Youpla victims asking ‘when they should die’ to be eligible for funeral relief, advocates say

From left, Mark Holden, Bettina Cooper, Linda Burney and Stephen Jones. Advocates are urging the government to help Youpla fund victims. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Terminally ill Aboriginal people are asking “when they should die” in order to be eligible for emergency relief set up after the financial collapse of a predatory funeral scheme left thousands of vulnerable Indigenous families without the means to pay for a funeral.

First Nations advocates and victims are urging the federal government to give “certainty” to the more than 13,000 Aboriginal policyholders of the defunct ACBF-Youpla funeral fund as soon as possible.