Christchurch City Council cemetery fees for 2026/27

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-10-20 · Reviewed quarterly, when the underlying data is restated.

Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.

Christchurch City Council charges $2,071 for a full-size plot and $1,389 for an adult interment in 2026/27, so a standard weekday adult burial costs $3,460 in council fees. An ash plot is $598 and an ash interment $277. The council does not run a crematorium: all Christchurch crematoria are privately owned, so cremation fees are not on this schedule.

A plot purchase is the right to bury in a particular plot; the interment fee covers the burial itself. The figures below are the council's own, GST inclusive, "as of 1 July 2026" (Christchurch City Council: Cemeteries fees 2026/2027), read on 20 October 2026. They are only the council's share of a funeral bill. The funeral director's fee, casket, celebrant and headstone are separate, and our Christchurch funeral cost page puts them together.

The 2026/27 schedule

Item	Fee
Full-size plot	$2,071
Ash plot	$598
Child plot	$978
Burial, adult (7 years and over), Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4pm	$1,389
Burial, child (13 months to 6 years)	$863
Burial, infant (6 to 12 months)	$526
Burial, stillborn or neonatal (up to 6 months)	$230
Ash interment	$277
Green burial	$2,925 or actual costs if greater

Worked totals (our arithmetic): an adult plot plus interment is $2,071 + $1,389 = $3,460. An ash plot plus ash interment is $598 + $277 = $875. A child plot plus a child burial (13 months to 6 years) is $978 + $863 = $1,841. FDANZ's July 2025 sample put Christchurch at $3,356 (FDANZ 2026 Industry Trends Report), a difference of $104, or about 3%, if the two bases match. We cannot confirm that they do. The council page lists the green burial fee under burials and does not say whether a plot is included, so ask the council.

Out-of-hours, short-notice and other charges

Item	Fee
Burial on Saturday (9am to 12.30pm) or a public holiday	$846
Ash interment attended by the sexton on a Saturday or public holiday	$254
Burial continuing after 4pm Monday to Friday, or after 1pm Saturday	$362
Less than 8 working hours' notice	$344
Use of a lowering device	$139
Muslim boards	$399
Disinterment, adult casket	$1,871 or actual costs if greater
Disinterment, child casket	$1,399 or actual costs if greater
Disinterment, ash	$458 or actual costs if greater
New headstone or plaque	$87
Additional lettering	$37.30
Renovating work	$49.50
Transfer of Right of Burial	$80.80
Supply of written information	$80.80 per hour

The Saturday and public-holiday fee is listed as additional, so a Saturday adult burial is $2,071 + $1,389 + $846 = $4,306 in council fees (our arithmetic). The council page lists no non-resident or out-of-district surcharge. Nelson's schedule has one (see Nelson council fees). For a large-city comparison, Auckland's totals are on Auckland Council fees.

Rules on notice, payment and timing

Burial, disinterment and plot purchase fees must be paid in full before a burial or disinterment takes place, and the council does not offer payment plans.
No interment is scheduled without the council's prior approval, and applications need at least one working day's notice for Christchurch City cemeteries and two working days for Banks Peninsula cemeteries (Christchurch City Council: Interments).
Interments occur on the hour and half hour from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturday. A weekend or public-holiday burial needs prior approval of the Urban Parks Team Leader. No interments are scheduled on Christmas Day, Good Friday or Anzac Day.
Families can arrange an ash interment directly with the council, and an ash plot is bought through the same office.

Cemeteries and plots

Plots can be pre-purchased in most cemeteries. In Christchurch City the council lists Avonhead Memorial, Belfast, Memorial Park and Ruru Lawn (full burial and ash plots), Yaldhurst (full burial, green burial and ash plots), and Linwood and Sydenham (ash plots only). Banks Peninsula cemeteries such as Duvauchelle, Kaituna, Little River and Wainui also sell plots (Christchurch City Council: Purchasing a plot). All interments are in perpetuity and the council maintains the cemeteries. A burial plot takes up to two caskets and up to four ash interments, and only one headstone or plaque is allowed per plot. The purchaser receives a Certificate of Right of Burial once the plot is paid for in full.

The council's page says it provides for Māori values, including selecting a plot of significance, a headstone facing north, water at the cemetery, the opportunity for Māori to fill in the grave and an unveiling.

Cremation in Christchurch

The council says all Christchurch crematoria are privately owned and names three: Christchurch Crematorium Funerals in Wigram, Canterbury Crematorium and Woodlawn Memorial Gardens and Crematorium on Linwood Avenue, and Harewood Memorial Gardens and Crematorium (Christchurch City Council: Casket and ash burials). We did not find their fee schedules, so we give no cremation figure here. For national comparisons see direct cremation costs.

Help with costs

Work and Income's Funeral Grant is up to $2,697.43 as at 1 April 2026, and ACC's funeral grant for a death from a covered injury is up to $8,236.40. The council's fees must be paid in full before a burial, so a family expecting a grant should tell the funeral director early. Local help includes the Christchurch Mayor's Welfare Grant, assessed case by case (Work and Income; ACC; Simplicity Funerals). See the Funeral Grant guide and the burial cost guide.

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Adviser's view

A standard adult burial in a Christchurch City Council cemetery costs $3,460 in council fees in 2026/27: $2,071 for the plot and $1,389 for the interment. That is about half the Auckland total. The council does not run a crematorium, so cremation fees come from private operators and are not on this schedule.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Christchurch Cemetery Fees: 2026/27 Council Schedule. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-costs/christchurch-council-fees-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.