Burials outside of cemeteries

In the Northern Territory (NT), you must notify the government if you want to bury a deceased person at a location outside a cemetery.

A burial outside a cemetery includes in burial grounds, on Aboriginal land, pastoral properties and other locations that are not declared cemeteries.

Check the locations for burial grounds in the NT.

Read about the role of a decision maker.

Burials in cemeteries and outside of cemeteries are regulated by the:

• Burial and Cremation Act 2022
• Burial and Cremation Regulations 2022.

Burial notifications

You must provide a burial notification if you are burying outside a cemetery.

You should do this before the burial takes place to ensure the decision maker and interest holders for the land agree to the proposed burial.

A burial notification is not an approval process. It allows burial records to be kept for the family and future generations and respects customary decision making.

What you must provide

You will need to provide the following details:

• name of deceased person
• confirmation of death
• GPS coordinates or a map of the burial site.

If burial details are culturally sensitive, you don't need to provide those details.

If the burial is not in a burial ground, you will also need to confirm the burial site meets a list of criteria, such as being at least 100 metres away from occupied buildings, public infrastructure and waterways.

If you have existing rights as a Traditional Owner or under Native Title, you may be able to complete a burial notification without needing to satisfy all the criteria.

For example, if traditional burial site is within 100 metres of a waterway.

You can get help from the department with your burial notification.

How to notify

You can notify online or by email.

Online

Go to Territory Services

Email

To notify by email, fill in and submit the below form with attachments to burials@nt.gov.au.

Burial notification form PDF (180.3 KB)
Burial notification form DOCX (74.8 KB)

If some details are culturally sensitive, you don’t need to provide those details.

Once the notification is received, your information will be verified to make sure it's correct and complete.

Contacts