Decorating your loved one’s memorial is a beautiful, meaningful gesture. At GMCT, we work together with families to preserve the beauty and dignity of memorials and ensure they remain safe, peaceful places for remembrance and reflection.
Personalising your memorial space
When you establish a grave, plaque or other memorial site at one of our cemeteries, you create a lasting tribute to your loved one. Many families choose to honour and remember their loved ones by decorating memorial sites with flowers, ornaments and other meaningful items.
Under the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003, as the Right of Interment holder, you have the unique right to personalise and the responsibility to care for this meaningful space.
Our approach to memorial decoration
GMCT is here to support you in creating a beautiful tribute to your loved one. Our approach is about partnership – preserving what makes your memorial unique while ensuring we can maintain our regulation operations and our cemeteries remain safe and peaceful places for everyone who visits.
To help ensure your tributes remain safe, respectful and environmentally responsible, we recommend choosing weather-resistant and sturdy items that will not be swept away in the wind. Remember to be mindful of neighbouring memorials and keep decorations neatly within your loved one’s memorial space.
Our decoration guide offers thoughtful suggestions for meaningful memorial tributes.
Caring for your child's memorial
Losing a child is an unimaginable sorrow. We understand how important it is to create a special, peaceful place where you can remember and honour them.
To help maintain these sacred spaces as beautiful, safe and serene environments for all who visit, we kindly ask you to consider these guidelines:
You are welcome to place up to three small items of personal significance at the head of your child’s memorial. These might include special toys, keepsakes or weather-resistant photographs.
For the safety of all visitors, including young children and those with visual impairments, we respectfully ask that you avoid placing sharp, fragile or easily broken items at the memorial site.
Please keep the lawn area clear to allow for regular maintenance.
Our full children’s memorial decoration guide offers additional suggestions for meaningful ways to honour and connect with your child’s memory.
Memorial decorations and maintenance operations
Our operations teams work across multiple locations every day, maintaining the grounds while being mindful of the precious items families place at memorials.
Watch the video below to see how Dan and Cathy approach their work with care and respect, and learn about the thoughtful considerations that can help them do their jobs.
Unsafe decorations
To help our regular operations and maintenance, and ensure the safety of our teams and visitors, we ask that you avoid:
Glass, ceramic or other fragile objects
Tins or aluminium cans
Items with sharp edges
Metal spikes for hanging decorations
Unattended candles with open flames
Non-standard edging, curbing, stones and bark
Decorative pickets, fencing or border decorations
Adding or moving seating and benches
Items that may attract pests
Small items that could be ingested by children or wildlife
When items need to be addressed
If we notice items that need to be respectfully addressed for safety or operational reasons, we will reach out to the Right of Interment holder directly.
If there is an immediate safety concern and we aren’t able to reach you despite our best efforts, we may need to take protective measures by temporarily removing items. We always do this with the greatest care and respect, preserving the integrity of your memorial. If items need to be removed, our teams store them safely for at least six weeks and place signage in the memorial area asking families to contact us.
More information
Our team is here to help you with any questions you may have regarding decorations and understanding our guidelines.
You can contact us by emailing enquiries@gmct.com.au or calling 1300 022 298.