Cremation Act 1929

Primary statutory concepts and their legal roles are:

• Licence and licensed crematorium (s 4, defined term s 2). A licence to “use and conduct” a specific crematorium may be granted to a cemetery Board or to an incorporated association certified by the Chief Health Officer (s 4(1), (1A)). Licences are the threshold authorisation that permits operation by licensees and their employees (s 9).

• Permit and medical referee (s 8, 8A, 8B). Each individual cremation requires a permit issued by a medical referee. The Governor appoints medical referees (s 8(1)). Section 8A lists minimum documentary conditions for issuance (notably a certificate of cause of death under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 s 44 (s 8A(a))), disqualifications (s 8A(g)) and the coroner-related constraints (s 8A(e), (f)).

• Chief Health Officer (CHO) oversight (definition s 2; duties in s 4 and s 17). The CHO approves plans and specifications for crematoria works (s 4(2)(b)); the CHO’s certificate validates licences for proposed sites (s 4(3)); and the CHO can certify a crematorium as unfit, which triggers licence revocation powers (s 16(1)(b)). Regulations are to specify further CHO-related requirements (s 17(1)(a)).

• Cemetery Board / controlling authority (definitions s 2 and s 4). A Board holding a licence can set aside parts of a cemetery for a crematorium and restrict use of that part to cremation and the burial of ashes (s 5(1), (2)(a)). Boards can grant permits permitting an association to erect and run a crematorium on cemetery land subject to conditions (s 5(2)(b)).

• Ashes and disposal rules (s 7). The Act narrowly restricts removal of ashes from the crematorium to either authorised delivery to the permit-holder or for burial on the crematorium site; otherwise ashes must remain on site (s 7(1)-(2)).

• Family objection and testamentary directions (s 13). A written objection by spouse, de facto partner or next of kin prevents cremation unless the deceased has left a written direction to the contrary, and administrators have a duty to try to carry out the deceased’s direction (s 13(1)-(2)).

• Coronial and Attorney‑General powers (s 8(5), s 14). Medical referees must report suspicious deaths to the coroner (s 8(5)). The Attorney‑General or coroner may order that cremation be forbidden, or delayed until viscera or organs are removed and lodged as specified (s 14).

• Offences, enforcement and licence revocation (s 15, 16). Contraventions attract summary penalties (s 15); the Governor may revoke licences for conviction, CHO certification of unfitness, or loss of occupation rights (s 16). Regulations can set additional obligations and penalties (s 17).

Regulatory scaffolding: s 17 gives the Governor power to make regulations addressing site approvals, CHO approval of plans, forms, maximum fees charged by licensees, duties and fees of medical referees (s 17(1)(a), (b), (e), (e1)), and powers to regulate rites for different communities (s 17(1)(d)). The Act therefore is deliberately concise and relies heavily on subordinate legislation and CHO discretion to detail technical standards.

The Act creates obligations and rights that affect identifiable groups and decision-makers.

• Licensees and prospective licensees (Boards, associations). Cemetery Boards and incorporated associations are the two categories authorised to hold licences (s 4(1), (1A)). Licensees must ensure site approval, CHO sign-off on works, and compliance with regulations (s 4(2)(b), s 4(3), s 17(1)(a)). Licensees are criminally liable for offences committed by employees at or near the crematorium unless they can prove they did not facilitate or contribute (s 15(4)). A licence may be revoked where licensees are convicted, where the crematorium is certified unfit by the CHO, or where licensees lose occupation rights (s 16).

• Chief Health Officer (CHO). The CHO has a gatekeeping role: approval of plans/specifications and certification that works are completed (s 4(2)(b), s 4(3)); power (via certificate) to have a licence rendered effective only once standards are met; and authority to certify a crematorium unfit, thereby triggering revocation (s 16(1)(b)). The CHO’s functions are central to technical and public health controls.

• Medical referees and medical practitioners. The Governor appoints medical referees (s 8(1)). Medical referees issue permits and must refuse in suspicious or violent deaths and report to the coroner (s 8(5)). The Act requires a certificate of cause of death under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 s 44 (s 8A(a)). It also disqualifies certain practitioners from certifying cause of death for cremation purposes where they are closely related or in partnership with the medical referee (s 8A(g)).

