Published: April 18, 2006

Major Australian Newspapers Ban Obituary Website

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In an attempt to shore up their classified ad income, some of Australia's biggest and most influential daily newspapers have banned a new Australian website from the death and funeral notice section in their classifieds.

A spokesman for the new site, Obits Pty Ltd said today that Australian funeral directors who dare to mention the www.Obits.com.au site in their classified notice for a death or funeral are being told it is not acceptable and the ad will not be published.

Since the launch of Obits.com.au in January 2006 many Australian families have taken advantage of the service offered by the new website.

Rather than pay the major daily newspaper's classified rates, many families are opting for a basic classified advertisement and then placing a full page notice on Obits.com.au which is displayed for 28 days, instead of the one day classified. After 28 days, the online obituary is moved into a searchable archive where it is available indefinitely, a service not made available by the newspapers.

Some savvy funeral directors started including the words "see further details at www.obits.com.au" at the end of the classified death or funeral notice. Once the newspapers realised what was happening, some began to reject the notice unless reference to the website is removed.

The Obits spokesman says the legality of this practice by the newspapers is yet to be determined by the ACCC, Australia's consumer watch dog.