Natural Burial Tasmania: Private Land Burial Rules and the 3-Step Approval Process

A farmer in northern Tasmania wanted to bury his wife on their property as she'd requested. He assumed a phone call to the council would sort it. Instead, he discovered a three-tier government approval process, mandatory soil testing, and a timeline that couldn't keep pace with the legal requirement to refrigerate a body below 5°C.

Tasmania explicitly permits burial on private rural land under the Burial and Cremation Act 2019 — but the approval process requires coordinating three separate government authorities, and each one operates on its own timeline.

The Three Approvals You Need

Unlike cemetery burial, which requires only standard funeral documentation, a private land burial in Tasmania demands written approval from three parties:

1. The Landowner. If you own the property, this is straightforward — you provide written consent as part of the application. If the land belongs to someone else (a family member, a trust), you need their formal written permission.

2. The General Manager of the Local Council. Your local council assesses the environmental suitability of the burial site. This is where the Environmental Health Officer (EHO) inspection comes in. The council evaluates lot size, setback distances from waterways, proximity to neighbouring properties, and most critically, the water table depth.

3. The Director of Public Health. Even after council approval, the application goes to the state-level Director of Public Health for final authorisation. This is not a rubber stamp — the Director independently assesses whether the burial meets public health standards.

The EHO Soil Test: What Actually Happens

The council will require you to dig a test hole at the proposed burial site, typically 1 to 1.5 metres deep, for the Environmental Health Officer to inspect. The EHO is checking:

• Water table depth — the burial must be well above the seasonal water table to prevent groundwater contamination
• Soil profile — clay-heavy soils that retain water are problematic; well-draining soils are preferred
• Drainage patterns — the site must not be in a flood zone or near a watercourse
• Setback distances — minimum distances from property boundaries, waterways, bores, and dwellings

If the soil fails, you don't get an alternative test — you need to identify a different site on the property and start the process again.

Why Timing Is the Critical Problem

The approval process is inherently slow. Councils don't process private burial requests daily — they're rare, and the EHO may need to schedule a site visit. The Director of Public Health operates on government processing timelines.

Meanwhile, Tasmanian law requires that a body be maintained at 5°C or below if it's not embalmed. Families can achieve this at home using domestic cooling beds, dry ice, or techni-ice, and evidence suggests three to five days is a reasonable timeframe before decomposition becomes evident under proper cooling conditions.

This creates a genuine logistical tension. If a death has already occurred, the approval timeline may not align with practical body preservation limits. Families who know they want a private land burial should seek pre-approval well before death occurs — ideally months or years in advance.

What You Can and Can't Do Without a Funeral Director

Tasmania explicitly allows family-led funerals. You are legally permitted to:

• Keep the deceased at home for a vigil or viewing (maintaining the 5°C temperature requirement)
• Wash, dress, and shroud the body yourself
• Transport the body in your own vehicle, provided the vehicle has a physical separation between the driver's cabin and the remains, or the body is secured in a container that prevents the escape of bodily fluids
• Dig the grave and conduct the burial yourselves

You must have a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) or a declaration of life extinct before transporting the body. And the funeral director — or the family member acting in that capacity — must submit a formal statement of disposal to Births, Deaths and Marriages Tasmania within 7 days of the burial.

Shroud Burial and Green Burial Options

Tasmania does not require a coffin for burial. A biodegradable shroud is legally acceptable, provided the body is contained in a way that meets transport and public health requirements. For families pursuing the most environmentally low-impact burial possible, this means:

• No embalming (not required unless burial is in an above-ground vault or mausoleum)
• Natural fibre shroud instead of a manufactured coffin
• Biodegradable grave markers
• No concrete vault liner (not required under Tasmanian law)

The above-ground vault exception is specific: if remains are interred in a mausoleum or above-ground structure, the cemetery manager must ensure the body is arterially embalmed and the vault is secured against insects, vermin, and the escape of fluids or odours.

The Long-Term Implication: Title Encumbrances

One aspect families rarely consider is the permanent record. A burial on private land may create an encumbrance on the property title through the Land Titles Office. Future buyers must be informed of the burial, and local councils maintain records of approved private burial sites. If you plan to sell the property in the future, the burial site becomes a permanent feature of the land's history.

The Tasmania Funeral Laws & Consumer Rights Guide includes the complete council application process, EHO inspection requirements, and a pre-approval timeline template for families planning a private land burial in Tasmania.

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