Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment (Veterans
Reform) Act 2015
No. 4 of 2015
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section
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2
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Purpose
Commencement
Principal Act
Definitions
Cemetery trust to offer to convert 25 year limited right of
interment
Cemetery trust may remove cremated human remains and
memorial
New section 86A inserted
New section 110A inserted
Repeal of amending Act
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Endnotes
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Page
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2
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General information
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Victoria
Cemeteries and Crematoria
Amendment (Veterans Reform) Act
2015†
No. 4 of 2015
[Assented to 25 March 2015]
The Parliament of Victoria enacts:
1 Purpose
The main purpose of this Act is to amend the
Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003 to provide
for—
(a) the conversion of a right of interment for
interring cremated human remains of
deceased identified veterans for 25 years to a
perpetual right of interment; and
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Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment (Veterans Reform) Act 2015
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(b) the re-interment of cremated human remains
of deceased identified veterans and their
family members in specified circumstances.
2 Commencement
(1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into
operation on a day or days to be proclaimed.
(2) If a provision of this Act does not come into
operation before 1 February 2016, it comes into
operation on that day.
3 Principal Act
In this Act, the Cemeteries and Crematoria
Act 2003 is called the Principal Act.
4 Definitions
(1) In section 3(1) of the Principal Act, in
paragraph (d) of the definition of transfer, for
"assignment." substitute "assignment;".
(2) In section 3(1) of the Principal Act insert the
following definitions—
"domestic partner of a person means—
(a) a person who is in a registered
relationship with the person; or
(b) an adult person to whom the person is
not married but with whom the person
is in a relationship as a couple where
one or each of them provides personal
or financial commitment and support of
a domestic nature for the material
benefit of the other, irrespective of their
genders and whether or not they are
living under the same roof, but does not
include a person who provides
domestic support and personal care to
the person—
(i) for fee or reward; or
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Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment (Veterans Reform) Act 2015
No. 4 of 2015
(ii) on behalf of another person or an
organisation (including a
government or government
agency, a body corporate or a
charitable or benevolent
organisation);
family member, in relation to a deceased
identified veteran, means—
(a) a spouse or domestic partner of the
deceased identified veteran; or
(b) a child of the deceased identified
veteran, including a stepchild or an
adopted child; or
(c) a parent of the deceased identified
veteran;
spouse of a person means a person to whom that
person is married;
veteran means a person who has performed
service or duty within the meaning of the
Veterans Act 2005.".
(3) After section 3(2) of the Principal Act insert—
"(3) For the purposes of the definition of
domestic partner in subsection (1)—
(a) registered relationship has the same
meaning as in the Relationships Act
2008; and
(b) in determining whether persons who
are not in a registered relationship are
domestic partners of each other, all the
circumstances of their relationship are
to be taken into account, including any
one or more of the matters referred to in
section 35(2) of the Relationships Act
2008 as may be relevant in a particular
case; and
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Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment (Veterans Reform) Act 2015
No. 4 of 2015
(c) a person is not a domestic partner of
another person only because they are
co-tenants.".
5 Cemetery trust to offer to convert 25 year limited
right of interment
(1) In section 85(2)(b) of the Principal Act—
(a) for "if the right" substitute "unless the right
of interment relates to cremated human
remains of a deceased identified veteran, if
the right";
(b) for "human remains." substitute "human
remains; and".
(2) After section 85(2)(b) of the Principal Act
insert—
"(c) in the case of a right of interment that relates
to cremated human remains of a deceased
identified veteran, if that right is not
extended or converted to a perpetual right of
interment, the cemetery trust may—
(i) leave those interred cremated human
remains undisturbed in perpetuity and
convert the right of interment to a
perpetual right of interment; or
(ii) remove those interred cremated human
remains from their current place of
interment and re-inter them at another
location within the cemetery grounds
and—
(A) remove any memorial at the
current place of interment; and
(B) re-establish the memorial at the
location of the re-interment or
establish a new equivalent
memorial at that location.".
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6 Cemetery trust may remove cremated human
remains and memorial
(1) In section 86 of the Principal Act, for "If a
cemetery" substitute "Subject to subsections (2)
and (3), if a cemetery".
(2) At the end of section 86 of the Principal Act
insert—
"(2) Subject to subsection (3), if a cemetery trust
has given notification under section 85 and
no action has been taken by the holder of the
right of interment within the time limits
specified by the cemetery trust, the cemetery
trust may—
(a) leave those interred cremated human
remains undisturbed; or
(b) convert the right of interment to a
perpetual right of interment.
