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Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021

Registration of information - Deaths - Notification of deaths in New Zealand

40: Registrar-General must be notified when body disposed of or removed

You could also call this:

"Notify the Registrar-General when a body is buried, cremated, or removed from New Zealand"

Illustration for Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021

You must tell the Registrar-General about a death as soon as possible if you decide how the body is disposed of or if you dispose of it. You need to do this no later than 3 working days after the body is disposed of. Disposal includes burial and cremation. You also need to tell the Registrar-General about a death before you remove the body from New Zealand or take it for anatomical examination under the Human Tissue Act 2008. You do not need to tell the Registrar-General if you have already told them about the death. The Registrar-General needs to know about the death so they can keep track of it.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7273677.

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Part 2Registration of information
Deaths: Notification of deaths in New Zealand

40Registrar-General must be notified when body disposed of or removed

  1. A person must notify the Registrar-General of a death as soon as practicable after it occurs if the person—

  2. is responsible for deciding how the body is disposed of (for example, an executor or a family member); or
    1. disposes of the body.

      1. A death must be notified under subsection (1) no later than 3 working days after the body is disposed of.

      2. A death need not be notified under subsection (1) if the death has already been notified under subsection (4).

      3. A person must notify the Registrar-General of the death of a deceased person before—

      4. removing the deceased person’s body from New Zealand; or
        1. taking the body for anatomical examination under the Human Tissue Act 2008.

          1. In this subpart, disposal includes burial and cremation, and to dispose of has a corresponding meaning.

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