• Administrators, executors and persons authorised to arrange funerals. Applications for permits are normally made by administrators; others may apply with written authority, or where an applicant satisfies a medical referee that the administrator will not apply and the applicant is a “proper person” (s 8(3A)-(3B)). Applicants must make statutory declarations in prescribed form when not administrators (s 8(3B)) and pay the prescribed fee to the issuing medical referee (s 8(4A)).

• Family members and next of kin. The Act gives marital partners, de facto partners and next of kin a statutory right to object in writing to cremation (s 13(1)). The stay on cremation in the face of family objection (unless the deceased left a written cremation direction) makes these relatives direct stakeholders.

• Coroners and the Attorney‑General. Coroners have investigatory primacy where deaths are violent, suspicious or require investigation; medical referees must report to the coroner and await certificates before issuing permits if appropriate (s 8(5), s 8A(e)-(f)). The Attorney‑General and coroner each have express power to forbid cremation or require removal of organs (s 14).

• People arranging removal or disposal of ashes. The Act restricts removal of ashes from the crematorium site, and prescribes that the Board or association may deliver ashes to the person who obtained the permit for removal (s 7(1)). Otherwise removal is prohibited (s 7(2)).

• Persons who stand to benefit from a death. Section 12 prohibits persons who know they are beneficiaries under an assurance, will or settlement from giving or signing death certificates for purposes of the Act (s 12). That provision directly regulates behaviour relevant to procurement of permits.

• The public and religious/ethnic communities. The Act contemplates the exercise of rites or ceremonies peculiar to certain races or sects being regulated by the Governor via regulations (s 17(1)(d)) and retains a specific text provision allowing persons of “Asiatic race” to be cremated according to religion subject to regulations (s 3(2)).

Financial impacts are borne primarily by licensees (site works, CHO-approved installations per s 4(2)(b)), by applicants (statutory declaration and permit fees s 8(4A)), and potentially by families required to bury ashes at crematorium sites rather than elsewhere (s 7). Regulatory duties on medical referees (s 17(1)(e1)) and the power to prescribe maximum licensee fees (s 17(1)(e)) allocate some cost and price controls through regulations.

The Act sets out duties and rights across several actors. Below are the principal ones with source citations.

Duties of licensees and applicants

• Do not operate except under licence: no person shall cremate elsewhere than in a licensed crematorium (s 3(1)). Licence applicants must show authority to occupy site and that works conform to CHO-approved plans (s 4(2)(a),(b)). For licences in respect of yet-to-be-built crematoria, validity is contingent on CHO certification within one year that works have been completed to the approved plans (s 4(3)).
• Comply with regulations made under the Act and pay prescribed fees (s 17(1)(e), s 8(4A)). The Governor may prescribe maximum fees licensees may charge (s 17(1)(e)).

Duties of medical referees and medical practitioners

• Medical referees only issue permits if satisfied that the applicant is authorised (s 8(2), (3A)); they must refuse and report to the coroner if death appears violent, unnatural or suspicious (s 8(5)). Regulations may prescribe the duties and fees of medical referees (s 17(1)(e1)).
• Medical referees must not issue permits in contravention of s 8 and s 8A (s 10). Section 8A lists specific non-permittable circumstances including absence of certificate of cause of death under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act s 44 (s 8A(a)), written direction of the deceased not to cremate (s 8A(b)), insufficient authority of applicant (s 8A(c)), unclear fact or cause of death (s 8A(d)), and coroner constraints (s 8A(e), (f)). Section 8A(g) disqualifies the certifying medical practitioner in specified relationship or partnership contexts.

Duties on administrators and applicants not administrators

• An administrator is under a duty to use all reasonable endeavours to carry out the deceased’s written direction to cremate (s 13(2)). Where someone other than an administrator applies for a permit, they must make a statutory declaration in the prescribed form and supply such further information as the medical referee requires (s 8(3B)).

Rights: permit as authority

• A lawful permit is sufficient authority for licensees and their employees to cremate the body specified in the permit at the licensed crematorium (s 9).

Family rights and testamentary direction

• A spouse, de facto partner or next of kin has the right to object in writing to cremation, which precludes cremation unless the deceased left a properly attested written direction to be cremated (s 13(1)). This creates a statutory veto right exercisable by close family unless defeated by the deceased’s contemporaneous written wishes.

