The NSW Government has introduced the Interment Industry Scheme as part of the Cemeteries & Crematoria Regulation 2022 - a licensing system for cemetery and crematorium operators. The scheme will, for the first time, license all operators and set clear standards. Families will know what to expect from cemetery and crematorium operators and can make informed choices.
While Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW does not regulate funeral directors, where funeral directors are selling certain cemetery or crematoria products to a customer (such as burial, ash interment or cremation) they will need to comply with some Scheme requirements. This will involve using the operator’s contract, which contains certain mandatory terms and conditions. The customer will also need to be shown a basic price for the product they are buying, and be asked about their religious and cultural requirements.
This Guide to the Interment Industry Scheme for Funeral Directors (PDF, 85 KB) explains how the Scheme interacts with the work of funeral directors.
The operator and funeral director checklist (DOCX,420 KB) is intended to guide cemetery and crematorium operators in the ways they can support and inform funeral directors acting as their authorised agents.
When funeral directors are selling certain cemetery or crematoria products to a customer (such as burial, ash interment or cremation) they may get asked about how the interment services levy applies to these services. We have prepared a customer-facing pamphlet explaining the levy and its rationale. We encourage funeral directors to familiarise themselves with this and direct customers to it as needed.
If a funeral director also operates a crematoria they are an interment industry operator and required to comply with licence conditions (including the use of a contract for a cremation).
Any future information relevant to funeral directors will be published on this webpage.
To find information on the regulation of funeral directors by Fair Trading and the Funeral Information Standard, visit Working as a funeral director.