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. Some of these offerings can be confusing, with each place offering something slightly different. Adding to the confusion has been the lack of standard definition around what actually constitutes a natural burial in Australia. There has been no one clear definition and so NDAN have gone some way to lay the groundwork for what we consider a best practice standard for natural burial.
In considering the information provided below in relation to your natural burial choices and providers, we suggest you also review the information provided by NDAN on what makes a natural burial.
In trying to collate a comprehensive list of cemeteries who say they offer a natural alternative in Australia and also to address some of the confusion in relation to what exactly is the natural offering, we sent each of the following places listed here a questionnaire to gather more detailed information. We asked about what kind of options they offer for natural burial and how it works in their cemetery. For those who replied, the table of responses is shown here.