New Zealand Legislation: Regulations
Regulations are laws made under Acts
This note is not part of the regulations, but is intended to indicate their general effect.
These regulations, most of which come into force on the 28th day after the notification of these regulations in the Gazette, are made under the Burial and Cremation Act 1964. They amend the Cremation Regulations 1973.
Most of the amendments are to take account of the enactment of the Coroners Act 2006. In particular, these amendments—
make clear that a coroner, for the purposes of those regulations, includes the chief coroner, an acting chief coroner, or a relief coroner under the Coroners Act 2006:
substitute a new regulation 7(1) that—
clarifies what certificates are required before a Medical Referee may permit a cremation; and
enables the required medical practitioner’s certificate to be given by any medical practitioner required or permitted to give a doctor’s certificate for the death (given that disposal of a body without a doctor's certificate for the death, or an authorisation by a coroner for the release of the body, is prohibited) under the Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act 1995 or, after the commencement of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Amendment Act 2008, under the Burial and Cremation Act 1964:
align the medical practitioner's certificate (form B of Schedule 1) with new regulation 7(1):
substitute a new certificate (new form C of Schedule 1) that may be given if a death has been reported under the Coroners Act 2006 to a coroner, and a coroner is satisfied there are no circumstances likely to call for an examination or, as the case may be, a further examination, of the body:
revoke, and do not replace, provisions on cremation being permitted on a certificate given by a Justice who has authorised a post-mortem examination (because, under the Coroners Act 2006, only a coroner can direct a pathologist to perform a post-mortem of a body).
The amendments in regulations 5 and 7, however,––
replace references to repealed enactments with references to enactments that, with or without modification, replace, or that correspond to, the enactments repealed; and
correct an erroneous cross-reference.
Regulations 5(3), 6(2), and 8(2) make amendments consequential on amendments made by the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Amendment Act 2008.
