Burial and Cremation Act 1964

Trustees

24: Governor-General may delegate powers

You could also call this:

"The Governor-General can share some of their decision-making powers with local councils for certain cemeteries."

Illustration for Burial and Cremation Act 1964

The Governor-General can give some of their powers to a local authority for a specific cemetery. You can think of the Governor-General like a person who is in charge of making big decisions. They can take these powers back at any time. When the Governor-General gives powers to a local authority, it is like making a new rule, which is called secondary legislation, and you can learn more about this in Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019. The local authority must tell the public when they appoint new trustees for a cemetery. They do not need to put this information in the Gazette, which is like a special newspaper for official announcements. If a local authority appoints or removes trustees, it is like the Governor-General made the decision. Some rules that apply to trustees appointed by the Governor-General also apply to trustees appointed by a local authority, like the rules in section 22. People who were already in charge of a cemetery when this law started are now considered trustees, like they were appointed under this law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM355481.

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

Topics:

Government and voting > Local councilsHousing and property > Land use

23: Appointment and removal of trustees, or

"Who can be in charge of a cemetery and how they are appointed or removed"

25: Functions of trustees, or

"What trustees can and must do to manage a cemetery"

Part 3Trustees

24Governor-General may delegate powers

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, delegate to a local authority, in respect of any particular cemetery or cemeteries, all or any of the powers conferred on him by subsections (1) and (2) of section 23, and may at any time revoke any such delegation.
An order under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).
Every appointment of trustees by a local authority pursuant to a delegation under subsection (1) shall be publicly notified in the district wherein the cemetery is situated, and it shall not be necessary to notify any such appointment in the Gazette.
Every appointment or removal of trustees by a local authority pursuant to a delegation under subsection (1) shall take effect as if such appointment or removal had been made or effected by the Governor-General.
Subsection (3) of section 22 shall apply in the case of a cemetery of which the trustees have been appointed by a local authority as it does in the case of a cemetery of which the trustees have been appointed by the Governor-General.
Any persons who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, had the control and management of a cemetery by virtue of the lawful delegation to them of the powers of a local authority in respect of that cemetery, shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be trustees of the cemetery appointed pursuant to the provisions of this section.

Compare

1908 No 19 ss 5, 7, 8
1922 No 36 s 5

Notes

Section 24(1A): inserted, on 28 October 2021, by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).