Australian Burial Law 25 Years on from Smith v Tamworth City Council

Young  J’s 1997 decision in Smith  v Tamworth City Council is one of the most important decisions in the Australian law of the dead. This is due in no small part to the fact that, in his judgment, Young J set out 15 propositions of Australian burial law. These propositions have been cited, either individually or in full, in nearly every burial dispute heard by an Australian court since 1997. Twenty-five years on from the Smith decision, this article  analyses each of Young J’s 15 propositions, its influence on modern burial law, and its current status in light of several significant developments in the field. It argues that, while many of the 15 propositions remain good law today, several should be entirely abandoned.