Sites are available at Mudgeeraba, Southport General and Southport Lawn Cemeteries. These can be purchased as a single, double or family site. Ashes are interred in the chosen site and a memorial plaque placed over the site.

Sites are available at Coomera, Mudgeeraba, Nerang, Pimpama and Southport Lawn Cemeteries. These can be purchased as a single, double or triple site. Ashes are interred in the chosen site and a memorial plaque placed over the site.

Mudgeeraba and Southport Lawn Cemeteries have garden areas available for the placement of a memorial plaque only, where no interment of ashes is required.

A memorial plaque can be purchased through the City. The plaque will be supplied and fixed to a memorial rock within the chosen cemetery.

Additionally a request for a loved one's ashes to be scattered within cemetery grounds is available (subject to a small fee as per the City's fees and charges). A memorial plaque is purchased and details of the deceased and record of the scattering becomes a permanent City record.

Lawn sections cater for burials where a monument or a grave surround is not required. A memorial tablet or plaque is placed on the grave site in accordance with the City's Local Law No 13 (Cemeteries). The remaining grave site surrounds are then turfed and maintained by City staff.

There is to be no ornamentation on the grave or objects fixed to the plaque other than a City supplied vase.

A memorial tablet shall have an upper and lower surface dimension of 530 millimetres x 530 millimetres and shall be either:

• moulded concrete block 40 millimetres thick fitted with either a cast bronze, non ferrous metal or stone plaque which is not more than 6 millimetres raised above the surface of the concrete, or
• granite/marble tablet minimum 50 millimetres to maximum 75 millimetres thick.

Memorial tablets may have a 13 millimetres diameter vase hole which shall be located 50 millimetres from the top and situated on the vertical centre line.

The City has recently developed a number of sections within its cemeteries which are of lawn beam construction. These have been developed where a monument or a grave surround is not required.

Currently these sections are located at the Mudgeeraba and Southport Lawn Cemeteries. Specification for each cemetery is as follows.

Southport Lawn

A memorial tablet/plaque is placed on a desk in the beamed section in accordance with the City's Local Law No 13 (Cemeteries).The remaining gravesite surrounds are turfed and maintained only by the City's cemeteries staff. The City provides the desk for these sections at a small cost. The desk face size for holding memorial tablets within these sections is 480 millimetres (width) x 330 millimetres (height).

Plaques or memorial tablets to be placed upon these desks cannot be larger than the desk face size. City staff only, are authorised to install the memorial tablet. Memorial tablets not obtained through the City should be treated as per the instructions for memorial tablets for lawn sections as described above.

Mudgeeraba

The following conditions apply to the erection and installation of a headstone/memorial tablet in the lawn beam (monumental) section of Mudgeeraba Cemetery:

1. It shall not be lawful to place, construct, erect, or maintain on or over or around a grave a wall, fence, slab, vault, monument, or other structure.
2. A headstone or memorial tablet may be centrally placed on the lawn beam located at either the head or foot of the grave.
3. Where a memorial tablet is supplied by the City, all costs of inscription shall be based on the range of approved specimen memorial tablets, and any additional costs shall be borne by the applicant. An installation fee as resolved by the City shall be paid for installation.
4. Privately supplied headstones or memorial tablets require approval from the City. An application outlining the proposal of work is to be submitted to the City prior to any installation taking place. A fee as resolved by the City shall be paid on presentation of he submission.
5. Materials permitted to be used in the construction of a headstone/memorial tablet can be either stone, concrete, metal or any other material which has a proven durability in excess of 70 years and is approved by an authorised person. Maximum width, depth and height of the headstone or tablet is 600 millimetres width, 300 millimetres depth, 600 millimetres height.
6. A person shall not plant, tend, place nor keep nor cause to be planted, tended, placed or kept on a grave, a tree, shrub, plant, article or object.
7. Floral tributes are permitted to be laid on the grave temporarily, and in the City supplied vase but not otherwise.
8. Any person who contrary to this local law or to any resolution made there under places, constructs, erects, or maintains a wall, fence, slab, vault, monument, or other structure or erection, vase or other receptacle, or plants, tends, or keeps a tree, shrub or plant on, over or around a grave shall be guilty of an offence and, in addition to any other remedy the City may have, the sexton may pull down or eradicate, or cut down and remove such structure, erection, vase or other receptacle, tree, shrub, or plant constructed, erected, planted, maintained, kept, grown or tended contrary to this local law or resolution made there under. The provisions of this paragraph are in addition to and not in derogation of any other provisions of this local law.

A permit to construct a memorial tablet must be obtained from the City prior to work starting, download the appropriate form. Complete and submit with appropriate documentation and relevant fee.

See applications and forms below.

Headstone or monuments in monumental cemeteries may be installed by private arrangement through a monumental mason. Form 6 Monument Permit Application and relevant fee is to be forwarded to the City for approval prior to any work commencing on site. Detailed drawings, including dimensions are to accompany the application.

On receipt of the application a check is made to ensure construction will be in accordance with the Australian Standard AS4204-1994 (Headstones and Cemetery Monuments) guidelines and the length and width of the monument does not exceed the gravesite dimension.

If a monument is not required a City supplied memorial plaque can be installed on the grave as an alternative.

Application for this can be made through the City Administration.

A permit to perform monumental works must be obtained from the City prior to work starting, download the appropriate form. Complete and submit with appropriate documentation and relevant fee.

See applications and forms below

Please note: A person other than the burial right holder of the grave site in concern must obtain and submit written approval by the burial right holder before a license/permit can be issued.

Shrubs (not trees) may be planted on the grave site. Ongoing maintenance of the site and shrubs is the responsibility of the burial right holder and/or family.

The City does not accept responsibility for the maintenance of any monument. A monument always remains the responsibility of the burial right holder or family and descendants.

The City reserves the right to remove any monument (after due notice to the family or descendants) if it becomes a danger to cemetery staff or visitors. See below.

Excerpt from Local Law No. 13 (Cemeteries)

Removal of memorials

1. The City may remove or reposition a memorial in a council cemetery if it has become unsafe or has fallen into a state of disrepair.
2. If there is no immediate danger to the public, the City must, before removing or repositioning a memorial, give members of the deceased's family whose identity and whereabouts are known to the City, reasonable notice of its intention to remove or reposition the memorial.
3. The City is not obliged to reinstate a memorial which is removed or repositioned.