When Annabelle Peacock tells people what she does for a living it’s either a conversation starter or a conversation stopper.

Ms Peacock is a death doula.

Just as a birth doula helps women through pregnancy and childbirth, there are a small but increasing number of doulas in Australia helping the dying and bereaved navigate the process of death.

“My goal is to support people in not being afraid of death, those who are dying and also their loved ones,” the Bondi-based doula, who also works as a wedding and funeral celebrant, told nine.com.au.

“A lot of people haven’t seen a dead body before. There has been a medicalisation of death. Everyone is so focused on staying young and fear has crept in.

“It’s moved to a phobia, instead of people realising that if we are comfortable with death then we can actually live better.”

When Ellie Styles's father died, her family brought him home for a vigil. (Supplied)

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PERSON DIES

Contrary to what most people might think, there are very few laws and regulations on what people must do when a loved one dies, Ms Peacock said.

For a sudden or unexpected death, the police and an ambulance need to be called, but in most cases there is no need to rush to the phone.

“Most people are in shock and think, ‘Oh, I have to let someone know,’ but just spend the time,” Ms Peacock advised.

“Just slow down and catch your breath. You are never going to have this moment back with that person. They have already died, so you don’t need to quickly call the police. ”

A doctor will need to sign a Certificate of Cause of Death form, but this doesn’t need to happen straight away.

Annabelle Peacock is a death doula who helps families navigate the process of dying. (Supplied)

YOU CAN BRING THEIR BODY HOME

“Legally you are allowed to have someone at home for five days in NSW after death,” Ms Peacock said.

Even if a loved one dies in a hospital, you can bring their body back home.

While many people find the idea of having a dead body in the house shocking, even that of a loved one, this hasn’t always been the case, Ms Peacock said.

“It used to be that the families did everything and the only other people that were involved were the carpenters who would make the coffins,” she said.

“That’s the way it always was, that we would have our dead at home.”

One of the more unusual services Ms Peacock provides for families who are open to the idea is a home vigil. Here she brings a “cooling plate” - a refrigerated stainless steel table – to the family home.

The cooling plate allows the dead to stay at home for days so the family can say an extended goodbye.

There is a growing trend for people to hold funeral services in public places such as beaches and headlands. (Photo: Picaluna) (Supplied)

A HOME VIGIL

Sydney woman Ellie Styles tells nine.com.au that when her father Charles died she was shocked when it was suggested she could bring his body back home before the funeral.

“My initial reaction was don’t be crazy. I just laughed it off and said no, we will go down the traditional route,” she said.

But when she broached the idea with her mother, she immediately said she would like to do it.

“My dad was in a nursing home for two years and the whole time that he was there he always wanted to come home,” Ms Styles said.

“My mum used to bring him home on a daily basis but a few weeks before he passed away it was impossible for us to bring him home.

“So it always played on my mum’s mind that she didn’t give dad his wish to bring him home.”

People are tending opt for less burials these days, with around 70 percent of Australians being cremated. (Supplied)

Ms Styles had engaged Picaluna to help with the funeral, a relatively new player in the industry which offers alternative, more personalised services with the help of a celebrant.

A cooling table was organised and Ms Styles’ father spent four days at home.

“It was the most beautiful, spiritual experience I have ever had,” Ms Styles said.

“I had never seen a dead body before. My dad died of a stroke, not cancer or anything like that, so his body was still beautiful and plump like I had known him.

“He still looked like my dad and I got used to him.

“He loved music, so my sister and I would go play music in his room, or would go and have a chat to him.

“Now, looking back, I’m so happy that I didn’t have my dad sitting in a morgue until the funeral.”

But the idea wasn’t for everyone, as Ms Styles and her family soon found out.

“The thing that my mum laughed about was that no one wanted to come to the house. Everyone was a bit scared by it,” she said.

New companies like Picaluna are offering more personalised funeral services and coffins. (Supplied)

When the time came to say goodbye, Ms Styles said she felt ready to let go of her dad.

“By the time we got to the church I felt like I had just had this amazing grieving process prior to it,” she said.

“It was such a lovely closure having my father around.”

THE FUNERAL – ‘THERE ARE NO RULES’

While most people still go down the traditional route of calling in a funeral director to organise a funeral, this doesn’t have to be the case.

At Picaluna, which has been dubbed the “Uber” of funerals, people are able pick and choose which parts they would like a celebrant to organise and what to do themselves, allowing for a lot of money to be saved.

“The industry is completely unregulated. There are no rules,” Picaluna co-founder Greg Inglis said.

“If you wanted to, you could organise a funeral almost all by yourself.

“You do not need a funeral director and you do not need a licence, you don’t need a permit or anything like that.

“You could build your own coffin, or get a next-door neighbour to build you a coffin, you could transport your loved one in the backseat of your car.

“Book them into the crematorium, fill out the paperwork and be done.”

While this scenario would be very rare, Mr Inglis said people were gradually becoming aware of the different choices they had when planning a funeral, particularly when it came to locations.

“We hold funerals at beaches, on headlands, at surf lifesaving clubs, and at homes,” he said.

“Recently we had a funeral for a 32-year-old and it was in his favourite bar.

“Because he was a foodie, instead of having flowers on the coffin it was all fruit and vegetables.”

Other trends include using cardboard coffins which can be decorated with personal drawings before the funeral, and “ash kits” where a person’s ashes could be turned into fertile matter.