ABOUT US

There are several cryonics facilities overseas, but these are geographically remote from Australia: in USA, Russia, China and Switzerland. Southern Cryonics fills the need for a cryonics facility in our local region:

• In Australia, our remoteness from overseas facilities complicates the transportation process, with long flights and multiple opportunities for administrative delays.
• Because delays can compromise the controlled temperature conditions that are required after perfusion with cryoprotectants, an overseas suspension is more risky than a local suspension.
• A different legal system and an inconsistent application of laws, especially to foreigners, can cause further uncertainties.
• Payments, either by life insurance policy or lump sum, are subject to exchange rate risks. And high transportation charges add to the total cost.

Cryonics Association of Australasia

Cryonics Services Australia – FAQ

CryoPath

Founding Member. If someone joined before 31 March 2020, they made a non-refundable commitment of $50,000 to Southern Cryonics. The offer of Founding Membership was for initial investment in the project and is no longer available.

Full Member. If someone joined between 31 March 2020 and 6 July 2021, they made a non-refundable commitment of $70,000. The offer of Full Membership was for initial investment in the project and is no longer available.

The Constitution describes the entitlements for Founding and Full Members, i.e. very briefly that they will be entitled to one free suspension for themself OR anyone of their choosing, at the facility, after the operational commencement date (1 March 2024). (Note that suspension does not include preparatory SST procedures.) Founding and Full Members have voting rights.

Subscriber. Now that Southern Cryonics is operational, membership is open to clients. Becoming a Subscriber requires the full suspension fee (usually funded through life insurance) plus a yearly subscription fee. A Subscriber does not have voting rights like Members.

Associate Member. A Subscriber becomes an Associate Member automatically (subject to Board approval) after 5 continuous years as a Subscriber after the Facility Commencement Date (see the Constitution). An Associate Member has voting rights.

You must be a Subscriber or Associate Member to have a Suspension Agreement, which describes your entitlements.

When you are on our books as a Subscriber:

• The cost of your suspension is significantly lower than for a non-Subscriber.
• All your relevant documentation can be signed and filed in readiness, enabling us to react quickly if you need a suspension. Otherwise, a waiting period applies while we obtain signatures on all the agreements, consents, etc.
• You have access to cryonics-specific policies with major Australian life insurance providers.
• And if you are not insurable, you have access to our advice on other suitable methods of finance.
• You have ready access to CryoPath, whom we can engage on your behalf for Standby, Stabilisation and Transportation. This makes your suspension as timely and effective as possible.
• You can help steer the direction of Southern Cryonics as an Associate Member after 5 years as a Subscriber.
• You are on our mailing list and receive updates of our activities.

Yes, especially if it is deteriorating. As a Subscriber or Associate Member, if your Cryonic Suspension Agreement expresses your wish for us to liaise with an SST provider on your behalf, health updates allow us to prearrange the necessary logistics with local funeral directors and other relevant parties, reducing the chances of any unexpected complications in the suspension process.

As a Member or Subscriber with fully signed documentation and funding, we encourage you to give our Emergency Number to your representative and ask them to notify us when you are within three days of expected legal death. (The number must only be used for such emergencies and is not intended for routine enquiries.) Our clients are provided with a keyring tag (53 mm long) showing the number. Some clients have a personalised bracelet or pendant made at their own expense.

Note that your deceased body must be delivered to the Southern Cryonics facility. So on receiving an emergency call, we will first need to liaise with your SST provider. Both Members and Subscribers should advise us of their SST provider well before suspension. See The Cryonic Process.

A life insurance policy can cover both the Southern Cryonics suspension fee and your pre-suspension needs (SST). The amount of cover can be set depending on your SST requirements.

Our insurance broker deals with major Australian life insurance organisations and has experience sourcing suitable policies for cryonics. We can put you in touch after you become a Subscriber.

Yes, if it meets the conditions necessary to ensure payment to us at the time of your suspension:

• The policy must be for yourself.
• The beneficiary must be named as Stasis Systems Australia Ltd (ACN 158 203 448),
• The amount for this beneficiary must cover the fees defined in your Cryonic Suspension Agreement.
• The policy should be indexed to cover increases in SST costs over time.

You will need to provide documentary evidence of the policy.

Our insurance broker is unable to source a life insurance policy for a NZ resident. However, you may be able to find a provider. If not, some of our NZ clients consider relocating to Australia to solve the problem of life insurance.

Being based in Australia can also simplify the logistics of our SST provider (CryoPath) reaching you in time to stabilize your body for an optimal cryonic suspension in the event of your sudden death.

