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Canberra Today 15°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Missing ashes: one family still left wondering

Norwood Park Crematorium… still looking.

THE government’s long awaited report into the missing ashes at the Norwood Park Crematorium has been announced with mixed results.

Three cases of missing ashes were investigated by Transport Canberra and City Services as part of the process. The cases related to a Children’s Niche Wall that was relocated in 1992 to the current Children’s Court Wall.

Ashes belonging to one family have been confirmed as being correctly located, another family has had ashes returned to them and the ashes belonging to one family have not yet been located.

The report asserts there is no indication this is a wider issue within the privately operated Norwood Park Crematorium.

The investigation looked into what had occurred between affected families and Norwood Park, the process used to search for missing ashes and Norwood Park’s processes and procedures.

The investigation has made recommendations for Norwood Park related to processes and record keeping to ensure this does not occur again.

“In response, the government will look to bring forward changes to the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003 later in the year to make sure that this doesn’t happen again at a cemetery or crematorium in the ACT,” says Jim Corrigan, regulator and deputy director?general of City Services.

“We will look to strengthen the regulation of cemeteries and crematoria including requiring operators to keep documented policies and procedures and requiring more information to be kept on the location of interred ashes, as well as processes to be followed if interred ashes are ever to be moved.

“Recommendations from the investigation focus on documenting processes and procedures and record keeping.

“The investigation recommends that Norwood Park check their records and close out any discrepancies in the records by contacting families.”

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

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