Wellington council cemetery and crematorium fees
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.
Wellington City Council charges $2,754 in total for an adult plot in the plaque lawn at Mākara Cemetery, and $885 for a cremation only at Karori Crematorium. Porirua City Council, which runs Whenua Tapu, charges $1,250 for an adult plot and $1,300 for the burial, and $725 for an adult cremation. These are two separate councils with separate fee schedules, all GST inclusive (Wellington City Council: Mākara fees, Porirua City Council: burial and cremation fees, both read 20 October 2026).
Which council is which
Wellington City Council runs Karori Cemetery, Mākara Cemetery and the Karori Crematorium. Its burial page says you can book a burial site at Karori or Mākara. Porirua City Council runs three public cemeteries (Whenua Tapu, Porirua Cemetery and Pāuatahanui Burial Ground) and the Whenua Tapu Crematorium and Chapel. All new Porirua burials are at Whenua Tapu; the other two take second interments and prepurchased family plots. Whenua Tapu is therefore a Porirua fee, not a Wellington City one.
Dates matter. The Wellington pages we read were published on 12 June 2026 and last modified on 30 June 2026 (per the page metadata), and print no fee year. The Porirua table is headed 2026/27, but the page also says fees apply from 1 August 2025. We quote both as printed.
Burial: Wellington City (Mākara)
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Adult plot, plaque lawn: plot $1,095 + beam $211 + maintenance $679 + interment $769 | $2,754 as printed |
| Denominational areas: plot $1,437 + beam $211 + maintenance $1,007 + interment $769 | $3,424 as printed |
| Natural burial: plot $1,669 + maintenance $774 + interment $1,172 | $3,615 as printed |
| Second interment, all sections | $1,316 |
| Muslim boards, adult / child | $214 / $115 |
The $2,754 total includes a beam fee and a maintenance fee. Plot plus interment alone is $1,864 (our sum), so be careful comparing it with older figures that may count only the plot and the burial. Children have their own section: plot $428, beam $189 and maintenance $302, with the interment fee set by age ($103 stillborn, $131 for 0 to 12 months, $167 for 10 years and under).
Karori Cemetery's fee page lists interment ($769 for a casket, $1,316 second or subsequent, $198 for ashes), ash plots in the Seaforth Memorial Garden ($1,161 for two interments) and niches ($1,173 single, $1,345 double), but it printed no adult casket plot price when we read it. Ask the council for the Karori plot price (Wellington City Council: Karori fees).
Burial: Porirua (Whenua Tapu)
| Item | 2026/27 fee |
|---|---|
| Adult plot (double depth) | $1,250 |
| Interment fee / grave re-open (includes service persons) | $1,300 |
| Muslim burial plot, cradle and interment | $2,902 |
| Stillborn and baby (under 2): plot and interment | $306 |
| Children 2 to 10: plot and interment | $640 |
| Hire of lowering device | $105 |
An adult weekday burial is $1,250 + $1,300 = $2,550 (our sum). Natural burial is not on the Porirua page. The Wellington natural burial option at Mākara is covered in natural burial costs.
Out-of-district and out-of-hours charges
| Charge | Wellington City | Porirua |
|---|---|---|
| Out of district: casket plot | $1,306 (deceased lived outside Wellington City for 5 or more years) | $1,108 surcharge in addition to the plot fee |
| Out of district: ash plot | $526 | $364 surcharge in addition to the plot fee |
| Weekend burial | $769 additional (casket), $255 (ashes) | $826 for Saturday burials |
| Public holiday | $1,109 (casket), $554 (ashes) additional | Not listed |
| Late-day or after-hours booking | $251 for burials and $250 for cremations booked after 3.15pm | $383 for cremations after 4pm on weekdays and on Saturdays 8am to 1pm |
Wellington City's non-resident line lists a casket plot price of $1,306 without saying whether it replaces or adds to the $1,095 plot fee, so ask the council which applies. Porirua states plainly that its charge is in addition. Wellington City's rule turns on where the person lived: outside Wellington City for five or more years. Porirua's page does not say how it decides who is out of district, so ask the council if the person lived elsewhere.
Cremation
| Item | Wellington City (Karori) | Porirua (Whenua Tapu) |
|---|---|---|
| Adult cremation only | $885 | $725, medical fee included |
| Committal service with cremation (half hour) | $1,012 | $770 |
| Cremation with one-hour chapel service | $1,079 | Witness cremation and half-hour chapel service $918 |
| Cremation with wooden urn | Urn extra: $177 adult | $855 |
| Weekend or public holiday | $417 weekend; $757 public holiday | Not listed |
| Child 1 to 10 years / 2 to 10 years | $227 | $327, rimu urn included |
The two columns are not like for like. Porirua says its adult fee includes a medical fee and its urn lines include the urn; the Karori page does not list a medical fee in the cremation-only line. Karori also charges $169 as an arrangement fee. Express ashes cost $239 at Karori for weekend collection and $156 at Whenua Tapu for pickup within 24 hours on a weekday. Our urn guide covers ashes and urns in more detail (Wellington City Council: cremation fees).
Ashes and memorials
Wellington City charges $198 to bury ashes, $88 to scatter them, $197 for a niche placement and $905 in total for an ash beam plot at Mākara. Porirua's ash plots are $728 (lawn), $1,092 (Kōwhai Garden) and $1,450 (monumental), plus a $136 interment fee, and scattering in the native bush at the Piwakawaka memorial walk is $77. Permits for monumental work are $108 at Wellington City ($62.25 for Karori, the Rose Garden and Seaforth) and a memorial permit is $94 at Porirua. See our burial plot cost guide and headstone costs for the rest.
Why council fees are only part of the bill
Council charges pay for the ground, the opening of the grave, the cremator and the chapel. They do not include the funeral director, casket, transport, celebrant or notices. The Funeral Directors Association of NZ (FDANZ) 2025 survey averaged $11,700 for a full cremation funeral, $14,300 with burial and $4,700 for an unattended cremation, as national figures from member homes rather than Wellington prices (FDANZ 2026 Industry Trends Report). We have not found a published Wellington funeral director price list for this page. For the choice between the two, see burial versus cremation and direct cremation costs.
Help with the bill
Work and Income's Funeral Grant has a maximum of $2,697.43 as at 1 April 2026, with income and asset tests (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). Our funeral grant guide covers the tests.
For anyone thinking ahead, Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, is one option. It accepts New Zealanders aged 40 to 75 and pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 towards costs. During 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.
Adviser's view
Wellington City and Porirua charge for different things in different ways, so the headline numbers cannot be compared directly. On the pages we read, an adult burial comes to $2,754 at Mākara and $2,550 at Whenua Tapu, and a council cremation to $885 at Karori and $725 at Whenua Tapu. Check what each fee includes, and remember none of it is a funeral director's price.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Wellington Cemetery Fees: Karori, Mākara, Porirua. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-costs/wellington-council-fees-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- Wellington City Council: Mākara Cemetery fees
- Wellington City Council: Karori Cemetery fees
- Wellington City Council: Cremation fees
- Wellington City Council: Burials
- Porirua City Council: Burial and cremation fees and forms
- Porirua City Council: Cemeteries
- FDANZ: 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report (PDF)
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant
- Momentum Life: Financial Strength
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Referral.