17Matters to be considered before declaration

17 Matters to be considered before declaration (1) Before declaring an area of land to be a cemetery, the Minister must take into account any matters prescribed by regulation relating to the declaration of a cemetery. (2) In addition to subsection (1), before declaring an area of land to be an independent cemetery, the Minister must: (a) consult with the responsible entity for any public cemetery, community cemetery or local cemetery located within 100 km of the proposed independent cemetery; and (b) take into account the sustainability of the independent cemetery and each cemetery mentioned in paragraph (a) if the independent cemetery was to be declared.

Burial and Cremation Act 2022 14 (3) The Minister must not declare a community cemetery, a local cemetery or an independent cemetery unless the Minister is satisfied that there is one of the following documents: (a) a lease between the lessor of the land and the prospective responsible entity for the land to be used as a cemetery; (b) a sublease between the sublessor of the land and the prospective responsible entity for the land to be used as a (c) a licence issued by the licensor of the land to the prospective responsible entity for the land to be used as a cemetery; (d) a written agreement between each interest holder of the land and the prospective responsible entity for the land to be used as a cemetery; (e) if an interest holder is the prospective responsible entity – written consent from each interest holder of the land or if there is only one interest holder, written confirmation from the interest holder, for the land to be used as a cemetery. Example for subsection (3)(d) For land subject to native title, an indigenous land use agreement under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) that authorises the use of the land as a burial area.