Burial and Cremation Act 2022

(1) A burial notification for a deceased person must be accompanied by:

(i) a notice under section 34(1) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996;

(ii) a certificate under section 12(3) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996;

(iii) a certificate issued by the coroner or the coroner's clerk under section 17(1) of the Coroners Act 1993;

(iv) a certificate issued by the Registrar under section 44(1)(a) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 certifying the registration of the death of the deceased person; and

(b) a statement from the person providing the burial notification that the person contacted, or made reasonable attempts to contact, the decision maker for the deceased person and there are no known objections to the burial of the human remains of the deceased person.

Note for subsection (1)

Sections 185 and 186 include other provisions relevant to a notification.

(2) If the document specified in subsection (1)(a)(i) or (ii) cannot be provided with the burial notification for a deceased person, the person providing the burial notification to the Agency must provide the name of the provider where the medical practitioner completed the document under section 12(3) or 34(1) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 in relation to the deceased person.

(3) Subject to subsection (6), for the burial of human remains of a deceased person in a burial ground, the burial notification must also be accompanied by confirmation of consent for the burial:

(b) from each interest holder of the area on which the burial ground is located.

(4) Subject to subsection (6), for the burial of human remains of a deceased person in an undeclared area, the burial notification must also be accompanied by:

(a) confirmation of consent for the burial from each interest holder; and

(b) confirmation that the burial complies with any restrictions prescribed by regulation under section 37.

(5) Subject to subsection (6), for the burial of human remains of a deceased person in a suspended cemetery, the burial notification must also be accompanied by confirmation of consent for the burial from each interest holder.

(6) Consent for the burial of human remains of a deceased person is not required from an interest holder or the representative for a burial ground in the following circumstances:

(a) the burial relates to the exercise of rights and interests mentioned in section 5;

(b) for land that is subject to native title – the burial is not inconsistent with the rights and interests of any other interest holder that prevail over native title rights and interests in accordance with the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).

(a) an interest holder of that land who is not the native title holder must not unreasonably withhold consent for a person to undertake a burial on that land; and

(b) a dispute about the withholding of consent may be decided by NTCAT on application by the person wishing to undertake the burial.

(8) For a multiple burial, the burial notification must be accompanied by confirmation of consent for the burial from the decision maker for each deceased person buried at the burial site.