repatriation

This normally means the transfer of people from the country that they are in to their home country. It also covers the transfer of objects to the place where they originated. In the case of Australia this most commonly refers to the return of cultural artefacts to Indigenous communities. But in Australia it seems we also talk about repatriation between the States. 

 Our history as a federation means that in this area, as with many other aspects of government, the states each have their own regulations.  Normally funeral homes take charge of this and they have in recent years adopted the term repatriation to cover the interstate transfer of bodies for burial.  Repatriation in its broadest sense means ‘bringing someone home’ so the use of the term in relation to interstate transfers is a natural extension of the accepted meaning. It is not official but widespread in the funeral industry. I think that Australia is the only country that does this. I can find no reference to repatriation between states in the US or Canada. Nor can I find this definition of repatriation in any Australian dictionary yet.