Coronial/Attorney‑General powers and administrative review

• The coroner and Attorney‑General can forbid cremation or require the removal and custody of viscera or organs before cremation (s 14). Medical referees refusing permits on suspicious grounds must report to the coroner (s 8(5)). An applicant refused by a medical referee (except where refusal under s 8(5) is required) may seek review by the State Administrative Tribunal (s 8(6)).

Enforcement duties and licensee exposure

• Persons are criminally liable for contraventions (s 15(1)-(3)). Licensees are liable for acts or omissions of their employees at or near the crematorium, but may defend by proving they did not facilitate the offence (s 15(4)). The Governor may revoke licences on conviction of the licensee, CHO certification of unfitness, or loss of site rights (s 16(1)(a)-(c)).

Regulatory duties

• The Governor may make regulations covering a wide range of technical and administrative matters including site approval, plans, forms, maximum fees, and duties of medical referees (s 17(1)(a)-(f)). Regulations can carry penalties up to $20 (s 17(2)).

These duties create a layered compliance framework: technical (CHO-approved plant and site), procedural (advertising, objection, permits), documentary (cause-of-death certificate, statutory declarations), and supervisory (coronial reporting and possible AG intervention).

The Act provides criminal sanctions, administrative sanctions (licence revocation) and regulatory penalties.

Criminal sanctions

• The primary criminal enforcement provision is s 15. It makes contravention of any provision of the Act an offence, punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding $400 or imprisonment for not more than one year (s 15(1)). Attempts are criminalised (s 15(2)), and parties “party or privy” to the offence may be prosecuted as if they had committed the offence (s 15(3)). Employee offences at or in the vicinity of a crematorium render both the employee and the licensee guilty, though the licensee may defend by proving no facilitating act or neglect (s 15(4)). Section 15 does not apply to offences against regulations (s 15(5)), which are addressed separately.

Regulatory penalties

• The Governor may make regulations and those regulations may prescribe penalties not exceeding $20 for contraventions of the regulations (s 17(2)). The Act also empowers the Governor to prescribe maximum fees and the duties and fees of medical referees by regulation (s 17(1)(e), (e1)), and such instruments can carry their own enforcement mechanisms within those monetary ceilings.

Administrative enforcement and licence revocation

• The Governor can revoke a licence where a licensee has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment or fined $100 or more (s 16(1)(a)), where the crematorium is certified unfit by the Chief Health Officer (s 16(1)(b)), or where the licensees have lost the right to occupy the site (s 16(1)(c)). Section 16(2) limits the time for revocation orders on the grounds in (1)(a) or (b) to three months after the conviction or CHO certificate.

Coronial and Attorney‑General orders

• Section 14 gives the Attorney‑General or any coroner power to forbid cremation absolutely or until specific steps are taken (e.g. removal and custody of viscera), and such an order is binding on any person who becomes aware of it. Contravention of an AG or coroner order is a breach of the Act and may be prosecuted under s 15.

Administrative review and judicial review

• The Act provides for administrative review in one narrow context: where a medical referee refuses to issue a permit except in the coroner-reporting circumstance in s 8(5), the applicant may apply to the State Administrative Tribunal for review of the decision (s 8(6)). The compilation notes reference the State Administrative Tribunal Act amendments and procedures (compilation table and other notes), so that tribunal is the statutorily prescribed review body for those decisions.

Enforcement actors and evidentiary interactions

• Enforcement is multi-bodied: criminal prosecution will be undertaken through the courts; the CHO’s certificate has direct administrative effect for licence validation and revocation (s 4(3), s 16(1)(b)); the coroner both receives mandatory reports (s 8(5)) and can control cremation outcomes (s 14); and the Governor exercises licensing and revocation powers (s 4, s 16). Regulations are another channel to define obligations and lighter penalties (s 17).

Practical enforcement risks

• Licensees face vicarious liability for staff conduct (s 15(4)) and regulatory constraints on fees and services (s 17(1)(e)), while the CHO’s judgments on technical fitness and the coroner’s investigatory decisions can produce immediate administrative consequences (s 16(1)(b), s 14). The Act gives wide discretion to the Governor and CHO, and leaves detailed enforcement mechanics to the regulations.

The Act expressly references and depends upon several other statutes, integrating cremation regulation into a wider legal and administrative environment.

Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998

• Section 8A(a) requires provision of the certificate of cause of death “under section 44 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998” before a medical referee may issue a permit. Where death occurred outside the State, an equivalent foreign certificate is required (s 8A(aa)). This links cremation permits to the formal civil registration process and the statutory cause-of-death regime.

Public Health Act 2016 and Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911

• The CHO is defined by reference to the Public Health Act 2016 s 4(1) in the definitions (s 2). Section 8A(b) permits cremation against a deceased’s written direction only where the Chief Health Officer orders cremation pursuant to powers under the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911 or the Public Health Act 2016. The Act therefore intersects significant public health powers concerning disposal of remains.

Coroners Act 1996 and coronial system

• The Act uses the term “coroner” as defined in the Coroners Act 1996 (s 2). Medical referees must report suspicious or violent deaths to the coroner (s 8(5)), and the coroner’s certificate can be required before a permit is granted (s 8A(e)-(f)). The coroner also has power (alongside the Attorney‑General) to forbid cremation or require organ removal (s 14). The Act defers determinations about investigatory priority and coronial authority to the coronial framework.

Cemeteries Act 1986

• The Board definition and powers derive from the Cemeteries Act 1986 (s 2; see s 3 of the Cemeteries Act 1986). The Act allows cemetery Boards to set aside portions of cemeteries for crematoria and to exercise cemetery trustee powers over those portions (s 5). The Cemeteries Act will therefore govern trustee duties and certain property and management obligations in contexts where crematoria occupy cemetery land.

Associations Incorporation Act 2015

• Section 4(1A) defines “association” for the licence regime to include incorporated associations under the Associations Incorporation Act 2015. That statutory incorporation status determines which private bodies can be licenced associations.

Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (WA)

• The Act’s definition of medical practitioner references registration under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (WA) (s 2). That ties eligibility and professional regulation of the certifying practitioners to the national registration scheme.

State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004

• Section 8(6) provides for review of certain medical‑referee refusals by the State Administrative Tribunal; the compilation notes refer to State Administrative Tribunal transitional provisions (other notes). The SAT therefore is the statutory review body for non-coronial permit refusals.

Regulatory overlay

• Section 17 authorises regulations to address technical standards, forms, fees, duties and maximum charges. Those regulations will interact with consumer protection and pricing regimes if they prescribe maximum fees charged by licensees and duties for medical referees.

These cross-references show the Act is interwoven with health, coronial, cemetery-trust and association-incorporation law. Practical compliance therefore typically requires navigating multiple statutory regimes (cause-of-death certificates, CHO approvals, coronial processes, association incorporation rules and cemetery trustee obligations).

The compilation table in the source lists the Act and its subsequent amending instruments and reprints. Key legislative milestones recorded in the source are:

• Original enactment: Cremation Act 1929 (22 of 1929) assented 11 December 1929, commenced 11 December 1929.
• Cremation Act Amendment Act 1935 (8 of 1935) assented 5 October 1935, commenced 5 October 1935 (amended s 4).
• Cremation Act Amendment Act 1953 (80 of 1953) assented 18 January 1954, commenced 6 September 1954 (s 2 and Gazette notice referenced).
• Decimal Currency Act 1965 (113 of 1965) affected some monetary provisions; commencement information is in the compilation table.
• Cremation Act Amendment Act 1967 (35 of 1967) assented 21 November 1967, commenced 21 November 1967.
• Cremation Act Amendment Act 1968 (2 of 1968) assented 26 September 1968, commenced 26 September 1968.
• Health Legislation Amendment Act 1984 Pt IV (28 of 1984) assented 31 May 1984, commenced 1 July 1984 (s 2 and Gazette notice referenced).
• Cremation Amendment Act 1986 (103 of 1986) assented 12 December 1986, commenced 1 July 1987 (see compilation table).
• Coroners Act 1996 s 61 (2 of 1996) amendments commenced 7 April 1997.
• Acts Repeal and Amendment (Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration) Act 1998 s 9 (40 of 1998) made consequential amendments linked to birth/death registration; commencement 14 April 1999.
• Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Act 2002 Pt 6 (3 of 2002) assented 17 April 2002, commenced 21 September 2002 (s 2 and Gazette).
• Courts Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2004 s 141 (59 of 2004) had commencement 1 May 2005.
• State Administrative Tribunal (Conferral of Jurisdiction) Amendment and Repeal Act 2004 Pt 2 Div 32 (55 of 2004) conferred jurisdiction to the SAT; commenced 1 January 2005.
• Medical Practitioners Act 2008 Sch. 3 cl. 13 (22 of 2008) and subsequent changes (relevant to the definition/registration of medical practitioners) commenced 1 December 2008.
• Standardisation of Formatting Act 2010 s 51 (19 of 2010) and Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (WA) Act 2010 Pt 5 Div 14 (35 of 2010) made formatting and registration law updates; commencement dates are recorded in the compilation table (2010).
• Associations Incorporation Act 2015 s 213 (30 of 2015) updated the “association” concept in s 4(1A); commencement 1 July 2016.
• Public Health (Consequential Provisions) Act 2016 (19 of 2016) introduced references to the Public Health Act 2016 and effected other consequential changes. Parts are recorded as commencing 24 January 2017 and 20 September 2017 depending on the provision; one sub-provision is listed as to be proclaimed (s 285(2)).

