Section 2 – Life Cycle Costing in Cemetery Design
Presented by Dr Armin Mehdipour
This section introduces the crucial role of life cycle costing (LCC) as a strategic decision-making tool for cemetery planning and management.
Dr Mehdipour explains how understanding the full financial life span of cemetery assets—from initial construction through ongoing maintenance, operations, renewal, and eventual replacement—can help operators make more informed, sustainable choices. With cemeteries across Australia and globally facing rising costs, ageing infrastructure, and increasing expectations for environmental performance, life cycle costing provides a clear framework for comparing options not just by their upfront expense, but by their total long-term impact.
Dr Mehdipour demonstrates how LCC can highlight cost efficiencies, reduce financial risk, and support smarter investment in landscape elements, buildings, facilities, technology and site infrastructure.
Through practical examples and modelling scenarios, this section shows how LCC helps cemetery operators:
- Prioritise upgrades and capital works Forecast long-term maintenance needs
- Identify hidden or escalating costs
- Evaluate the financial implications of new assets
- Support more resilient, evidence-based business planning
By applying life cycle thinking, cemeteries can move beyond short-term budgeting and instead build financially stable, future-focused operational models.