What to do if someone dies

If there is a will, the person may have left instructions on how their body should be dealt with. It's the responsibility of the executor to carry out these wishes.

If there is no will or administrator of the deceased person's estate, arranging a burial or cremation usually falls to the most senior next of kin such as a:

• culturally appropriate person
  • if deceased was Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
• spouse
• de facto partner
• child over 18 years old
• parent
• sibling over 18 years old.

If you are responsible for arranging for the burial or cremation, you may wish to talk to a funeral director. They can help you plan details of the funeral.

Find out more about decision maker for burials and cremations.

Burial in a cemetery

To arrange a burial in a cemetery, an application for a burial must be made to the cemetery manager.

Check the locations and contact details for cemeteries in the Northern Territory (NT).

Some areas in the NT are not declared as cemeteries and are treated as burials outside of cemeteries.

Burial outside of cemeteries

If you need to arrange a burial outside a cemetery, you must submit a burial notification. Read more about burials outside a cemetery.

Multiple burials

A burial of a deceased person in the same grave where others are already buried is called a multiple burial.

To arrange a multiple burial:

• in a cemetery - apply to the cemetery manager and seek authorisation
• outside a cemetery - submit a burial notification.

Read more about burials outside a cemetery.

Cremation

To arrange a cremation, an application for a cremation needs to be made to the manager of a crematorium facility.

To find out more, go to the following NT crematorium websites:

• Centre Funeral Services Crematorium
• Darwin Funeral Services Crematorium
• Thorak Regional Cemetery Crematorium.

Further information

You can call 08 8995 5107 or email burials@nt.gov.au.