More than 100 organisations have written to the federal government requesting compensation for Indigenous families affected by the collapse of funeral insurance provider Youpla Group.
The insurance provider was formerly known as ACBF and went into liquidation earlier this year, leaving thousands of customers out of pocket and without a funeral plan.
Bodies are being held in local morgues as families scramble to pull money together to pay for funerals and burials, prompting the open letter asking for government assistance.
Veronica Johnson is a financial counsellor at Broome CIRCLE and has been assisting former ACBF clients for the past two years.
"We are waiting to see whether the new administration can make it a priority to get these people buried.
"It's just the most disastrous outcome that you could possibly wish upon any families."
Daphne Naden is a Kuku Yalanji elder and director at the Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network, one of the 125 organisations that have written the open letter.
Ms Naden signed her and her four children onto an ACBF policy back in the 1990s.
"It all seemed above board," she said.
"I just thought straightaway, 'It's so good to have an Aboriginal organisation funeral fund for our mob out in the community.'"
She pulled out of the funeral fund after hearing warnings from others.
Now, as part of the open letter, she is asking the country's leaders to listen.
"When a complaint goes into one of these organisations, they need to listen," Ms Naden said.
"[For years] the government was aware, so we need to safeguard the people against scrupulous type of organisations."
Ms Naden is calling for a new funeral fund for Aboriginal people but with safeguards to make sure history does not repeat itself.
Broome CIRCLE's Ms Johnson hopes the government can settle the matter before the election.
"We're going to be campaigning until something comes through," she said.
"We don't know who's going to be elected, but we've had too many broken promises. We want action."
