Burial and Cremation Act 1964

Establishment, maintenance, and regulation of cemeteries

12: Sections may be marked off and consecrated

You could also call this:

"Some cemetery areas can be set aside for specific religious groups"

Illustration for Burial and Cremation Act 1964

You can mark off parts of a cemetery for different religious groups. The local authority will put up signs to show which part is for which group. You can build a special church or chapel in the cemetery for your group's burial rites. You can also make a part of the cemetery special for your religious group. The local authority will let you do this according to your group's customs. This special part will only be used for burials that follow your group's customs. If you want to build a church or chapel, you can ask the local authority for permission. They might say yes if you want to build it in the part of the cemetery set aside for your group. You will have to pay for building the church or chapel yourself.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM355455.

This page was last updated on 12 December 2025 — View changes

11: Portions for different denominations, or

"Setting aside cemetery areas for different religious groups"

13: Rights of minister of religion, etc, or

"Ministers of religion have rights in cemeteries to perform duties and make decisions."

Part 1Establishment, maintenance, and regulation of cemeteries

12Sections may be marked off and consecrated

The local authority shall define by suitable marks, not being a dividing fence, any portion of the cemetery set apart under section 11, and any such portion may, at the expense of the particular religious denomination, be enclosed with any suitable open fence of a character that will not mar the general appearance of the cemetery.
The local authority shall permit the portion so set apart to be consecrated according to the rites of the religious denomination, and the portion so consecrated shall be used only for burials according to the rites of that denomination.
Where the members of any religious denomination desire at their own expense to build in a cemetery a suitable mortuary church or chapel for the performance of the rites and ceremonies in the burial of the dead according to the usages of that denomination, the local authority may permit the same to be built within such portion of the cemetery as is set apart for that denomination.

Compare

1908 No 19 ss 33, 34, 35