I acknowledge and welcome to the New South Wales Parliament my guests Robert O'Shea and Ted Hamilton in the public gallery today. I contribute to debate on the Public Health Amendment (Natural Organic Reduction) Bill 2026. I begin by thanking the member for Sydney. His engagement and consultation with me, with members of this Parliament and with many constituents in electorates across New South Wales are appreciated and acknowledged. I thank the member for bringing this important piece of legislation to this place. Natural organic reduction, human composting or terramation is an emerging method for the disposition of human remains that is widely supported.

I understand that it involves placing human remains and organic material into a closed vessel under controlled conditions to accelerate aerobic decomposition of remains. Non-organic materials, such as artificial hip joints, are removed before the final curing phase. The process produces approximately one cubic metre of soil product. While there is no standard process, I understand it can take several months to complete. The purpose of the bill is to make changes to recognise terramation as a method of disposition of human remains in New South Wales and to ensure that an appropriate regime is put in place to regulate the process.

While there is benefit in allowing families to dispose of the bodies of their loved ones in a manner of their choosing, the handling and disposal of human remains must be done in a way that has regard to relevant public health, environmental and amenity risks. Terramation carries various public health, environmental and amenity risks that will not necessarily arise in the cremation of remains. Some of those concerns are important to place on record as well. Unlike cremation, some infectious agents may maintain their infectivity under the terramation process. There are also environmental risks associated with the placement of terramated remains, as they may contain heavy metals or other contaminants. Members of the community may also have views about where terramated remains may be placed.

Further work and consultation are required to develop regulations to mitigate those risks. I understand that the good member for Sydney is aware of this. The bill allows this to occur to an extent by prescribing a delayed commencement date for changes to the public health regulations. However, there are gaps in the proposed new regulation-making powers that could inadvertently limit the extent to which terramation can be regulated under the public health regulations. With the upcoming election period, a staged commencement date of 18 months from the date of assent may not be sufficient time to allow fulsome consultation on any new regulations. For those reasons, the Government will move amendments to the bill.

The amendments will, among other things, clarify and refine the regulation-making powers in the Public Health Act to ensure that an appropriate regulatory regime for terramation can be inserted into the public health regulations. They make changes to the public health regulations, including to delay the staged commencement date to two years, rather than 18 months, from the date of assent. This will allow more time for proposed regulations to be consulted on and developed in the lead-up to and following the election period. The Government will make a range of other changes as well, including to ensure that those who choose to terramate the remains of their loved ones are given similar consumer protections to individuals accessing burial and cremation services and to minimise the risk that bodies are terramated to hide evidence of crime. Together these amendments will ensure terramation is appropriately regulated in New South Wales.

Before concluding my brief contribution to debate on this important bill, I want to cover off some of the work I have done in this space for the record. As I said, I have been working alongside a few people in our parliamentary community, particularly my colleagues sitting opposite me in the Chamber, the member for Sydney and the member for Lake Macquarie, as well as other advocates across New South Wales such as Teresa Russell from Earthly Legacy, whose volunteers are seated in the public gallery. That organisation has been interested for some time in pursuing the issue of human composting. We have met, including with a number of other people, on a number occasions to discuss progressing the idea of terramation from a legislative perspective. I thank all of those in the community who got together, spoke or wrote to their local members, and organised meetings. A lot of that advocacy work often goes unseen, so it is important to acknowledge it in this Chamber.

I presented an ePetition to the Legislative Assembly in February of this year. I was heartened to see the written response that the Minister for Health gave to the Clerk on 5 March 2026, which stated:

I refer to the petition lodged by Ms Trish Doyle MP requesting the recognition and regulation of human composting (also known as natural organic reduction or terramation) as a lawful method of body disposition in NSW.

…

The potential recognition and regulation of human composting can be considered by the Ministry, and consulted on with key stakeholders as a part of the next review of the Regulation.

I shared the response with some of my constituents. I wrote several letters of representation, particularly on behalf of my constituent advocates—Celia Lotus, Jude Warren and Adam Nelson, to name a few—to the Minister for Health, the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Lands and Property. I am pleased to have the opportunity to make this contribution. I did not think it would happen this year. However—and I put this on record for the purpose of Hansard—the member for Sydney has particular ways. I thank the member for taking on the ideas that came from the community. We do not necessary have, say, 17 ideas in our heads that we will bring to the House. We are the voice of the people, and it is important to acknowledge the voices of the people, particularly when they give us these good ideas, in this place. I look forward to the next stage. I thank the member for Sydney and all those involved in bringing the bill to this place. With amendments, I commend the bill to the house.