Transforming the Future of Cemeteries in Greater Sydney Program Business Case

The Challenge

Metropolitan Memorial Parks (MMP) is a key public operator responsible for managing over 400 hectares of Crown Land cemeteries across Sydney and Newcastle. MMP provides vital interment services to the community, handling approximately 69% of all burials by crown operators in Sydney each year. As the principal public operator, MMP plays a critical role in ensuring that communities in Sydney have access to burial services that meet their religious and cultural practices.

It is estimated that within five years, some faith groups will begin facing significant challenges in securing burial spaces, and complete exhaustion of available plots is expected within a decade. Without immediate intervention, the cemetery services market in Sydney risks being dominated by two main operators—one faith-based and one foreign-owned private operator. This scenario could lead to a shortage of available and affordable burial spaces, disproportionately disadvantaging communities whose religious beliefs require burial and families in urgent need of interment services.

The NSW Government has recognised this impending crisis and the broader implications for the community. In response, the MMP Transforming the Future of Cemeteries in Greater Sydney Program (the Program) was developed to address the urgent need for additional burial spaces and to futureproof MMP’s operations, ensuring continued access to burial services across Sydney.

The Action

Polis Partners was engaged by MMP to develop a Strategic Business Case (SBC) for the delivery of a comprehensive program aimed at addressing the critical shortage of burial spaces in Greater Sydney. The SBC explored a multi-horizon approach to meet the immediate, mid-term, and long-term needs of the community:

1.Short-Term Horizon: Focused on optimizing existing cemetery spaces and increasing burial plot availability through business-as-usual improvements. This horizon aims to add up to 10,000 additional plots to address immediate demand.

2.Mid-Term Horizon: Investigated potential development opportunities in existing green spaces within Greater Sydney to create new burial sites and expand existing facilities. The goal is to secure additional land and resources to meet the anticipated medium-term demand for burial services.

3.Long-Term Horizon: Provided strategic recommendations for future cemetery developments in urban growth areas of Greater Sydney, ensuring that MMP can continue to meet the burial needs of the growing population in the coming decades.

The Results

The findings and recommendations from the SBC were incorporated into a comprehensive business case, which was presented to the MMP Board and submitted to the NSW Government. The business case provided a clear and strategic roadmap for addressing the impending burial space crisis in Greater Sydney. It emphasised the critical need for immediate action to secure new burial spaces and futureproof MMP’s operations, ensuring that all communities have continued access to essential interment services.

The business case is now under consideration by the NSW Government, with key decisions on land acquisition, legislative changes, and planning approvals expected to follow. The successful implementation of the Program will ensure that Sydney’s burial space supply is secured for the future, meeting the needs of all communities and maintaining MMP’s role as the principal public operator in the region.