Draft Cemeteries Bylaw

Tararua District Council seeks your views on its draft Cemeteries Bylaw 2024.

The current Cemeteries Bylaw was adopted in 2018 and is now due for review.

The main changes proposed by the Council include:

• Additional terms are added into the interpretation section, noting that these terms currently sit in the Administrative Bylaw, which is likely to be repealed in the future.
• Adding (at clause 5) the ability for Council to set aside specific areas within cemeteries for specific uses (including for example, services sections, lawn cemeteries etc).
• Adding (at clause 14) the ability to set aside areas within cemeteries for specific burial types, such as natural burials (noting that the response from consultation may determine if this provision is desired or warranted).
• Adding the ability for Council to set aside specific areas within cemeteries for Grave Decorations (clause 12), as is becoming more common in other parts of New Zealand.
• Using the terms “inter” or “interment” instead of “burial,” as “inter” is the more commonly used industry practice. For the purpose of the draft bylaw, a “burial” is a type of interment, so interment is a broader, more inclusive term.
• Further detail and explanation around the sale of plots.
• Further detail around the installation and maintenance of monuments and grave structures (including who is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of such structures and the costs of that).
• Further details around burial warrants, including when they must be applied for; that a request to fill in the grave by the family can be made; and that requests for a plot for two body interments can be made.
• Clarifying where (in cemeteries) scattering of ashes is permitted.
• Further detail on disinterment, including the requirement for a disinterment warrant.
• Adding exclusive rights of burial, which mirror the provisions of the Burial and Cremations Act 1964, with the aim being for burial regulations to be more easily accessible and understood.