Humanist celebrant working with bereaved people - often in relation to particularly difficult or unexpected deaths, such as the death of a child in a road accident. Funeral directors are able to make arrangements with trained officiants in their local area. Humanist funerals have reportedly been held in recent years for Claire Rayner, Keith Floyd, Linda Smith, Ronnie Barker, and Lynsey de Paul, among others. The humanist funeral for former First Minister of Wales Rhodri Morgan in 2017 was the first national funeral in the United Kingdom to be led by a humanist celebrant, former AM Lorraine Barrett, as well as the
Celebrant (Australia) cent of Australian marriages were performed by civil celebrants. However, the rate of civil marriages varied between states and territories, with a civil marriage rate of 86.6% in the Northern Territory, 83.6% in Tasmania, 81.7% in Western Australia, 81.2% in Queensland, 77.8% in South Australia, 77.3% in Victoria, 76.6% in the Australian Capital Territory and 75% in New South Wales. Marriage by independent civil celebrant has spread in other English-speaking countries. Its early establishment in Australia was largely due to the support of the reforming Attorney-General Lionel Murphy in the 1970s. A civil marriage celebrant is a private person authorised