Natural Burial Grounds

Where Can You Have A Natural Burial?

Natural burial is the practice of burying a human body in the earth, in a manner that allows for natural decomposition with minimal impact on the surrounding ecosystem. -Natural Death Advocacy Network (NDAN)

There are a growing number of cemeteries and Councils who are promoting natural or bushland burial alternatives within their community.

In 2020 NDAN did a survey of natural burial ground offerings in Australia, at that time there were 14 sites. When we revisited this in 2024, the number had doubled. This is a growing offering, with a strong community-driven push for mainstream services to develop it as a viable option.

Some of these offerings can be confusing, with each place offering something slightly different. The confusion has been further compounded by the absence of a standard definition of what constitutes a natural burial in Australia. With no clear, unified definition, NDAN has taken steps to establish what we consider to be a best practice standard for a natural burial.

You can see the List of Standards and Code of Conduct that our NDAN Burial Ground members agree to.

To better understand natural burial options, we recommend reviewing the information provided by NDAN on the key elements that define a Natural Burial.

Questions to Ask

Here are some questions to consider when speaking with a natural burial ground manager or staff member:

Natural burial ground

• Do you offer natural burials?
• Is your whole cemetery dedicated to natural burials?
  … If not, is there a defined area where only natural burial occurs?
• Is the natural burial ground currently or intended to be vegetated only with local native plants (i.e. bushland)?
  … If not, is the natural burial ground currently or intended to be paddock or pastoral land?

Natural graves

• Are all graves for natural burial dug to a shallow depth, i.e. no more than 1 metre of soil above the body?
• Do you restrict all natural burial graves to only one body?
• Do you allow graves to be dug by hand?
• Do you allow the coffin or body to be lowered by hand, i.e. without the aid of a powered machine?
• Do you specify that only biodegradable and compostable items may be buried with the body?
• Do you allow mourners to backfill the grave by hand?
• Do you prohibit physical grave markers on natural burial graves?
• If you allow visible grave markers, do you specify that they be made from untreated locally sourced natural material (stone, untreated wood, metal, clay)?

Natural burial

• Do you allow shrouded burials?
• Do you require that the body of the deceased is not embalmed and is not prepared with products containing plastic, synthetics, or chemicals?
• Do you specify that the body of the deceased must be dressed or shrouded only in material made from plant or protein-based fibres?
• Do you specify that coffins be made only from non-toxic, biodegradable materials, with no toxic glues, paints, varnishes or plastic fittings?

Integrity agreement

• Are you able to provide a declaration form, signed by a family member or funeral director, confirming that the requirements for a natural burial have been met?

As of 2024, these are the locations that offer some form of natural burial:

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