For most of Australia’s history, the answer to “can I be buried with my dog” has been a flat no, at least in a public cemetery. In late 2025, that changed in Victoria. Here’s what actually shifted, what it means in practice, and why the rest of the country still has a patchwork of rules.
What changed
In November 2025, Victoria’s Parliament passed an amendment to the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003 as part of the Domestic Animals Amendment (Rehoming Cats and Dogs and Other Matters) Bill 2025. The amendment, moved by Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell during the bill’s committee stage, overturned the previous ban on placing or burying animal remains in a public place of interment, as detailed in Parliament of Victoria’s record of the debate.
Before this, burying a pet’s ashes or body in a public cemetery grave (even tucking an urn into a coffin) was technically illegal in Victoria, no matter what the deceased had asked for. The only legal options were burial on private land with the landowner’s permission, or scattering a pet’s ashes outside the cemetery gates rather than inside them.
The bill received almost unanimous support in the Legislative Council (only one MP, David Limbrick, opposed it) and has since received Royal Assent, making Victoria the second Australian state to legalise joint human-pet burials in public cemeteries.
Why the change happened
Part of the argument for the change wasn’t really about the law at all, it was about what was already happening on the ground. Ms Purcell noted that funeral directors and cemeteries had for years been quietly allowing pets to be buried in family plots to honour people’s final wishes, despite the ban. The problem was that these burials weren’t being recorded on official interment records. That creates a real risk down the track: a future cemetery manager exhuming or working a plot with no idea an animal is buried there.
Legalising the practice means it can now be properly documented instead of happening in a legal grey area.
How it actually works
This is a permissive change, not a mandatory one, cemeteries can still say no. Here’s what’s actually required where it’s offered.
🤔 How Joint Burial Actually Works
- It’s optional for cemeteries. Religious or culturally-affiliated sites can still decline to offer it.
- Families complete a funeral permit application to record the interment.
- That application must log the position of remains within the plot, burial depth, and the identity of everyone, human and animal, interred there.
- That paperwork is the whole point of the reform, an unrecorded, informal practice becomes a properly documented one.
Victoria wasn’t first
New South Wales got there first. NSW passed its own amendment inserting section 69A into its Cemeteries and Crematoria Act, which took effect on 1 September 2025, making it the first Australian jurisdiction to explicitly permit animal remains to be placed or buried in an interment site, a change now reflected in the interment rights guidance published by NSW’s Cemeteries & Crematoria regulator. Victoria’s change was deliberately modelled on it, Ms Purcell described her amendment as “drafted identically” to the NSW version.
What about the rest of Australia?
This is where it gets messy, and where the tile’s “rules are still different or unclear” holds up. Outside NSW and Victoria, joint burial in a public cemetery isn’t legislated for anywhere else in the country. What you’re left with instead is a state-by-state (and often council-by-council) patchwork of rules around burying a pet on private property:
🗺️ Backyard Burial Rules By State
Queensland
Generally allowed if remains are covered by at least a metre of soil and kept away from waterways, per Brisbane City Council‘s guidance. Rules vary by council outside Brisbane.
South Australia
Backyard burial is typically permitted unless a specific council by-law says otherwise. For guidance on managing a deceased pet, see SA’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions.
Western Australia
Varies significantly by shire. Per WA Health’s guidance, some urban councils, including Perth, restrict or ban it outright.
Tasmania
Allowed with council-specific conditions on burial depth and site, per the Tasmanian Department of Health.
Northern Territory
Permitted in rural regions but subject to environmental health rules. We couldn’t find a single Territory-wide standard, check with your local council.
ACT
Technically not prohibited, but the ACT Government discourages it for anything larger than a guinea pig, and it’s ruled out entirely for unit developments or anywhere under strata.
None of that touches the actual question the law reform was about: being buried together, in a public cemetery, at the end. For now, that’s a Victoria-and-NSW-only story.
❓ Quick FAQ
Is every cemetery required to allow this?
No. The law makes it possible, not compulsory. Cemeteries, especially religious or culturally-affiliated ones, can still set their own rules or decline the practice.
What if I already have my pet’s ashes at home?
You can still have them interred with you when the time comes. Talk to your cemetery and funeral director now so it’s on record, rather than leaving it to whoever’s arranging things later.
Does this apply if I live outside Victoria or NSW?
Not yet. There’s no equivalent law anywhere else in Australia for public cemeteries. Home burial rules still vary by state and council.
The practical takeaway for dog owners
If this matters to you, here’s what’s worth confirming before you assume it’s sorted.
💡 If This Matters To You
- Not every Victorian or NSW cemetery offers joint burial, ask your specific cemetery directly.
- Get the conversation with your cemetery and funeral director on record now if you already have a pet’s ashes waiting.
- Outside Victoria or NSW, this law doesn’t apply to you yet, don’t assume your local cemetery will accept it just because you’ve seen this story.