(3) If a cemetery trust has given notification
under section 85 and no action has been
taken by the holder of the right of interment
within the time limits specified by the
cemetery trust and the interred cremated
remains are those of a deceased identified
veteran, the cemetery trust may—
(a) leave those interred cremated human
remains undisturbed in perpetuity and
convert the right of interment to a
perpetual right of interment; or
(b) remove those interred cremated human
remains from their current place of
interment and re-inter them at another
location within the cemetery grounds
and—
(i) remove any memorial at the
current place of interment; and
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Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment (Veterans Reform) Act 2015
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(ii) re-establish the memorial at the
location of the re-interment or
establish a new equivalent
memorial at that location.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), if a cemetery trust
removes cremated human remains of a
deceased identified veteran from a place of
interment and re-inters those cremated
human remains under subsection (3)(b), the
cemetery trust may—
(a) remove from their current place of
interment—
(i) any cremated human remains that
were interred in the same place of
interment as the cremated human
remains of the deceased identified
veteran; or
(ii) any cremated human remains of a
family member of the deceased
identified veteran that were
interred in a place of interment in
the vicinity of the place of
interment of the cremated human
remains of the deceased identified
veteran; and
(b) re-inter those cremated human
remains—
(i) at the location where the cremated
human remains of the deceased
identified veteran are re-interred;
or
(ii) at another location within the
cemetery grounds that is in the
vicinity of the location where the
cremated human remains of the
deceased identified veteran are
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Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment (Veterans Reform) Act 2015
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re-interred in a manner that is
similar to that in which they were
originally interred; and
(c) remove any memorial at the current
place of interment of the cremated
human remains of the family member;
and
(d) re-establish the memorial at the
location of the re-interment or establish
a new equivalent memorial at that
location.
(5) A cemetery trust must not take any action
under subsection (4) unless, in relation to
any right of interment that relates to the
current place of interment of cremated
human remains referred to in
subsection (4)(a)—
(a) the cemetery trust has given—
(i) notification under section 85, in
the case of a 25 year limited right
of interment; or
(ii) written notification to each holder
of the right of interment affected
and sought the consent of each
holder to the removal of the
remains, in the case of a perpetual
right of interment; and
(b) no action has been taken by the holder
of the right of interment within the time
limits specified by the cemetery trust.
(6) If a cemetery trust re-inters cremated human
remains under subsection (3) or (4), the right
of interment that applies to the new place of
interment is a perpetual right of interment.".
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7 New section 86A inserted
After section 86 of the Principal Act insert—
"86A Cemetery trust holds certain rights of
interment relating to cremated human
remains of deceased identified veterans
(1) If a cemetery trust converts a right of
interment to a perpetual right under
section 86(3)(a) in relation to cremated
human remains of a deceased identified
veteran—
(a) the right of interment is held by the
cemetery trust; and
(b) the cemetery trust is responsible for the
maintenance of that place of interment
and any memorial at that place of
interment.
(2) If a cemetery trust removes interred
cremated human remains from their current
place of interment and re-inters those
remains under section 86(3)(b) or (4)—
(a) the right of interment that applies to the
new place of interment at which those
cremated human remains are re-interred
is held by the cemetery trust; and
(b) the cemetery trust is responsible for the
maintenance of that place of interment
and any memorial at that place of
interment.".
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Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment (Veterans Reform) Act 2015
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8 New section 110A inserted
After section 110 of the Principal Act insert—
"110A Cemetery trust may establish, repair or
maintain memorial or place of interment
of deceased identified veterans
Despite section 110, a cemetery trust may
use cemetery trust funds or other funds for
the purposes of—
(a) the maintenance, repair or restoration of
any memorial or place of interment of
cremated human remains of any
deceased identified veteran; or
(b) the establishment of any memorial in
relation to any deceased identified
veteran equivalent to any memorial it
replaces.".
9 Repeal of amending Act
This Act is repealed on 1 February 2017.
Note
The repeal of this Act does not affect the continuing operation of
the amendments made by it (see section 15(1) of the
Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984).
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Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment (Veterans Reform) Act 2015
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Endnotes
Endnotes
1 General information
See www.legislation.vic.gov.au for Victorian Bills, Acts and current
authorised versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
†
Minister's second reading speech—
Legislative Assembly: 11 February 2015
Legislative Council: 26 February 2015
The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill for an Act to amend the
Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003 in relation to certain rights of
interment for cremated human remains and for other purposes."
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