Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003

Subject to subsections (2) and (3), if a cemetery trust has given notification under section 85 and no action has been taken by the holder of the right of interment within the time limits specified by the cemetery trust, the cemetery trust may—

remove the interred cremated human remains from their current place of interment; and

dispose of those cremated human remains within the cemetery grounds; and

remove any memorial relating to those cremated human remains.

Subject to subsection (3), if a cemetery trust has given notification under section 85 and no action has been taken by the holder of the right of interment within the time limits specified by the cemetery trust, the cemetery trust may—

leave those interred cremated human remains undisturbed; or

convert the right of interment to a perpetual right of interment.

If a cemetery trust has given notification under section 85 and no action has been taken by the holder of the right of interment within the time limits specified by the cemetery trust and the interred cremated remains are those of a deceased identified veteran, the cemetery trust may—

leave those interred cremated human remains undisturbed in perpetuity and convert the right of interment to a perpetual right of interment; or

remove those interred cremated human remains from their current place of interment and re-inter them at another location within the cemetery grounds and—

remove any memorial at the current place of interment; and

re-establish the memorial at the location of the re-interment or establish a new equivalent memorial at that location.

Subject to subsection (5), if a cemetery trust removes cremated human remains of a deceased identified veteran from a place of interment and re-inters those cremated human remains under subsection (3)(b), the cemetery trust may—

remove from their current place of interment—

any cremated human remains that were interred in the same place of interment as the cremated human remains of the deceased identified veteran; or

any cremated human remains of a family member of the deceased identified veteran that were interred in a place of interment in the vicinity of the place of interment of the cremated human remains of the deceased identified veteran; and

re-inter those cremated human remains—

at the location where the cremated human remains of the deceased identified veteran are re-interred; or

at another location within the cemetery grounds that is in the vicinity of the location where the cremated human remains of the deceased identified veteran are re‑interred in a manner that is similar to that in which they were originally interred; and

remove any memorial at the current place of interment of the cremated human remains of the family member; and

re-establish the memorial at the location of the re-interment or establish a new equivalent memorial at that location.

A cemetery trust must not take any action under subsection (4) unless, in relation to any right of interment that relates to the current place of interment of cremated human remains referred to in subsection (4)(a)—

the cemetery trust has given—

notification under section 85, in the case of a 25 year limited right of interment; or

written notification to each holder of the right of interment affected and sought the consent of each holder to the removal of the remains, in the case of a perpetual right of interment; and

no action has been taken by the holder of the right of interment within the time limits specified by the cemetery trust.

If a cemetery trust re-inters cremated human remains under subsection (3) or (4), the right of interment that applies to the new place of interment is a perpetual right of interment.