Funeral celebrant standard. Many Funeral Directors in these states saw celebrants as a threat to their income and were openly hostile. Several firms declared every member of their staff a celebrant. Others employed an in-house celebrant who was required to perform 13 or 14 funeral ceremonies per week — compelling such employees to resort to one-size-fits-all impersonal ceremonies. A "celebrant funeral" in these contexts became the worst option available. As author and commentator Robert Larkins put it, speaking of one family’s experience- As church attendances declined, funeral directors in New South Wales pushed non-church people into organising "family ceremonies". A few families
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