Tauranga council cemetery and crematorium fees

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.

Tauranga City Council charges $6,388 for an adult burial plot at Pyes Pā, which includes plot maintenance in perpetuity and the memorial permit, plus a $2,038 burial fee for a standard casket: $8,426 in all. An adult cremation costs $777. These are the 2026/27 fees, GST included, "as at 1 July 2026" (Tauranga City Council: cemetery parks and crematorium fees, read 20 October 2026). They are council charges, not a funeral director's bill.

Burial fees

Item	2026/27 fee
Pyes Pā adult (13 and over): plot and maintenance	$6,388
Burial fee, standard casket	$2,038
Specialised burial: plot and maintenance	$7,274
Specialised burial (including materials): burial fee	$3,186
Oversize casket (additional)	$555
Second burial, adult (includes reopen fee)	$2,642
Second burial, child under 13 (includes reopen fee)	$749
Pyes Pā children's row 5 to 12: plot and maintenance / burial fee	$1,924 / $348
Pyes Pā children's row under 5: plot and maintenance / burial fee	$1,430 / $236

The council notes that plot maintenance in perpetuity and the memorial permit are included in the plot price. That is why Tauranga's headline plot figure looks high next to councils that charge for maintenance and permits separately; see the Wellington and Nelson pages for how those schedules split their charges.

Worked total. An adult weekday burial at Pyes Pā with a standard casket is $6,388 + $2,038 = $8,426 (our sum). The Funeral Directors Association of NZ (FDANZ) put Tauranga at $5,614 for July 2025 (FDANZ 2026 Industry Trends Report). The two figures may be built on different bases, so we do not give a year-on-year change.

Children's burial plots are far cheaper than the adult plot: a child aged 5 to 12 is $1,924 + $348 = $2,272 and a child under 5 is $1,430 + $236 = $1,666 (our sums). Our guide to costs for infants and children has more.

Cremation fees

Item	2026/27 fee
Adult cremation (13 and over), standard casket	$777
Child 5 to 12	$487
Child under 5	$219
Child under 6 months	$0
Adult over 150 kg (additional)	$213
Same-day cremation and processing (additional)	$206
Small ashes urn / large ashes urn	$19.50 / $37
Couriering ashes, within New Zealand	$115

The council schedule does not name the crematorium or say who operates it. It also lists a cremation service package of $1,375, which it says includes an adult cremation, a large urn, chapel hire and the function facility, based on one hour in the chapel and one hour in the lounge.

A cremation fee is not the price of a cremation. A funeral director adds a professional services fee, transfer, a casket and paperwork. The only published director prices we hold are from other cities, so this page does not give a Tauranga "direct cremation" price; see our direct cremation costs and the cremation cost guide for the national picture.

Ashes

Item	2026/27 fee (plot and maintenance)
Ashes burial	$459
Ashes berm area	$1,820
Memorial gardens 14 and 15	$2,283
Memorial gardens 16, 17 and 18	$3,537
Rose garden area	$4,850
Catholic and Presbyterian ashes plot	$2,522
Scatter ashes in the Tauranga cemetery park	$349

Out-of-hours charges and extras

Burial on a Saturday, or after 4pm Monday to Friday: $900 additional.
Public holiday surcharge: $1,030.
Late fee, when services arrive later than the booked time: $670. The page refers to the cemetery rules for grace periods.
Chapel hire: $367 for one hour plus 30 minutes' set-up, or $193 for a maximum of 30 minutes plus 10 minutes' set-up. Tui Lounge: $347 for one hour.
Administration fee for funerals without a funeral director: $515.
Lowering device hire: $75. Self-backfill option, where extra clean-up is needed: $440.
Granite book of memory and plaque: $1,160. Book of memory inscription for the chapel display: $135.
Fee to disinterment, in addition to burial fees: $9,600 as printed. The page also prints a "travel fee for burials at City Cemeteries" of $1,445. Confirm both with the council before relying on them.

Non-residents and headstone permits

The schedule we read lists no out-of-district or non-resident surcharge, so we cannot say Tauranga charges one. Ask the council if the person did not live in the city. There is no standalone memorial permit fee: the permit is included in the plot price, so a headstone from a mason costs extra but the council permit does not. The page does not mention natural burial. For that, see natural burial costs.

This page covers Tauranga City Council only. Western Bay of Plenty District Council is a separate council, and we have not read its schedule.

Help with the bill

The council's schedule is dated "as at 1 July 2026", so check the date on the page when you use it. Work and Income's Funeral Grant has a maximum of $2,697.43 as at 1 April 2026, with income and asset tests; ACC's funeral grant is up to $8,236.40 and applies only where the death came from a covered injury (Work and Income: Funeral Grant, ACC: financial support after a death). Our funeral grant guide covers the tests. For scale, the funeral cost guide gives FDANZ's national survey averages, which are well above the council figures on this page.

Funeral insurance is a way some people prepare in advance. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, accepts New Zealanders aged 40 to 75 and pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 towards costs. In the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death (death within 90 days of the accident), and total premiums can end up larger than the benefit. Momentum Life is rated B (Fair) by A.M. Best (Momentum Life: financial strength). The buttons on this page open Momentum's online application. Back to the funeral costs hub; see also what a burial plot costs.

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Adviser's view

Tauranga's council fees for an adult burial at Pyes Pā total $8,426. The plot price is high partly because it includes perpetual maintenance and the memorial permit. A council cremation is much lower at $777. Compare like with like before you compare cities, and remember none of this is a funeral director's price.

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

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