Canberra Death Talking Evening aims to remove stigma from dying

The pair don't want to die - but they're happy to talk about what should happen when they do.

"I find death as exciting as birth," Ms Barnes, an "end-of-life doula", said.

"It's the next big thing. Birth's the first big thing, death's the next big thing, and there's all this wonderful circus in the middle."

Ms Barnes will later this month host an event aimed at helping Canberrans talk about death.

Attendees will be invited to chat about their own death and ask questions of Ms Barnes, Ms Haas and a Dying with Dignity representative.

Ms Haas will also discuss her work as a mortician and funeral planner for Toscan Dinn Funerals - a job she sought for years.

Marking her third anniversary in the funeral business last week, she said Canberrans tended to lean towards cremation and simple send-offs. She noted she had overseen several "lovely" natural burials.

"A lot of people go for no service, no attendants, where there's just a cremation that takes place and nobody goes," Ms Haas said.

"They might have a memorial service somewhere down the line.

"I've had a lot of people take ashes up the coast or take them overseas or whatever. I've had funerals at pubs, all sorts of things."

Ms Barnes, who described her job as liaising between a dying person, their family and medical professionals, said she had long held a fascination with death.

She said she hoped the Death Talking Evening helped remove the stigma of dying.

"Evenings like this I'm hoping will help lift the veil and think about death," she said.

"I really think people think if they're talking about it, reading about it, thinking about it, it could happen to them.

"You know what? It's going to happen to them anyway."

People interested in attending the Death Talking Evening on October 31 can contact Ms Barnes on 0403 689 896.