Real Life Grave Robbers

A Dott & Crossitt Halloween special‍

In 19th century Britain, "resurrection men" dug up the freshly buried and sold them to anatomy schools. Today, in NSW, your remains can be lifted from your grave perfectly legally. All that's needed is an expiry date, no shovel in the night required.

A lease on eternity

Buying a plot means buying an interment right, not land. Under the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2013 (NSW), a right can be perpetual (you stay forever) or, since 2018, renewable (you stay for a fixed term). A renewable right is not a deadline for getting into the grave. It is how long you get to stay there.

The countdown

Per Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW:

1. A burial right runs for 25 to 99 years from the day it is granted, not the day of the funeral.
2. It can be renewed in blocks of at least five years, up to 99 years in total.
3. Twelve months before expiry, the operator must attempt to contact the holder.
4. The holder has six months after expiry to renew.
5. Two years after expiry, the site can be re-used.

On re-use, remains buried for at least 25 years go into an ossuary box, which is re-interred deeper or moved to an ossuary house. Headstones are removed only after notice by registered mail, the Government Gazette and a newspaper, and are kept for five years. Heritage graves, war graves and some infectious disease graves are never re-used.

Scandal or simple maths?

Mostly maths. When the scheme began, Sydney's burial grounds were expected to fill within 30 to 40 years. Western Australia uses only renewable rights, and they are common in South Australia and Europe.

Price matters too. A 25-year burial right at Waverley costs $30,040 under the 2025–26 price list, while a rare perpetual plot there was recently listed for about $145,000. Renewable rights are optional, and rights sold before 2018 are taken to be perpetual unless their terms say otherwise.

Even the living get caught

In 2024, the ABC reported that Dorothy Jackson, 102, had outlived a Waverley Cemetery contract giving her 25 years to use her plot. The council waived the $6,000 extension fee after the ABC asked questions.

How to rest in peace, permanently

• Read your certificate. It must say if a right is renewable and how renewal fees are calculated.
• Ask about perpetual rights before you sign.
• Line up a renewer. You can't renew from six feet under, so decide who will hold the right after your death, and keep the cemetery's contact details current.
• Put it in your estate plan. Record your wishes in your will or a letter of wishes, and consider funding renewals from your estate.

The final word

The real-life grave robber is an expiry date nobody noticed. Talk to Dott & Crossitt about building your final arrangements into your estate plan. We promise it's less grave than it sounds. Happy Halloween.

General information only, not legal advice. Rules and fees vary between operators and change over time.

Sources

• Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW: Renewable interment rights quick guide
• ABC News: Sydney woman, 102, outlives Waverley Cemetery contract (24 August 2024)
• Waverley Council: Cemetery fees and charges 2025–26
• Domain: Family reluctantly selling rare burial plot

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