Council denounces State Government's Burial and Cremation Tax

Published on 11 April 2024

Grieving families in NSW face an unwelcome burden following the State Government's announcement to levy a tax on all burials and cremations, including those conducted at council-owned facilities – where more than 80 percent of burials in rural and regional NSW take place.

The President of Local Government NSW, Cr Darriea Turley AM, said council-operated cemeteries should not be required to pay the tax to fund the operations of the bureaucracy that regulates cemeteries.

"The regulators are public servants who should be paid from State coffers, not by picking the pockets of councils and families who have lost a loved one," she said.

Cr Turley emphasised the need for the Government to reconsider its approach to budget repair, stating, "It is inequitable for the NSW Government to ask for council cemeteries to contribute to the costs of funding the NSW Government regulator, while the NSW Government makes its own Crown cemeteries exempt from paying council rates for their large cemeteries".

Narrabri Shire Mayor Darrell Tiemens echoed Cr Turley's concerns and expressed disappointment over the NSW Government's decision.

"Amid a cost-of-living crisis, the NSW Government's decision to impose a tax on burials and cremations is a profound misstep, unfairly burdening grieving families when they are most vulnerable," said Mayor Tiemens.

"This is not budget repair; it's a cost shift that hits hardest in our rural and regional communities, where council cemeteries are often the only option.

"The NSW Government must reconsider this decision and find a fairer way to balance its books without exploiting those in mourning."