A cemetery manager must apply to the regulator for approval to close a cemetery. An application to can only be made at least 50 years since the last burial.
If a cemetery is closed, cemetery managers are not permitted to use the land for another purpose (such as laying the cemetery out as a park or garden, removing tombstones or exhuming bodies) for at least 100 years since the last burial (except in exceptional circumstances), and must first apply to the regulator.
The regulator can place conditions on closed cemeteries, such as ensuring the protection of historical graves or the graves of veterans.
