The Tobin Brothers Funerals catering division ‘Diamond Celebrations’ launched on 1 July 2017. Diamond Celebrations operate as independent caterers for a wide range of events from corporate conferences to birthdays and weddings, they cater the vast majority of services held at Tobin Brothers Chapels and also offer home delivery of comfort foods across Melbourne Metropolitan.
Tobin Brothers held their first #SayItNow Initiative.
An initiative founded in 2016 and continuing each year since, #SayItNow is designed to inspire people to reach out to those they love and tell them how they really feel about them – before it’s too late.
Each year various ambassadors share their touching stories by expressing their appreciation for the impact a mentor, family member or friend has had on their life. Whether it’s a family member, an old friend, or someone who was influential in their lives, Tobin Brothers urges everyone to use #SayItNow to tell that special person about the impact they’ve had on their life and what that has meant to them.
Tobin Brothers Funerals Managing Director, James MacLeod says that “Too often, our people have witnessed the heartache suffered by families and friends who did not have an opportunity to acknowledge the impact a loved one has had on their life before they died.
“We felt compelled to develop #SayItNow as a way of reminding people not to wait until it’s too late to express your thoughts and feelings to the people around you. #SayItNow is a wonderful opportunity to encourage people to celebrate their important relationships by sending messages of gratitude to their loved ones.”
In line with the company’s commitment to transparency, Tobin Brothers Funerals launched the ‘A Day in the Life’ YouTube series in 2016.
“I felt very passionate about giving the community more information about what happens behind the scenes. After all, we are caring for our client families’ loved ones and I want them to know that our people are professionally trained, appropriately qualified and most importantly, caring.
We received remarkable feedback from the ‘A Day in the Life’ series which looked at the work of funeral planners, celebrants, funeral directors assistants, and our communications centre. To measure the success of this series, you need look no further than ‘A Day in the Life of an Embalmer’ which has now received in excess of 1.9 million views on Youtube.”
Jennifer Burge, an embalmer with Tobin Brothers Funerals for nearly twenty years says she is delighted there’s been such a positive response to the video for a number of reasons:
“I think it helped dispel some of the myths and misinformation about the embalming process and it was presented in a very dignified, discrete and non-sensational manner.”
The Tobin Brothers Funerals ‘Little White Chapel’ opened in South Morang on 19th July 2016.
Tobin Brothers Funerals Branch location opened in Diamond Creek on 28th September 2016. This historic facility, once an Abbey, offers families a choice of two exquisitely decorated chapels and a superb refreshments lounge.
Acutely aware of the need to meet client family demands for the latest digital media playback and connection, Tobin Brothers Funerals outfitted each of its chapel locations with identical state of the art audio visual technology.
This enabled the webcasting of Funeral services so that a funeral could be viewed and heard live from anywhere in the world – a forward-thinking initiative implemented well before the developments of 2020 where live streaming became a necessity.
The Tobin Brothers Funerals Sunshine chapel was renovated and reopened as the ‘Legacy of Life Chapel’ on 28th October 2015.
(On 15th January 2026, Tobin Brothers closed the Sunshine Branch location, concluding 30 years of operation at this site).
Tobin Brothers Funerals launches a new website, an update to its initial website in 2011, which is now arguably the most comprehensive website of any Funeral Director worldwide.
Maintaining his commitment to transparency, Managing Director James MacLeod says :
“One of my main priorities was to take the transparency of Tobin Brothers Funerals to new levels. For far too long I felt the funeral industry had hidden behind what I have termed ‘a veil of secrecy’ which created far too many myths and misinformation surrounding death.”
He adds “Whilst the website is a gateway to the information the community and in particular client families are looking for in their absolute time of need, it takes far more than a very good website to be a competent, caring and professional funeral provider.”
Tobin Brothers Funerals made waves on radio, formed valuable connections with radio personalities and told the stories of hundreds of Australians.
Singer and former Young Talent Timer Denis Walter, who was the Afternoon Program host on 3AW in 2014, became and still is an outstanding ambassador for Tobin Brothers Funerals.
Tobin Brothers Funerals also began sponsoring ‘The Family Counsellor’ hosted by Fr Gerard Dowling, and founded and sponsored various radio shows such as ‘Great Australian Lives’, ‘This is Your Sporting Life’, ‘This is Your Football Life’, ‘Sunday Celebrations’, ‘This is Your Racing Life’ and ‘This is Your Journey’ all of which tell the stories of various media personalities and Australians who have a significant story to tell which ties in with the company ethos of ‘Celebrating Lives’.
“Because some of the most glowing accolades are paid to people after they have died, we decided to tie our brand to these shows which celebrate the lives of eminent Australians, broadcast on mainstream commercial radio”
Interestingly, some of these interviews have in fact provided the interviewee with their last opportunity to share their life story and lessons with the world, further emphasising the message of telling our own story before it’s too late.
Tobin Brothers Funerals opened the Tobin Brothers Museum at North Melbourne on 9th October 2014.
Encouraged by Tobin Brothers Funerals Chairman, Michael Tobin, to be a ‘living museum’, The Tobin Brothers Museum is not only a fascinating history of the family-owned company of more than 90 years but also an evolving modern testament to the innovation and professionalism of the people who work at Tobin Brothers.
The museum will continue to evolve and grow as new events unfold and new developments and changes are made to the industry. It is closed to the public unless under special invitation or request.
Tobin Brothers Funerals Celebrated Moments Coffin range launched in March 2014.
Once again showing their leadership and innovation in the Funeral Industry, Tobin Brothers Funerals launches an exclusive range of completely custom printed, vinyl wrapped coffins.
These personalised Celebrated Moments Coffins first became available in sixteen different designs to truly celebrate and reflect the life of a loved one. They can also be personalised with completely custom images.
The first funeral conducted by Tobin Brothers Funerals was for Ena Margaret Price in 1934. In its first year, the company conducted 53 funerals and after the payment of creditors and the collection of debts, it made a modest profit.
