Cremation Services · Sheet 3 of 6
Direct cremation
A direct cremation is a cremation without a funeral ceremony at the time and place of the cremation. Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW says it may also be called a “no-service cremation” or “cremation only”, and that this can mean family and friends do not attend, though they can still hold a ceremony beforehand or a memorial somewhere else later.
Because the cremation and the gathering are separate, the family can choose when and where to remember the person, and take as long as they need to arrange it. The rules for permission and the coffin apply to a direct cremation as to any other.
Side by side
Cremation with a service
- The ceremony
- A cremation is usually packaged with a funeral ceremony of the family’s choosing.
- Where it is held
- Funerals are usually held at a funeral home, cemetery or crematorium.
Direct cremation
- The ceremony
- None at the time and place of the cremation.
- What NSW calls it
- The NSW Government describes a “no service, no attendance” cremation, with no official ceremony, where mourners do not attend any stage of the process.
- Before or after
- A ceremony beforehand, or a memorial at another venue later, is still possible.
What stays the same
Leaving out the ceremony does not shorten the rest of the course. The permission, the doctor’s check and the care of the ashes are the same as for any other cremation.
- The permission. In Victoria, for example, it is an offence to cremate bodily remains without a cremation approval, whatever kind of farewell the family has chosen. The forms in each state are on paperwork before a cremation.
- The coffin. In NSW, a coffin is needed for every cremation under the Public Health Regulation 2022, and a direct cremation is no exception, unless NSW Health has approved a cremation without one. NSW Health can give that approval for a particular case or generally, and treats the family’s culture, beliefs, traditions and religious practices as important considerations; a shrouded cremation is described on how cremation works. Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW lists materials from rosewood and mahogany to cardboard, particleboard, wool or wicker, though options vary between providers.
- The ashes. They are prepared and returned to the applicant as after any cremation. How that works is on how cremation works.
Does there have to be a funeral?
No. Services Australia says it is not a legal requirement in Australia to have a funeral. The NSW Government puts it the other way round: you are not legally required to hold a service, but if you do not hold one, you still need to organise a “no service, no attendance” burial or cremation.
In NSW there is also no legal requirement to use a funeral director. The papers still have to be arranged, whoever does it.
Gathering later
A memorial service can be held anywhere, often in someone’s home, and it does not involve a burial or cremation. So the gathering can wait until people are able to travel, and it can happen in a garden, by the water or around a kitchen table.
If the ashes are to be scattered as part of that gathering, the place may need permission first. Scattering ashes sets out whose permission each kind of place needs.
Questions to ask before you agree to one
- What exactly is included, and what is not?
- When and how will the ashes be returned, and in what container?
- Can anyone be present, or see the person beforehand, if the family changes its mind?
- Who is lodging the application and the doctor’s certificate?
- Which crematorium will carry out the cremation, and when?