External administrator to manage Rookwood General Cemeteries Trust after board resignations

Following an inquiry into business practices at Sydney’s Rookwood General Cemetery and the resignation of board members of the Rookwood General Cemeteries Trust, NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Lands and Water Niall Blair is to appoint an external administrator to manage the Trust and ensure ongoing operations of the cemetery.

The historic Rookwood cemetery is one of Australia's largest and most culturally diverse cemeteries, and is a major area of open space in Sydney’s inner west.

In 2012, five independent religious trusts within Rookwood were merged to become the Rookwood General Cemeteries Reserve Trust.

A year later, ABC News reported on an internal investigation which showed questionable business dealings which led to the sacking of former Chief Executive Derek Williams.

Earlier this year, an independent inquiry, undertaken in response to issues raised by Jewish and Muslim communities, began an investigation into issues problems including as pricing, governance and interment services.

Overseen by Cemeteries and Crematoria NSW, which has oversight of cemetery operators in NSW, a summary report detailing the draft findings of the investigation was provided to RGCRT on 8th April, to enable the Board to respond to the issues raised.

Subsequently, two Board Members resigned and, as of this week, Trust Chair Robert Wilson also stepped down.

With the Board now unable to be legally constituted, Minister Blair has moved to to appoint an external administrator on an interim basis under the Crown Lands Act 1989.

Commenting on issues relating to operations at the Cemetery, David Knoll from the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies told the ABC “if you look at the price lists issued by Rookwood, different faith communities are charged different prices.

"For example some graves can have one person buried in them. Some can have a married couple buried in them.

"The level of discount when you bury a married couple in a single grave is different depending on which faith community you come from. We don't understand the basis for that."

Samier Dandan, the President of the Lebanese Muslim Association, said reforms done several years ago were supposed to improve services.

But he explained “Amalgamation was meant to reduce costs. Now Rookwood has become more corporatised and spending money on marketing rather than providing proper services to the community."

Dandan said there were also significant challenges to provide more burial spaces in the future.

Knoll said part of amalgamation was meant to see more land purchased by Rookwood for another site, to cater for Sydney's growing population, adding “one of the key benefits of the amalgamation was to pool all the different funds together to enable a land acquisition so when Rookwood fills up, which is not very far away, there can be a second multi-faith cemetery into which Rookwood can expand.”

Cemeteries and Crematoria NSW has now provided the final investigation report into RGCRT and supporting advice to the NSW Government for consideration. 

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