Funeral Directors - Legal requirements
Up to 2018, many of the legal requirements were outlined in the Health (Burial) Regulations 1946.
Funeral Directors must register with their local authority to be licensed: Health (Burial) Regulations 11
- e.g. Auckland Council information: overview of registration, registration as a funeral director.
Standards are described for:
- Mortuaries: Regulation 21
- handling and transportation of dead bodies, including with communicable diseases: Regulations 32 to 40
Only licensed Funeral Directors can routinely handle and transport dead bodies: Burial & Cremation Act 1964 s46F: Transfer of charge of body
A certified embalmer can remove a biomechanical aid (such as a pacemaker) and/or certify that there is no biomechanical aid present on the body.
Funeral Directors can register with Death Documents on-line for a log-in to view certificates.
In the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health has issued guidelines for Funeral Directors regarding managing funerals and Covid-19 deaths
Membership of the Funeral Directors Association (FDANZ) is voluntary. Its members must adhere to the FDANZ set of standards