Rotorua funeral directors will not have to pay their clients' burial fees after district councillors changed a policy potentially forcing them to cover those costs.
Rotorua district councillors voted to amend the Cemetery and Crematorium Policy at a meeting of its infrastructure services committee after pressure from local funeral directors.
The new policy was approved by councillors, with the addition of a minor change to crematorium opening hours and the removal of a clause that would have seen funeral directors having to collect burial fees from their clients.
The policy will now revert to the status quo where the council will separately invoice the family of the deceased for its burial fees. Fees vary depending on whether a body is buried or cremated.
If a body is buried a family would pay at least $2889, including plot purchase and maintenance. If a body is cremated a family would pay at least $472. Additional fees are charged if the crematorium chapel is required.