Cremation Regulations 1973: Exemption from Regulation 7

The Cremation Regulations 1973 require the permission of a medical referee before a body can be cremated. Under regulation 7 of the Regulations, a medical referee cannot permit any cremation unless a Cremation Certificate is issued by a certifying practitioner which requires the medical or nurse practitioner to see and identify the body.

Since March 2020, successive Ministers of Health have authorised medical referees to permit cremations to be carried out without compliance with some of the requirements of regulation 7, in some defined settings. Such authorisations can be made by the Minister under Section 12 (b) of the Cremation Regulations 1973.

The most recent authorisation was made in December 2024 by Hon. Dr Shane Reti. It extends the previous authorisation to 31 December 2025. Like recent authorisations, it was issued due to workforce pressures in the medical workforce servicing the aged residential care sector.

The exemption applies to the requirements in regulation 7(1) for a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner to complete form AB or to see and identify the body after death for the purpose of completing form B in situations when:

• the death occurs in rest homes, residential care facilities, and other long-term in-patient facilities; and
• the death is not unexpected; and
• where the medical history and current conditions of the deceased are known by a medical or nurse practitioner.

This exemption does not apply to deaths in public hospitals, hospices, private homes, or other settings and where a medical practitioner does not know the medical history of the individual. Certifying practitioners are still required to view the body of a person who dies outside of a residential care facility in order to issue a cremation certificate.

Under this authorisation a medical referee must receive advice from a trusted source, who has a reasonable level of assurance of the cause of death to verify the identity of the deceased and that the deceased died of natural causes. Medical referees have discretion in determining who constitutes a trusted source, but must record the identity, contact details, and position of the trusted source.

The exemption from Regulation 7 of the Cremation Regulations 1973 means that, in situations where a person has died in a residential care facility, rest home or other long term in-patient facility and where the death is not unexpected, a Form B cremation certificate may be issued without examining the deceased after death.

Under the exemption, the Form B cremation certificate should be completed by a certifying practitioner who previously attended the deceased before death (by personal attendance or via video-link).

The Form B certificate should state that “the deceased was not examined after death as per the Minister's residential care facility exemption”.

More information on the Form B certificate

The trusted source, usually a manager or registered nurse at the residential facility, must confirm to a funeral director (or other applicant for cremation) that they have identified the deceased and that they are satisfied that there were no suspicious circumstances to the death.

A Deceased Verification form, updated from that provided by the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand for a previous exemption issued during the COVID-19 response, is available at the bottom of the page linked below:

Cremation Certificate of Medical Practitioner or Nurse Practitioner

The Cremation Authority must confirm that there is no biomechanical aid in the body. To ensure the Crematorium Authority knows the deceased may be safely cremated, the funeral director (or other applicant) should also provide an embalmer's certificate to confirm that there is no biomechanical aid in situ.

These certificates should be sent to the medical referee.

Medical certificate of cause of death completed by an ‘alternate’ medical practitioner or nurse practitioner 

Please note that a practitioner who did not attend the deceased before death must still examine the body after death in order to issue a medical certificate of cause of death.