Information for Funeral Directors

Last updated 5 September 2022

The health and safety of our community and staff is our top priority and we thank you for working with us during these difficult times. 

The safety of our families and stakeholders on site is our number one priority.  Accordingly, temporary measures have been put in place for the safety of all our stakeholders. With the return of heavy and ongoing rain across all of our cemeteries, we ask all Funeral Directors, families and visitors to take extra care when moving around the cemetery.   

Rookwood General Cemeteries Reserve Land Manager is continuously assessing hazards caused by the recent severe weather events.  To ensure the safety of everyone on site some areas may be closed from time to time if they are identified as particularly hazardous and/or requiring extensive cleaning. We request that all Funeral Directors coming on site be aware of the increased risks that arise with severe weather events.  To mitigate these potential risks, we require Funeral Directors to help keep families safe by advising them that safe practices need to be adopted.   

Safe practices include wearing secure appropriate flat non slip footwear, taking extra care when walking around the site, following guidance by your staff and ours, and not entering areas that have been closed. It is recommended that families do not walk on grave sites or lawn areas that very rapidly become sodden, even if these areas have not yet been closed, and to please use discretion. 
Unfortunately, marquees and chairs will not be provided owing to the severe weather conditions. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We will continue to review our measures to keep our families and community safe. 

Important Message

RGCRLM Interment Procedures Refresher

Dear Colleagues

I hope you and your teams are keeping well. 

As you all know, the entire funeral industry has been under an enormous amount of strain in recent times as a result of COVID-19 and the impacts are not only on Society generally, but also both directly and indirectly on your and our staff.

It is particularly important in these times of staffing challenges and escalating interment numbers that we all follow the agreed procedures for interment services.  Can you please re-affirm these with your operational teams.

1. Early arrivals for booked burial services, for example, by 5 minutes or 1 hour:
1. Please wait to be led to the grave site by the RGCRLM concierge, at your allocated time. 
2. Should your cortege arrive more than 15 minutes early, continue to complete your check-in with the RGCRLM Bookings staff at the Funeral Directors’ office.
3. You will then be directed to wait at the Funeral Directors’ waiting bay, across from All Souls Ceremonial Venue, on Hawthorne Avenue. 
4. Please do not proceed to grave site until directed to do so by the RGCRLM Concierge.
2. Notice of Interment document – the original copy of this document is to be provided to the RGCRLM Bookings staff prior to the burial service.  This is still required if a digital copy has been previously sent.
3. Booking a burial service can still be made by the Funeral Director, prior to the family meeting with the RGCRLM Sales staff to purchase an At Need grave.  We understand this service differs from other cemeteries, however, this has always been our practise as we believe it to be a small yet appreciated element of empathy and support to those grieving families.

These procedures are already in place and we ask that you ensure your teams are well informed prior to arriving for each service at the cemetery, to ensure that the service delivery is as efficient as possible.  These procedures are vital to our delivery of a quality service to you and your families. 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Dimity on 0499 910 214 or Saini on 0499 910 210, should you wish to discuss further. 

Covid-19 Restrictions & Guidelines 

As the current COVID situation continues to evolve, Rookwood General Cemetery is doing everything possible to limit disruption to services and keep our families, employees and community safe.

Some staff are working remotely and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we resolve issues locally. If you are planning a funeral service, we urge you to engage with us as early as possible so that we can continue to deliver the best outcomes for families at their time of need.

As a reminder, we ask all visitors to our cemetery sites to ensure they comply with the current NSW Health restrictions.

The following measures apply to funerals in Greater Sydney.

• No restrictions on unvaccinated people attending funerals
• No attendance or density limits on funerals
• Masks are highly encouraged for indoor settings including Chapels where you cannot maintain a safe distance from other and during family appointments. 
• Singing permitted, both performers and attendees

Chapel capacities including All Souls, Chapel of Eternal Rest, Saint Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church and Beit Tephilla now have no density limits due to the 1 in 2 sqm restriction ending. 

RGC Office & Booking Funerals:

• Burial and cremation services continue to be offered 7 days per week.
• The office is open for face-to-face general enquiries Monday to Friday 7.30am – 4.00 pm, with Client Services representatives available via phone on weekdays (7.30am - 4.00pm), Saturdays (9.00am – 1.00pm), and Sundays (9.00am – 3.00pm).  
• RGC's Funeral Director office is open. We ask that you wait for our Concierge to lead your cortege to grave side. 
• Canopies, chairs and water bottles are offered by RGC at all services. 
• We no longer accept payment via cash for any of our services. Please assist us by making alternative arrangements, such as paying by credit card, direct deposit, or cheque.

Thank you for helping us to comply with the latest NSW Government requirements. We will continue to review our measures to comply with the Public Health Orders and to keep our families and community safe.  Please continue to reach out if you have any further queries.