There are calls for greater clarity over where and when Aboriginal people can be buried on their traditional country following conflicts in the Kimberley region.

The law requires people to be buried in a cemetery unless they are granted special permission by the Minister for Local Government to be buried elsewhere.

But families say it is not clear why some applications are being approved and others are being knocked back.

Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre repatriation officer Neil Carter said it was an important issue to Aboriginal people and there needed to be more transparency about why decisions were made.

"I don't think it's very well understood by people up here," he said.

"It's a very important issue for Aboriginal people, not just in the Kimberley but all over Australia."

Family shocked by Minister's decision

The issue is causing great distress for one family from a bush community north of Broome.

Lynette Howard's husband died in February and she immediately applied to have him buried on his traditional country, alongside their twin sons who passed away more than a decade ago.

"His wish was to be laid to rest here at home next to our boys, and it's been like that forever and a day," she said.

"There was never any alternative. He didn't want to be buried anywhere else."

Mr Howard's body is still at Broome morgue, six months after he died. ( ABC News: Erin Parke )

But Local Government Minister Tony Simpson declined the application on the grounds that it was not an appropriate location.

"Although there is a pre-existing grave on the site, this does not mean that the land is reserved for burials," he wrote to the family.

"I have also taken into consideration the proximity of the burial site to the Lombadina Community Cemetery."

Mr Howard's son Terrence Howard said the news came as a shock.

"At first we thought it was going to be pretty straightforward, and then to have the Minister deny the permission to bury our father on our traditional land, it was very shocking — we felt lost.

"Dad had always said, 'I'm getting put next to your baby brothers', the twin brothers, so from day dot, we've always had this system, this plan to put him to rest here."

Six months on, Mr Howard's body remains at the morgue in Broome while the family seeks to have the decision reversed.

Mr Simpson declined to comment on the specifics of the case but in a written statement said he believed the current system to be satisfactory.

"The circumstances of approvals are considered on a case-by-case basis," the statement said.

"The current system is satisfactory."

Bush burials a growing trend

Data from the Department of Local Government and Communities shows the number of people applying to be buried on private property is increasing.

So far this year 43 families have applied to bury a loved one on private land, including farms, cattle stations and Aboriginal lands.

That is more than double the amount of applications in the whole of 2013.

The majority of applications are approved.

The WA Government's policy on burials outside cemeteries was updated in December last year and states that the main factors considered in the minister's decision are:

The distance of the family from an existing cemetery

The distance of the family from an existing cemetery Whether the deceased person has a significant and continuous connections to land (residence for at least 30 years)

Whether the deceased person has a significant and continuous connections to land (residence for at least 30 years) Whether immediate family members are already buried at the site requested

Whether immediate family members are already buried at the site requested Whether the burial would pose an environmental or health risk

Whether the burial would pose an environmental or health risk Consent from the landowner and other interested parties



The last point can be a complex one in northern WA, where disputes over native title can be emotional and long-running.

Last year, the decision over an on-country burial sparked weeks of violent clashes between families at the remote community of Kalumburu.

Following the death of a local woman, families were divided over what land it was appropriate for her to be buried on.

Mr Carter said there needed to be more transparency about why some applications were approved and others denied.

"The issue can be very complicated, and very sensitive, so it's something where the minister has to listen to both sides and seek advice from elders," he said.

"To have their families and ancestors buried back in country, where they belong — that's the most important thing to them."