The available land for burials at Cairns Cemetery (Martyn Street) is limited.

Council is implementing several initiatives to increase the land available for future burials and the placement of ashes, so the lifespan of the cemetery is extended.

One initiative is the Voluntary Plot Buyback program.

The purpose of the buyback program is to assist in extending the life of the Cairns Cemetery in a way that considers a person’s burial rights but balances this against the future needs of the community.

The Voluntary Plot Buyback program is focused on plots within the Cairns Cemetery which have been reserved for more than 25 years but remain unused. The Buyback program will establish whether these plots are still required by the family, or if they can be returned to Council.

The plots returned to Council will become available for future burials, thereby increasing the lifespan of Cairns cemetery.

Nearly 400 plots have been reserved for more than 25 years but remain vacant.

The oldest reservation dates to 1941.

At the current burial rate, the availability of an additional 400 sites would extend the life of the cemetery by approximately 5 years.

Yes, absolutely.

If you would like to surrender a site, regardless of when the burial rights were purchased, or which cemetery, Council will be happy to buy back the burial rights for the plot and issue a refund.

Please refer to the Cemeteries Refund Scale below to establish the refund payable.

Yes, absolutely. If the burial rights for a reserved site of any type are no longer required, they may be surrendered during the Voluntary Buyback program and a refund will be issued as per the Cemeteries Refund Scale below.

The only exception will be that privately built mausoleums and vaults will be excluded from the program.

The Cemeteries Refund Scale will apply to all sites which are voluntarily surrendered:

The $250 application fee for the Surrender or Transfer of a Burial Right will be WAIVED if the site is voluntarily surrendered or transferred during the buyback program period.

You will need to complete relevant paperwork and return to Cemetery Services at Council. Once the correct paperwork has been received, the refund will be processed, and funds transferred into your nominated bank account within 30 days.

Strictly 6 months. The program will run from 1 December 2025 to 31 May 2026.

There are many reasons why a reserved plot might remain unused:

• families are unaware that the plot has been reserved
• the deceased and/or their partner have forgotten that they have reserved a plot
• the Burial Right Holder has relocated
• the Burial Right Holder’s preference is now for cremation, not burial
• the Burial Right Holder has been interred elsewhere or cremated
• new family circumstances, i.e. a new partner, making utilising a plot within a previous family area less appealing
• the reserved plot was not listed as an asset in the Will and consequently was not transparently bequeathed
• there are no physical records of the reservation, so the family are unaware or cannot prove entitlement
• family has moved interstate and wish their relative to be buried close by
• whilst the Burial Right Holder may have remembered they owned the burial right, they did not apply to surrender it to Council because the refund was not worth the effort, or they were unaware that relinquishment was possible

1. Various records would have been provided at the time a site was reserved. This could have been a Reservation Confirmation or payment receipt. You will need to present this to Council, with identification, to confirm you are the Burial Right Holder.
2. You can check the list of sites which were reserved more than 25 years ago but remain vacant at Cairns Cemetery, with the Burial Right Holder’s name, on this page.
3. You can email cemeteriesbuyback@council.qld.gov.au and provide the Burial Right Holder’s name, address and date of birth. Our Cemetery Services team will check our records for a reservation.

You will need to provide proof of your identity and sign a Statutory Declaration declaring you are the Burial Right Holder.

Contact Cemetery Services on 1300 69 22 47 or email cemeteriesbuyback@council.qld.gov.au to discuss.

1. You will need to either prove your right of succession, or sign an Affidavit declaring you are the rightful Burial Right Holder
2. You will need to complete the Request to Transfer of Burial Rights form if you would like to retain the site, or you will need to complete the Request to Surrender Burial Rights form if you would like to surrender the burial rights.
3. If you wish to retain the site, a Burial Right Permit will be issued for 25 years in accordance with Local Law No. 7 (Human Remains and Cemeteries) 2016.
4. If you wish to surrender the site, a refund will be paid, and Council will revoke the burial rights. The plot will be returned to Council as an available site to be reallocated in the future.

If you do not confirm that you would like to either retain the site or surrender the site by 31 May 2026, the burial rights for the site will be revoked in accordance with Local Law No. 7 (Human Remains and Cemeteries) 2016 and the plot will be returned to Council as an available site to be reallocated in the future.

The site will be revoked in accordance with Local Law No. 7 (Human Remains and Cemeteries) 2016 and the plot will be returned to Council as an available site to be reallocated in the future.

Council does not, as part of its ordinary practice, revoke a person’s burial rights. But when required, the revocation or surrender of burial rights will be undertaken in accordance with Local Law No. 7 (Human Remains and Cemeteries) 2016.

• no human remains have been buried within the site;
• Council gives reasonable written notice to the Burial Right Holder; and
• the Burial Right Holder has not responded to Council within the timeframe specified in the notice.

“Reasonable Written Notice” is defined under subsection (9) and essentially means:

• if Council has a current contact address for the Burial Right Holder, by writing to them at that address; or
• if Council does not have a current address, by publishing a Public Notice in a newspaper (circulating generally in the Council area) and on Council’s website.

Council is committed to an extensive public notification program to reach as many possible Burial Right Holders or their families as possible during the 6 month notification period:

• At least 2 mailouts to Burial Right Holders who we have contact details of.
• Multiple Public Notices will be placed in the Cairns Post and Courier Mail
• Council’s website – Cemeteries page will have a dedicated page for the Voluntary Buyback Program
• Radio – community service announcements throughout the program
• Facebook and social media

Given that Council is committed to an extensive advertising campaign to communicate the Buyback program over a 6 month public notification period, Council can offer the following:

Retain site:

You may be able to purchase back the original site reserved if it is still available. You will need to complete an application to Purchase Burial Rights and pay the applicable fees.

If your original site is not available, Council will offer an alternative site in a similar section, if available. You will need to complete an application to Purchase Burial Rights and pay the applicable fees.

Surrender site:

The Plot will have been revoked by Council on 31 May 2026 if we have not had written confirmation of your intent for the Plot. No refund will be payable after the program end date of 31 May 2026.