Supporting higher standards and stronger consumer protections
Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW (CCNSW) regulates cemeteries and crematoria in NSW. We set standards and work with industry to ensure that all people in NSW have access to sustainable and affordable burial and cremation services. We monitor compliance and enforce those standards to make sure customers and the community receive the service they deserve.
Our work is funded by the interment services levy. This is a levy on cemetery and crematoria operators. The levy commenced on 1 July 2024, with a one-year delay for smaller operators. The levy is calculated as follows:
- $41 for each cremation performed
- $63 for each ash interment performed
- $156 for each burial performed.
These amounts do not include GST which will be added in most cases.
The levy does not apply to interment services for destitute people or for children under 12 years old.
Funds raised through the levy are used to improve protections for customers, maintain fair and consistent standards for the sector, monitor and enforce compliance, and deliver continuing education for operators and their staff to help them meet the new standards. To help customers, we have set standards across 5 areas:
- clear contracts, so people know what they are buying now and it is clear and hassle free for future generations;
- clear pricing, so people can easily compare prices and make informed choices;
- respect for culture and faith for all individuals and communities;
- maintenance, so cemeteries are safe, accessible, and respectful in the long term; and
- customer service, which is at the heart of this important industry.
To find out more about these standards, view the Interment Industry Scheme webpage.
Interment Services Levy hardship policy
The hardship policy is aimed at cases where operators are unable to manage the administrative and financial impact of the levy. Any operator can apply for a waiver.
The objectives of the hardship policy are to:
- ensure that the levy does not prevent or discourage operators from continuing to:
- provide interment services on a charitable basis, including for free, for a very low price, or funded via donations, or
- provide interment services at all due to administration of the levy
- ensure efficient administration of the levy.
Operators will be eligible for a waiver from the levy under this policy if they meet the following criteria:
- operator primarily delivers services on a charitable basis, or
- facilities are primarily operated by a volunteer workforce, or
- operator conducted an average of 25 or fewer interment services over the last 3 years.
Operators can apply under any eligibility criteria. If approved, the waiver will be for 100% of all levies. For the waiver to commence from 1 July 2025, operators who are eligible now will be required to apply for a waiver before 30 June 2025. Details on how to apply will be provided in March. We intend to make the application process as simple as possible.
If circumstances change and operators later become eligible for a waiver, they can apply for a waiver at any point in the future. CCNSW can review an operator’s eligibility for a waiver at any time if there is a significant change in circumstances.
Operators with a category 4 (caretaker) licence are already exempt from the levy and will not need to apply.
Definitions
- Charitable basis: Interment services are provided for free, for a very low price or are funded via donations.
- Very low price: Fees charged by an operator to a customer for burial, cremation or ash interment services are significantly lower than comparable services in the area, or significantly below the operator’s actual costs.
- Primarily: Primarily refers to 50% or more.
Waivers will require an application
All operators who want a waiver from the levy under this policy will need to apply for one. Information on how to apply will be released in March 2025. We intend to make the application process as simple as possible.
Waiver period
If approved, the levy will be waived until the financial quarter closest to the operator’s licence expiry date. We will advise this date when we confirm if an application has been successful.
Information for customers
We have prepared a customer-facing pamphlet explaining the levy and its rationale. It can help operators and funeral directors communicate to customers about the levy. Printable digital versions in English and key community languages are below.
Information for cemetery and crematoria operators and funeral directors
The main features of the levy, including changes following industry consultation and answers to common questions in the Interment Services Levy frequently asked questions (PDF, 206 KB).
Frequently asked questions
It is important to note the interment services levy is a levy on operators. It is not a levy on consumers that operators are administering on behalf of the State government.
CCNSW has obtained a written briefing from the Australian Taxation Office (the ATO) to this effect:
- When CCNSW charges cemetery and crematorium operators the levy, and operators pay that levy to CCNSW (annually or quarterly), this does not attract GST. It is a regulatory government fee/charge that is excluded from the GST.
- If operators increase their prices in response to the levy (i.e. pass it on to customers) then this does attract GST. In this case the nature of that levy changes. It is no longer the supply of a levy but an increase in the consideration paid by the customer for the supply of the interment services.
- GST also applies where a funeral director is acting as an authorised agent for an operator and the operator has increased their prices as per (2) above. The funeral director will collect the GST included in the operator’s prices and send that total amount to the operator. In this case funeral directors are not independently liable for GST.
In sharing this advice CCNSW is not providing taxation advice. Operators should satisfy themselves of their GST obligations given their own unique circumstances.
On 4 December 2024 the Australian Tax Office (ATO) published their final determination on whether GST applies to the supply of burial rights in public cemeteries. Operators are encouraged to seek their own tax advice in deciding how to implement this decision.
Industry consultation on the proposed expansion of the levy was held in April and May 2024. It included in-person workshops, webinars, and written submissions.
After considering the feedback, the government delayed commencement of the change for one year for operators who reported providing 50 or fewer interment services in 2022–23. This is to give operators with lower administrative capacity more time to prepare for the levy. For operators that reported providing more than 50 interment services in 2022–23, the levy commenced on 1 July 2024.
A hardship policy has also now been developed and will apply from 1 July 2025.
Regulations to enact the interment services levy have been made. View the Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment (Interment Service Levy) Regulation 2024 on the website of the Parliament of NSW.
The amendments:
- expand the interment services levy to apply to all operators of active cemeteries and/or crematoria in NSW; and
- contain minor amendments to the Interment Industry Scheme to clarify existing provisions.
CCNSW has prepared a Plain Language Explainer for the Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment (Interment Services Levy) Regulation 2024 (PDF, 140 KB).
The Cemeteries & Crematoria Regulations 2022 provides for indexation of the Interment Services Levy amounts in proportion to Consumer Price Index (CPI). The annual CPI increase to 30 September 2025 was 2.8%. CCNSW has chosen a September to September frame of reference to allow for the earliest possible announcement of CPI increase in the coming years.
In 2025/26, CCNSW will apply the CPI increase of 2.8% to the levy. In recognition of the relatively recent introduction of the levy and the fact that it is still being integrated into business practices, CCNSW will discount this increase for one year only, meaning the effective rates charged to operators will be the same as in 2024/25. For the avoidance of doubt, any future CPI increases will be calculated using the undiscounted levy rate, that is, the amount including the 2.8% increase.
In 2025/26 the levy charged to operators of active cemeteries and crematoria will be as follows:
| Cremation | Ash Int. | Burial | |
| 2025/26 Levy | $41.00 | $63.00 | $156.00 |
CCNSW has achieved this in the following way:
| Cremation | Ash Int. | Burial | |
| 2024/25 Levy | $41.00 | $63.00 | $156.00 |
| CPI Adjustment (2.8%) | $1.15 | $1.76 | $4.37 |
| 2025/26 Underlying Levy Rates | $42.15 | $64.76 | $160.37 |
| Discount | -$1.15 | -$1.76 | -$4.37 |
| 2025/26 Levy Rates | $41.00 | $63.00 | $156.00 |