The compilation table in the source documents reprints of the Act at various dates (approved reprints in 1963, 1971, 2001, 2008 and 2017) indicating the Act has been consolidated periodically. Specific amendments appear throughout the text, with marginal notes indicating amending Acts for particular sections (for example, amendments to s 2 across multiple years listed at s 2 note).

The amendment record shows the Act has been updated across decades to integrate with changing public health, coronial and professional-registration frameworks and to modernise administrative references (such as CHO and national registration), while retaining the core licence-and-permit architecture established in 1929.

The source text supplies neither reported cases nor a litigation history. It does, however, identify one statutory review path: where a medical referee refuses to issue a permit except in circumstances covered by s 8(5) (the coroner-reporting situation), the applicant may apply to the State Administrative Tribunal for review of the medical referee’s decision (s 8(6)). The compilation notes reference the State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004 and related transitional provisions, indicating that SAT processes apply to reviewable decisions under the Act.

Because the Act text and compilation material do not name any judicial decisions interpreting the Act, there are no case citations in the source. Practitioners should therefore rely on the statutory text, the regulations made under s 17, coronial determinations, SAT decisions on permit refusals and any judicial review decisions arising in court (not listed in the source) when seeking precedent on disputed points. The Act’s built-in administrative review route (s 8(6)) and the involvement of multiple public authorities (CHO, coroner, Governor) make it likely that disputes will arise in administrative and coronial forums before reaching superior courts, but no such litigation is recorded in the source material supplied.

Several practical pitfalls and points of uncertainty arise from the Act’s structure and language. Each is grounded in the statutory text.

1. Licence conditionality and the one‑year CHO certificate deadline (s 4(3)). A licence for a crematorium not yet established is not valid unless the Chief Health Officer certifies within one year that the building, fittings and apparatus have been erected and installed according to the approved plans. Failure to secure CHO certification within that time can render the licence ineffectual even though it was granted.

2. Advertising / objections and CHO overruling (s 4(2)(c)-(d)). Applicants must advertise intention to apply for eight successive weeks before filing, and the regime contemplates objections lodged with the CHO. The CHO may overrule objections, but the Act leaves the standards and process to regulations and CHO practice. This creates potential for procedural non-compliance and delay if the advertising and objection record is imperfect.

3. CHO technical discretion and revocation risk (s 4(2)(b), s 16(1)(b)). The CHO’s assessment of “inoffensive, decent, and effective” plant and a certificate that a crematorium is unfit (s 16(1)(b)) can be dispositive. Licensees face administrative revocation on the basis of CHO judgments, which are time-limited for revocation orders (s 16(2)), but operationally immediate.

4. Medical-referee conflict and fee incentives (s 8(4A), (4B), s 8A(g)). Medical referees are paid prescribed fees for issuing permits and are entitled to retain those fees for their own use (s 8(4A)-(4B)). That arrangement creates a direct financial relationship between permit applicants and medical referees. The Act also disqualifies certain certifying medical practitioners (close relatives, partners, or the medical referee himself) (s 8A(g)), but the retention of fees raises a potential concern about incentives and appearance of partiality where permitted by regulation.

5. Who can apply for a permit and statutory declaration requirements (s 8(3A)-(3B)). Only administrators, persons with written authority from administrators, or persons who satisfy a medical referee that the administrator will not apply and that they are proper persons, may apply. Where a non-administrator applies, they must make a prescribed statutory declaration and provide further information as required (s 8(3B)). These procedural prerequisites pose risk of invalid permits if statutory declaration or authority is defective.

