Transporting a coffin or casket
The law governing burial and cremation in New Zealand permits anyone to arrange a funeral and to transport a body as long as it is covered and well secured. You do not need a hearse or any other particular type of vehicle, or a special licence in order to move a body. However it must be contained in a casket, coffin or shroud.
Collecting a body from a mortuary
The Health (Burial) Regulations 1946 require a dead body to be removed from a mortuary "in a coffin or other suitable receptacle of a kind usually used by funeral directors." The mortuary will have a gurney you can use, but do not count on staff being able to assist you to put the body in the casket or to load the casket onto the gurney. The mortuary will give you a Transfer of charge of body form to sign, which protects them from releasing the body to an unauthorised person. You will need to prove your connection to the dead person with some form of ID (eg a driver's licence), and you will be required to view the body to identify it.
The Department of Internal Affairs' brochure Before Burial or Cremation states that a person must sign a Transfer of charge of body form "when a body is moved from the place of death". This seems to be based on Section 46F of the Burial and Cremation Act, which covers "transferring charge" of a body. However, if you are already in charge of the body, because the person died at home and you are the next of kin, or the person taking them to be cremated or buried, it is hard to see how this can apply.
In practice many rules and regulations are bent or disregarded in the funeral industry, and when a form needs to be filled out, the person requiring it will tell you what to do. Basically nobody will know what you've got in the back of your vehicle, or where you are taking it - however, it is standard practice in the industry to carry a copy of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death when you are in charge of a body.
Transport companies
Trucking companies will not normally transport a casket or coffin containing a dead body, so the cheapest and most efficient option will almost always be to transport the person yourself. You can hire a vehicle if you have not got a suitable one, and a casket with a body in it can be taken on the ferry with no special declaration (or ticket!) required.
Transporting bodies by air
Airlines refer to a dead body in a casket or coffin as "human remains". There are far more requirements for international air transport of human remains than for domestic air transport.
International air transport of human remains
The technical term for the international transport of human remains is repatriation. This is a complex and expensive process as international rules must be followed, as well as the regulations and procedures of each country. Generally the body must be embalmed and sealed in a casket that meets airline and local regulations.
It is beyond the scope of this website to advise on repatriation, but I have been told that travel insurance often does not cover it. An article on the high costs involved can be found here, and this article will give you an idea of the complications which can be involved.
Domestic air transport of human remains
Air New Zealand does not require a body to be embalmed for domestic flights. However, due to very stringent requirements regarding the preparation and packaging of human remains, it will only accept them for transport from licensed funeral directors, NZ District Health Boards or the New Zealand Police. However, any authorised person can pick up human remains from the destination cargo depot. Click here for more information.
Transport of ashes
There are various methods for returning ashes, which include air freight, courier service or as hand luggage. As ashes are inert there are few restrictions around forwarding them. Customs requirements for the importing or exporting of ashes can be found here.