Up until 1 August 2015, in accordance with South Australian legislation all grave and memorial sites at Centennial Park traditionally carried limited tenure. Limited tenure Interment Rights for burial and memorial positions are issued for a set period of time. Once a site has expired the position can be reclaimed by Centennial Park.
We make every effort to contact the Interment Right holder well in advance of expiry. Prior to expiry of the Interment Right, a letter is sent to the Interment Right Holder. This becomes complicated if the Interment Right Holder has not notified us of any address changes. Notification of expiry is also placed on the grave or memorial asking the Interment Right Holder or any other interested party to contact us. We also publish in The Advertiser a notice of expired Interment Rights.
If after these actions and a minimum period of 2 years has elapsed, Interment Right Holders for these expired sites cannot be contacted, ownership of the sites reverts to Centennial Park, and they may be re-used in accordance with the Burial and Cremation Act 2013 and Regulations 2014.
The process of re-using a grave site is treated with utmost dignity, care and respect. Skeletal remains are carefully recovered from graves and are individually placed into ossuary boxes and re interred at a lower depth in the same grave. In the case of cremated remains, they will be removed and re-interred at a dedicated unmarked location within Centennial Park. Interment Right Holders who do not want a site to be re-used can renew or extend the Interment Right.
We do understand the importance families place of having a site that is forever. As of 1 August 2015 we now also offer families the option of perpetuity, meaning a site can be purchased indefinitely.
Please click here for more information on Perpetuity
To check the status of a position please visit Memorial Search