Cemeteries and crematoria
2023-24
Contents

Overview

In February 2021, the NSW Government tabled the report of a statutory review of the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2013. The report titled 'The 11th hour solving Sydney's cemetery crisis' found that Greater Sydney is running out of burial space, posing significant financial risk to the State’s finances with unfunded liabilities of the Crown sector in excess of $300 million and required capital for new cemeteries of approximately $200–300 million. As part of a response to these risks, this report recommended the consolidation of Crown Cemetery Land Managers into a new body. The NSW Government has adopted a two-operator model and formed Metropolitan Memorial Parks on 1 July 2023 to amalgamate three Crown Cemetery Land Managers into a new body.

An audit of this topic could look at how effectively the NSW Government is planning and implementing a response to the issues set out in this report. The audit may also consider the operations of Metropolitan Memorial Parks.