If you wish to consider any of the following alternative payment options, contact Southern Cryonics:

• Pre-payment. This may be done via lump sum or installments, either by yourself or your trusted representative at any time prior to your suspension. We can advise on options to accomplish this efficiently. Note that sufficient time before your death is needed to engage any pre-arranged SST services, usually a few days.

• Your Will. At our discretion, we may offer a Premium Subscribership to certain clients who can demonstrate the availability of unencumbered assets and the capacity to make payment through their Will within an acceptable timeframe. Note that there are many complications with Wills, and you would not be able to mitigate these after your death. Your suspension could be seriously jeopardised. We would need to assess your situation to determine the likelihood of a good outcome.

Yes. This is done by submitting a new Cryonic Suspension Agreement. You would need to notify us of your intended change, and we can then send you a new Agreement for electronic signing. Such a change in funding method might be that because life insurance premiums are getting too expensive as you age, you might wish to reduce your insured sum and use a combination of life insurance and pre-payment. Or you might have the funds for full pre-payment in your later years.

In either of the following cases, full payment is required for your SST and cryonic suspension to proceed. Ideally, your representative would make the payment within three days before your expected passing.

You would need to ensure that: additional funds are deposited in the account as you age, up to the required amount; the account earns interest at a reasonable rate so as to cover SST cost pressures in future years; the account’s payee list includes Southern Cryonics, with our payment details; the bank’s daily transfer limit is accommodated when payment is made; and your trusted representative knows what to do.

• Joint account. If you have a joint account with your spouse, they can make the payment if you should become terminally ill.

• Third-party access. Some clients set up a separate bank account dedicated solely for the funding of their cryonic suspension and/or SST. This account would be in your own name and would have third-party access for your trusted family member or other representative. Third-party access can be easily revoked, which can be more convenient for some clients than a joint account. This gives you control of the funds while you are still relatively young, and also caters for the event of your unexpected incapacity. If necessary, your representative can make the payment.

SST procedures involve preparation and delivery of your body prior to arrival at the Southern Cryonics facility. Because these procedures are outsourced and are provided on a pay-as-you-go basis at the time of your actual suspension, they are currently unknown and can only be estimated. So they must be funded separately from the Cryonic Suspension Fee as an additional cost. Our volunteers are unable to cover these costs for you at the time of your suspension if you do not fund them beforehand.

However, when SST procedures are provided to Subscribers / Associate Members by an organization with whom we have an established relationship (e.g. CryoPath), we are able to accept life insurance and some other payment methods on behalf of the provider to cover their cost. SST costs will vary depending on your location and we can assist you with an estimate. The unused balance will be returned to your estate or nominated representative.

Note that the entitlements of Founding Members and Full Members do not include SST services, so these must be funded at some time prior to suspension. We can advise on options to accomplish this efficiently.

There are two possibilities for a Southern Cryonics client who needs a suspension while living or travelling outside of Australia.

If your SST funding (e.g. life insurance) is sufficient to cover the cost of engaging an international provider of SST services, the current possibility would be to have your SST performed overseas, and then be brought back to Australia for suspension here. This would depend on the availability of SST services in the overseas location. In USA and Europe, it is quite straightforward. In both those locations, there is excellent SST capability. In other countries, arrangements could be made, but the services would most likely not be as rapid as what could be done in USA and Europe.

Note that the same issue would apply, no matter which cryonics organisation you had a suspension agreement with. 

A second possibility may become available in the future, namely that many countries with cryonics operations will have reciprocal relationships with us in Australia. As well as ourselves, other cryonics organisations have expressed interest in implementing this type of reciprocal arrangement for their travelling members.

Generally, yes. Our funds are invested prudently to provide a modest return above inflation over the long term, intended to consistently maintain a current funding level that will cover both storage care and revival.

However, we have no way of knowing what the revival component of the fee will be when a procedure becomes available, and therefore we cannot know whether we would have funds available to cover it for all Members. We assume that, like all fees for medical procedures, it will tend to reduce over time. So, if an initial fee for a safe revival is too high, we would need to wait until the fee was lower or an alternative affordable procedure became available. 

Some of our clients are using a separate long-term Trust to cover any additional fee (if applicable) above the funds that Southern Cryonics would have available at the time.  This could allow those clients to be revived earlier rather than waiting. We have a sister organization that provides different types of Trusts, ranging from pooled Trusts (the cheapest) to individual Trusts (the most expensive to setup).