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Review of the Burial and Cremation Act
During 2019–2020, we undertook a public consultation on options to modernise the Burial and Cremation Act 1964 and related legislation. This followed a Law Commission report which made recommendations to modernise the law (read the report Death, Burial and Cremation: A new law for contemporary New Zealand (R134).
View the:
- consultation document: Death, Funerals, Burial and Cremation: a Review of the Burial and Cremation Act 1964 and Related Legislation – in the Library Catalogue
- summary of submissions: Death, Funerals, Burials and Cremation: A Review of the Burial and Cremation Act 1964 and Related Legislation: Summary of submissions 2021
Policy options are still under development and consideration.
Cremation Amendment Regulations 2026
The Cremations Amendment Regulations 2026 come into force from 7 May 2026.
The Regulations makes permanent what has already been in place since April 2020 via a series of temporary Ministerial authorisations.
Specifically, they remove the requirement for a medical or nurse practitioner to physically examine and identify a body to authorise cremation where a death is due to natural causes and has occurred in a lower risk setting.
The Regulations 2026 means, from 7 May 2026, there is:
- A more tightly defined definition of low-risk settings. This will now be limited to age related residential care and specialist palliative care in place of long-term inpatient facilities more generally.
- A new dedicated form (Form BA) for deaths in low-risk settings. This new form makes it clear that examination of the body is not required in these settings. It outlines a new process for the medical or nurse practitioner to follow which involves receiving advice from a health practitioner, such as registered nurse, on the identity of the deceased and an assessment that the circumstances of the death were consistent with natural causes.
- Clarification about battery-powered devices. Modern battery-powered devices, such as newer types of pacemakers, are safe for cremation and don’t need to be removed from a body.
- Clarification about health practitioners role in relation to battery-powered devices. The role of a medical or nurse practitioner is to confirm whether pacemakers or other battery-powered devices are present in a body, rather than to remove them.
Non-legislative changes made
Non-legislative changes have been made to address some of the Law Commission recommendations.
The most significant change has been to provide for an online death certification process. We launched Death Documents in 2017–2018 together with the Department of Internal Affairs.
Another change has been updating the guidance to support practitioners completing a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.
