There are a number of Councils that, in theory, apply a non-resident premium to burial right fees to discourage “out of towners”. Where it is difficult is actually determining
- the criteria for eligibility: what are the criteria? Obviously there will be long term residents who die in nursing homes etc outside the LGA. What of children who grew up in the area then lived in Sydney for the next 65 years? How do you deal with tenants who lived in the LGA more a short time eg a year? What about people whose residences were on the other side of the street that forms the LGA boundary? Do regular holiday makers qualify? Clarification will also need to be there to cover situations that may arise eg a local resident applying to inter a relative who has never been a resident.
- who enforces the criteria: Some Councils leave it to the client funeral director (as they know who is a “local”). From my perspective it is unreasonable to put the client funeral director in that position. If a cemetery has rules it should ensure they are enforced, not rely on someone else doing so.
- that the policy is not discriminatory: Arguably that’s ok provided the rationale is clear, transparent and consistently applied eg it’s like what State premiers are doing with border lockdowns 😊. It is important that a non-resident fee criteria is not in breach of other Council policies re discrimination.
From an implementation perspective it would be prudent to:
Determine the criteria that are to be used and what proof or documentation will be required to support an application.. Include them within the Cemetery Operating Policy. To ensure transparency include the Operating Policy on the web site and refer to it as part of the Cemetery Application Forms. It would also make sense to take legal advice on whether a cemetery operator has the “power” to make such a rule.
