Arabic version: نيو ساوث ويلز تأمر بمراجعة الدفن الجماعي في قبور غير معلّمة

According to The Guardian, the New South Wales government has committed to an urgent review after revelations that impoverished people were buried in unmarked communal graves, in some cases without relatives or friends being notified. The issue prompted condemnation from federal Liberal MPs, state Labor ministers and the Greens.

NSW health minister Ryan Park said he had not previously been aware of how the graves were used and asked his department to explore reforms. These include considering Victoria’s approach, under which people receive their own plot and marker at a cost of $3,000 per funeral. Park said NSW needed to do better in considering the dignity of people who had died and their families.

At Rookwood cemetery in western Sydney, plots have often held four to six unrelated people, including Vietnam veterans, rough sleepers, people with gambling addictions and migrants from developing countries. Independent senator David Pocock urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to seek a national agreement through national cabinet on dignified burials and basic notification standards.

The Guardian identified at least six cases in which friends, families, homelessness charities or community leaders were not informed of the process, preventing them from pursuing alternative funeral arrangements. NSW Health apologised for distress caused and said it was committed to changing how it works with loved ones, funeral providers and partner agencies. It has updated policy to require a uniform flat grave marker, though burials without markers have continued. Rookwood operator Metropolitan Memorial Parks said it had not received state funding to provide grave markings.