Funeral directors have slammed the government over its lack of consultation and expressed shock at the move, which will raise premiums by more than 50 per cent.

Australian Funeral Directors Association spokesman Mark Osborne said the move would force the industry to pass on costs. ''It will affect bereaved families, there's no doubt about it,'' he said. ''There is simply no capacity to absorb the increases.

Opposition WorkCover spokesman Robin Scott said the Baillieu government's lack of consultation with the industry meant legitimate concerns had not been aired.

Workcover Minister Gordon Rich-Phillips said the classifications had changed last year and were modelled on recent Australian Bureau of Statistics classifications, which were the national standard and which group funeral directors and cemetery workers together.

He declined to say if it was fair to group the two sets of workers together when they faced different risks.

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