on religious belief or ritual. It still gives people a time and place to gather, remember and say goodbye.

What is a non-religious funeral called? It's often called a secular, civil or humanist funeral, or simply a celebration of life. The names overlap. What they share is a focus on the person's life rather than on religious belief or ritual.

A non-religious service doesn't have to be cheerful or informal. Some are quiet and traditional in feel, with a chapel, a coffin and formal readings. Others are relaxed gatherings in a park or at the footy club. Most sit somewhere in between.

Who Leads a Non-Religious Funeral?

Who leads a non-religious funeral? Usually a civil funeral celebrant. They meet the family, help plan the service, write and deliver much of it, and keep it running on the day. A family member or friend can also lead it.

A good celebrant will spend time with the family before the service, often an hour or two, asking about the person's life and what the family wants. They'll suggest a running order, help with readings and music, and often write the main tribute from the stories you share.

Your funeral director can usually recommend celebrants they've worked with. It's worth having a short phone call with one or two before choosing, to find someone whose style suits your family.

Where Can You Hold a Non-Religious Funeral?

You can hold a non-religious funeral in many places, not only a chapel. Common choices include:

a funeral home chapel, which has seating, sound and screens ready to go
a crematorium chapel, where the service and the committal happen in one place
at the graveside, for a short, simple service
a community hall, club or sporting ground, especially somewhere the person spent a lot of time
a garden, park, beach or bushland spot, for someone who loved the outdoors
a family home or farm, for a small, private gathering.

Some places need permission, and some have rules about numbers, noise or what can be brought in. Check with the venue, the local council or the land manager early, and ask your funeral director what's practical, particularly if the coffin will be present.

A popular option is a short private cremation or burial, followed later by a larger gathering somewhere meaningful. That takes the time pressure off and lets you choose the venue freely.

What Is the Running Order of a Non-Religious Funeral?

A non-religious service usually follows the same broad shape as any funeral: a welcome, readings, a eulogy and tributes, a reflection, a farewell, and closing words. Without a fixed liturgy, you can change the order or leave parts out.

A typical non-religious running order might be:

Music as guests arrive
Welcome from the celebrant
A reading or poem
The eulogy
Tributes from family and friends
A reflection: a song, a slideshow or a moment of silence
A personal ritual (ideas below)
The farewell or committal
Thanks and an invitation to the wake
Closing music.

Our funeral order of service template has a fuller running order and a free template you can print and fill in.

Ideas for Readings and Words

Without hymns or Bible readings, families often choose poems, prose or the person's own words. A few ideas:

Poems about nature, the sea, memory or a life well lived. Christina Rossetti's "Remember" and Robert Louis Stevenson's "Requiem" are both popular at non-religious services. Our page of funeral readings and poems has the full text of these and others that are free to print.
The person's own writing, such as a letter, a card, a diary entry or even a favourite text message.
Song lyrics read aloud as a poem.
A passage from a favourite book, read by someone who shared it with them.
Ecclesiastes 3 ("To every thing there is a season"), which many families use at non-religious services too, since it speaks to the shape of a whole life.

The eulogy usually carries more of the service than at a religious funeral, because it's the main way the person's story is told. Our guide on how to write a eulogy has a simple structure and a free template.

Ideas for Music

Music often sets the tone more than anything else. Families usually choose:

songs the person loved, even if they're not traditionally "funeral" songs
a song that brings back a particular memory, like a wedding song or a road trip favourite
live music played by a friend or family member
instrumental music for quieter moments, such as the reflection or the farewell.

It's completely fine to finish with something upbeat. Many families say the moment everyone laughed or sang along was the moment the service felt most like the person.

Ideas for Personal Rituals

Rituals give everyone a way to take part, not only the speakers. Some ideas families use:

Lighting candles. Family members each light a candle for a part of the person's life, or guests light small candles as they arrive.
Placing flowers or objects. Guests place a flower, a sprig of rosemary from the garden, or a small object on the coffin or a memory table.
A memory table. Photos, their hat, a favourite book, their footy scarf or their tools, set out where people can gather.
Writing messages. Guests write a memory or message on a card, to be read later or placed with the coffin.
A shared toast. At the wake, or at the end of the service if the venue allows, everyone raises a glass of the person's favourite drink.
A minute's silence or a moment to reflect, which also gives religious guests space to pray privately.
A guard of honour. Members of a club, team or workplace line the path as the coffin leaves.
Something to take home. Seed packets, a recipe card, a small stone or a photo.

Our guide to memorial ideas beyond flowers has more ideas for things to make, keep and do, at the funeral and in the years after.

How Do You Include Religious Family Members?

Can you still include a prayer at a non-religious funeral? Yes. Many families include a quiet moment where people can pray privately or reflect in their own way. It lets religious relatives take part without making the whole service religious.

If some of the family are religious and the person wasn't, a little thought goes a long way. You might invite a relative to read a passage that matters to them, include a hymn the person grew up with, or simply let the celebrant say that everyone is welcome to remember in their own way. A celebrant who has handled mixed families before will have suggestions.

What If You Don't Want a Service at All?

Can you have a funeral without a funeral service? Yes. Some families choose a private cremation or burial with no service at all, and hold a memorial or gathering later. Others hold a simple farewell at the graveside or at home.

A later gathering can be anything that suits the person: a picnic in their favourite park, a morning tea at their bowls club, a walk along their favourite track, or a barbecue in the backyard. There's no right timing, and some families wait until relatives can travel or until the first rush of grief has settled.

A Few Practical Tips

Talk to your funeral director early about the venue, timing and anything unusual you're planning.
Give the celebrant plenty of stories, not only dates. They'll do a better job with real detail.
Keep it to time, especially at a chapel with another service booked afterwards.
Have a wet-weather plan for anything outdoors.
Ask someone to look after the practical jobs on the day (music, the memory table, the guest book) so the family can be present.

Looking After Yourself

Planning a service with no set template means more decisions, and that can feel heavy on top of everything else. Keep it as simple as you need to, and let the celebrant and funeral director carry as much as they can. If you or someone close to you is struggling, our page on grief support in Australia lists free services you can call.

For the rest of the arrangements, our step-by-step guide to planning a funeral in Australia walks through everything from the first hours to the paperwork afterwards.

Frequently Asked Questions

About the author

Chris K writes Mixtape Memories' guides on the creative side of a memorial video, covering music, storytelling and what actually belongs in a video that feels like them. The goal is to help families make confident creative choices without turning the process into a production.

Reviewed by Anne G.