6. Family veto versus testamentary direction (s 13). A spouse, de facto partner or next of kin may prevent cremation by written objection unless the deceased left a will/codicil/memo directing cremation that is “signed by him and attested” (s 13(1)). The formalities for a will or attested writing can be contentious and raise evidentiary and probate interaction issues. Administrators have a duty to use “all reasonable endeavours” to effect the deceased’s direction (s 13(2)), which can create tension with coroner or public-health orders.

7. Removal and disposal of ashes (s 7). Ashes generally cannot be removed from the crematorium except for burial on site or if delivered by the Board/association to the permit-holder. This can create practical difficulties for families preferring off-site burial, scattering, or transport interstate/overseas. The Act leaves some details to the Board or association and to regulations.

8. Criminal penalties expressed in historical amounts (s 15; s 17(2)). The Act specifies a summary offence fine of up to $400 and regulations penalties up to $20 (s 15(1); s 17(2)). Given the Act’s long history and multiple amendments, those monetary figures may reflect earlier currency regimes or be replaced in practice by later regulations or enforcement practice. Practitioners should check current consolidated legislation and regulation to confirm monetary penalties and enforcement procedures.

9. Employer vicarious liability with limited defence (s 15(4)). Each licensee may be criminally liable for employee offences “at or in the vicinity of the crematorium,” but has a statutory defence only if they can prove no act or neglect on their part facilitated the offence. Proving that defence may require recordkeeping, supervision and compliance processes that licensees must implement proactively.

10. Specific historical language and categorical exceptions (s 3(2)). The Act contains an express provision permitting the cremation of “any person of Asiatic race” in accordance with their religion, subject to regulations. This specific historical drafting sits within a modern regulatory environment and may interact with anti-discrimination norms; the Act leaves the detail to subordinate regulations (s 3(2), s 17(1)(d)).

11. Coroner and AG orders binding and potentially open-ended (s 14). The Attorney-General or coroner can forbid cremation absolutely or until specified actions have been taken, including removal and custody of viscera. Orders are binding on every person who knows them; operationally, that can delay funeral arrangements and affect planning.

12. Regulatory gap risk. The Act delegates much to regulations (s 17). If regulations are absent, outdated or unclear in a particular area (for example, duties of medical referees, maximum fees allowed, or permitted rites), parties may face uncertainty and delay, and administrative discretion will be higher.

Each “gotcha” is traceable to the Act’s text and the way it allocates discretion (Governor, CHO, coroner, medical referees) and imposes procedural formalities (advertising, statutory declarations, cause-of-death certificates). Practitioners should map risks against these specific provisions.

This section gives a practical compliance checklist for the principal actors under the Act: licence applicants/licensees, medical referees, administrators/funeral arrangers and cemetery Boards/associations. Each action references the relevant statutory provision.

For licence applicants / prospective licensees (Boards or associations)

• Confirm eligibility: licences may be granted to the cemetery Board or an incorporated association certified by the Chief Health Officer (s 4(1), (1A)).
• Secure site authority: be able to demonstrate sufficient authority to use the site or proposed site (s 4(2)(a)).
• Prepare CHO‑approved plans: submit plans and specifications for buildings, fittings and apparatus to the Chief Health Officer and ensure they meet CHO requirements (s 4(2)(b); s 17(1)(a)). For an unestablished crematorium, be prepared that licence validity depends on CHO certifying completion within one year (s 4(3)).
• Comply with advertising: advertise the intention to apply for the licence at least once in each of eight successive weeks in a public newspaper circulating locally and preserve proof; design the advertisement to comply with regulation-prescribed content (s 4(2)(c)). Track objections lodged with the CHO and any CHO determinations, since the CHO may overrule objections (s 4(2)(d)).
• Commission and maintain plant to CHO standards: ensure all building, fittings, works and apparatus are erected, completed and maintained to the satisfaction of the CHO (s 4(2)(b); s 17(1)(a)).
• Set fees and comply with fee caps: check regulations for any prescribed maximum fees licensees may charge (s 17(1)(e)), and ensure accounting and receipts comply with regulatory requirements.
• Governance for cemetery portions: if the crematorium is within a cemetery, follow s 5 regarding setting aside a portion and any permit conditions; if land is privately held, apply the rights described by s 6 when burying ashes on-site.
• Prepare operational policies to avoid employee offences: implement supervision and compliance procedures because licensees are vicariously liable for employee offences at or near the crematorium unless the licensee can prove absence of facilitating neglect (s 15(4)).

