Cremation, burial and the cemetery’s own fees

What the choice changes on a quote

In NSW the choice is burial or cremation, and Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW says there is no right or wrong one: values, priorities and money all play a part. It adds that the law requires a burial or a cremation, but no law requires a ceremony before or after it.

Several lines on a director’s quote depend on the choice, and the NSW regulator’s answers to common questions help in reading them.

• Embalming. In NSW it is legally required only for burial in an above-ground mausoleum or crypt, or for transport overseas or interstate. A family may still choose it, for example for a viewing or a long delay before the funeral. So unless one of those applies, embalming on a NSW quote is a choice, and you can ask whether you want it.
• The coffin. In NSW a coffin or casket is required for burial or cremation, though you can apply for an exemption. You may buy a coffin or shroud directly from a supplier, or make one, after checking its specifications with the director or crematorium.
• Watching a cremation. Some crematoriums let families watch the coffin enter the cremator, called a witness insertion, and may charge an extra fee because more staff are needed.
• The day of the week. In Perth, the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board says Saturday funerals can be arranged at an additional cost, and services are generally not offered on Sundays.

Who sets the cemetery’s fees

A director’s quote carries the cemetery’s or crematorium’s fee as a disbursement, usually as an estimate. Queensland, for example, requires a director to give a reasonable estimate of the fees a cemetery or crematorium charges for a burial or cremation it arranges. Here is who sets the real figure behind that estimate.

New South Wales

There are no standard fees for burial, cremation or placing ashes in NSW. Costs are set by the operators and vary significantly across the state, depending on things such as where the cemetery is, the kind of interment chosen and the memorial. Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW suggests comparing quotes from a few cemeteries or crematoria where possible, and making sure you get an itemised quote and understand each item before entering a contract.

Every cemetery and crematorium operator in NSW is licensed under the Interment Industry Scheme, and the licence conditions include pricing transparency, so that customers know what they are buying and can easily compare prices. Version 2.6 of the General Licence Conditions was published in February 2026; its pricing transparency conditions take effect on 1 July 2027, so check the regulator’s page for the version in force when you read this.

Victoria

Public cemeteries in Victoria are run by cemetery trusts, which set their own fees but must have them approved by the Department of Health. A trust cannot charge a fee that has not been approved and published in the Victoria Government Gazette, and it must charge its approved fees, waiving or reducing them only for extreme hardship or other special circumstances. The department’s cemetery search finds the fees and locations of cemetery trusts by postcode or suburb. Approved fees of $50 or more are adjusted each year in line with the CPI, from 1 July. The department’s Secretary can exempt some fees from approval where there is no public benefit in approving them.

That gives Victorian families a published figure to hold a director’s estimate against. Consumer Affairs Victoria allows a provider to show this kind of fee as a link to the supplier’s price list, the price of the most used service, a range or a reasonable estimate, so the director’s figure and the trust’s schedule may not look alike at first.

Queensland

Brisbane gives one example. Brisbane City Council manages 12 cemeteries and crematoria, and its funeral planning page publishes its prices for burial rights, for opening a grave and for cremation. Elsewhere in Queensland, the council or operator that runs the cemetery is the place to ask.

Western Australia

In Perth, the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board describes the director’s part as running “up to the gates”, with the chapel, interment, condolence lounge and catering arranged through the cemetery. The Board says a complimentary chapel time allocation is included with all cremations, and many families buy more. It also suggests asking directors which cemetery fees may already be included, because some prepaid packages include time in its chapels, so you may not want to pay for time in a director’s chapel as well.

Matching the director’s figure to the cemetery’s

A simplified picture drawn from the NSW, Victorian, Queensland and Perth pages on this page. What sits on each side varies with the place and the choice.

Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW says this is a stressful time, and families are sometimes left unclear about which fees are already paid and which are still owing. If you are unsure, it says to ask the funeral director or the cemetery or crematorium operator. Three habits help with that.

• Ask each director which cemetery or crematorium its estimate is for. Two quotes for different places are not comparing the same fee.
• Where the cemetery publishes its fees, as Victoria’s trusts and Brisbane City Council do, look up the fee for what you have chosen.
• Ask whether anything is already paid. In NSW, a grave site bought in advance may not include the memorial, and generally does not include costs such as the funeral, flowers, the coffin or digging the grave.

Ashes kept or scattered

In NSW there is no legal requirement for ashes to be placed in a cemetery. An interment right is needed to place remains or ashes in a cemetery or crematorium, but not to scatter ashes. Many crematorium operators also offer a ‘no service, no attendance’ cremation, which Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW says can reduce the cost.

Among a family’s rights with cemetery and crematorium operators, Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW lists this one: “All costs must be clearly explained, including fees for burial, cremation or ash interment.” What a funeral director does sets out where one business ends and the other begins, and complaints about a funeral director covers complaints about a cemetery too.