Burial and Cremation Act 1964

Burial grounds

31: Dedication of denominational burial grounds

You could also call this:

"Setting aside a burial ground for your religious group"

Illustration for Burial and Cremation Act 1964

You can set aside land as a burial ground for your religious group. You need to get approval from the Minister first. You must publish a public notice in the Gazette and a local newspaper. You can use this land only for burying members of your group. However, you can allow others to be buried there if you want to. The Minister considers the land's position and suitability when deciding. A crematorium can be built in the burial ground for certain people. You must follow the rules in Part 5. You can send a copy of the notice to the Registrar-General of Land. The Registrar-General of Land will register the notice without a fee. This registration stops any dealings with the land that are not allowed. If the land is only part of a record of title, it can be treated as a transfer for certain purposes, such as sections 74 and 224 of the Land Transfer Act 2017, which can be found at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6731223 and https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6731441.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM355491.

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

Topics:

Housing and property > Land useGovernment and voting > Government departments

30: Bylaws made by trustees, or

"Trustees Making Rules for Burial and Cremation"

32: Managers of denominational burial grounds, or

"Who is in charge of a denominational burial ground?"

Part 4Burial grounds

31Dedication of denominational burial grounds

If not less than 25 of the adult members of a religious denomination desire that any land, which is held in fee simple by any 1 or more of them or by a corporate body under the control of any 1 or more of them, should be set apart as a burial ground, to be used only for the burial of the members of that denomination, they may, with the prior written approval of the Minister, by public notice published at least once in the Gazette and at least once in each of 3 consecutive weeks in a newspaper circulating in the district in which the land is situated, declare the land to be dedicated and open as a denominational burial ground to be used as aforesaid, and thereafter, subject to subsection (3), the said land shall be used for such purpose only:

provided that nothing in this subsection shall prevent the managers of any such burial ground from permitting the burial of any other person therein if they think fit.
The Minister may at his discretion approve or disapprove any proposal made to him under subsection (1) having taken into consideration the position of the land, its suitability as a burial ground, its suitability for alternative uses, and such other matters as he deems material.
Subject to the provisions of Part 5, a crematorium may be erected within the boundaries of a denominational burial ground for the cremation of human remains of such persons or classes of person as the managers of the burial ground think fit.
A copy of any notice under subsection (1) may be forwarded to the Registrar-General of Land who shall thereupon, if he is satisfied that the provisions of that subsection have been complied with, without payment of any fee register it against the appropriate title, and such registration shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have the effect of a perpetual caveat to restrain any dealing with the land manifestly inconsistent with such notice.
If any land which is the subject of a notice under subsection (1) is only part of the land comprised in a record of title, that record may, at the discretion of the Registrar-General of Land, be deemed to be a transfer of the land for the purposes of sections 74 and 224 of the Land Transfer Act 2017.

Compare

1908 No 19 s 59

Notes

Section 31(4): amended, on 12 November 2018, by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
Section 31(5): amended, on 12 November 2018, by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).