For medical referees and certifying practitioners

• Verify appointment and obligations: only appointed medical referees may issue permits (s 8(1)), and regulations may specify duties and fees (s 17(1)(e1)).
• Require certificate of cause of death: do not issue a permit unless the certificate under Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 s 44 (or foreign equivalent) is supplied (s 8A(a), (aa)). If cause of death is unclear or suspicious, refuse and report to the coroner (s 8(5)).
• Check applicant authority: confirm the applicant is an administrator or authorised person; if not, require the prescribed statutory declaration and any further information requested (s 8(3A), (3B)). Refusals (except those triggering coroner reporting) are reviewable by the State Administrative Tribunal (s 8(6)).
• Avoid conflicts of interest: do not accept certificates from medical practitioners who are close relatives, in partnership with you, or are yourself the certifying practitioner (s 8A(g)).
• Charge and retain permitted fees only: collect the prescribed fee and be aware that s 8(4B) entitles the medical referee to retain the fee for own use; ensure fees are those prescribed by regulation (s 8(4A), (4B), s 17(1)(e1)).

For administrators, funeral directors and permit applicants

• Establish right to apply: administrators have primary right to apply; if acting on behalf of an administrator, obtain written authority; if not the administrator, be prepared to make the prescribed statutory declaration and show why the administrator is not applying and that you are a proper person (s 8(3A)-(3B)).
• Secure documented cause of death: ensure the certificate under Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 s 44 is provided to the medical referee (s 8A(a)).
• Respect family objections and testamentary directions: obtain signed written direction from the deceased if you have reason to think a spouse, de facto partner or next of kin may object; confirm whether any written objection exists (s 13(1)). The administrator has duty to use all reasonable endeavours to implement the deceased’s direction to cremate (s 13(2)).
• Plan for ashes disposal constraints: if the permit-holder wants ashes removed, ensure the Board or association is prepared to deliver ashes for removal (s 7(1)) or be ready to arrange burial on-site; check the crematorium’s policies and cemetery controls.

For cemetery Boards / controlling authorities and associations

• If setting aside cemetery land for crematorium use, comply with s 5 with formal definition and set-aside documentation (s 5(1)). Ensure signage and trust arrangements reflect that the portion is effectively a public cemetery for ashes (s 5(2)).
• Where granting permits to associations to use cemetery land, document permit periods and conditions clearly (s 5(2)(b)).
• Where operating a private crematorium on non-cemetery land, document the association’s exercise of Board powers under s 6 and maintain records showing the land is used for burial of ashes only as permitted by the association (s 6).

Interaction with coronial and public health requirements

• Be prepared to interact with coroners: medical referees must report suspicious deaths to the coroner (s 8(5)); do not issue permits subject to a coroner’s intention to investigate unless a coroner’s certificate in the prescribed form is provided (s 8A(f)). The Attorney‑General or coroner can forbid cremation or require organ lodging (s 14).
• Comply with CHO public-health orders: where the CHO orders cremation under the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911 or the Public Health Act 2016, such orders may override family objections (s 8A(b)).

Recordkeeping and procedural compliance

• Maintain files of advertising proof (for licence applications) and CHO correspondence (s 4(2)(c),(d),(b),(3)).
• Keep statutory declarations and written authorities supporting permit applications (s 8(3B), (3A)).
• Maintain receipts and records of fees charged and collected, consistent with prescribed maximums if any (s 17(1)(e), s 8(4A)-(4B)).

Responding to enforcement risk

• Build internal compliance procedures and audit trails to support the defence in s 15(4) in case of an employee offence.
• Monitor regulatory instruments made under s 17 for updates to duties, forms and maximum fees. Regulations may set smaller penalties for certain breaches (s 17(2)), and the detail of many operational processes will be in subordinate legislation.

Finally, verify current regulatory instruments and any later statutory changes beyond the compiled Act text provided. The Act delegates extensively to regulations and to the CHO, coroner and Governor; up-to-date compliance therefore requires consulting those subordinate materials and administrative guidance.