A chart of the guide
Cremation, the process and the places
Cremation Services is a guide to what happens before, during and after a cremation in Australia, and to the places where ashes can rest, written and published by Dotto. Most of the rules are made by each state and territory, so every page says which state a rule comes from and links to that state’s own page.
The legend
Each sheet answers one practical question. Start wherever you are: some people arrive with the paperwork in front of them, others months later, wondering where the ashes should go.
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How cremation works
The process in order, from the permission to the moment the ashes are handed back.
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Paperwork before a cremation
The application, the doctor’s check and the permit, state by state.
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Direct cremation
A cremation without a ceremony at the time, and what stays the same.
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Scattering ashes
The sea, beaches, parks and private land, and whose permission each one needs.
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Keeping or sharing ashes
Collecting the ashes, keeping them at home, and carrying them overseas.
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Memorials and places to remember
Niches, memorial gardens, plaques, and how long a place in a cemetery is held.
The course, in brief
The detail differs from state to state, but the official pages describe the same broad order of events. The states named below are the ones whose own pages each step was read from.
Permission comes first
A cremation needs written permission before it happens. In New South Wales a medical referee issues a cremation permit, in Victoria the cemetery trust grants a cremation approval, in Queensland a coroner, or a doctor who did not sign the cause of death certificate, gives permission, and in Western Australia a medical referee issues a permit to cremate.The forms, state by state: paperwork before a cremation.The coffin
In NSW the Public Health Regulation 2022 requires every cremation, including a direct cremation, to use a coffin, unless NSW Health has approved a cremation without one.The cremation
Cremation is the process of using fire and heat in a purpose-built furnace to reduce human remains to ashes, in the words of the Northern Territory’s Burial and Cremation Act 2022. In NSW, only one body may be cremated in a cremator at a time unless NSW Health approves otherwise.The ashes are returned
NSW Health describes the ashes being cooled, prepared, and packed into a labelled container, then given to the person who applied for the cremation. In Victoria they must be ready for collection within 2 working days of the cremation.A place to rest
NSW Health lists the choices: a small plot or a niche in a cemetery, an urn kept at home, or scattering: on private land with the owner’s consent, or, with consent, at a beach, river, public park or at sea.See scattering ashes and memorials and places to remember.
Where the rules are kept
Each state and territory has its own law for cremation. Where a health department explains its law in plain words, the link goes there; otherwise it goes to the law itself.
| Where | The law | Read it |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Public Health Act 2010 and Public Health Regulation 2022 | NSW Health, final arrangements of the deceased |
| Victoria | Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003 and Cemeteries and Crematoria Regulations 2025 | Department of Health, cremations |
| Queensland | Cremations Act 2003 | Cremations Act 2003 on Queensland Legislation |
| Western Australia | Cremation Act 1929 and Cremation Regulations 1954 | WA Department of Health, burial and cremation |
| South Australia | Burial and Cremation Act 2013 | Burial and Cremation Act 2013 on South Australian Legislation |
| Tasmania | Burial and Cremation Act 2019 | Burial and Cremation Act 2019 on Tasmanian Legislation |
| Australian Capital Territory | Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2020 | Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2020 on the ACT Legislation Register |
| Northern Territory | Burial and Cremation Act 2022 | Burial and Cremation Act 2022 on NT Legislation |
One rule is national. Scattering ashes at sea is not a burial at sea, and it does not need a permit under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981.