The Gold Coast Mayor has proposed exhuming bodies from the city's overcrowded cemeteries to then rebury them stacked on top each other — the current policy of new burial plot purchases. 

Key points: At least two of the Gold Coast's cemeteries are almost full, prompting council to consider solutions

At least two of the Gold Coast's cemeteries are almost full, prompting council to consider solutions Mayor Tom Tate has spoken to the Greek Orthodox church about exhuming a section and making it multistorey

Mayor Tom Tate has spoken to the Greek Orthodox church about exhuming a section and making it multistorey More land for cemeteries, burial-at-sea, and underwater cemeteries are also being considered

The controversial suggestion was raised during a closed Gold Coast City Council meeting where civic leaders were trying to address the problem of land shortage. 

There are eight council-operated cemeteries on the Gold Coast and the city's oldest, Southport Lawn, is almost full. 

"I spoke to the Greek Orthodox [representative] about exhuming and [making it] multistorey," Mayor Tom Tate said. 

"It's very controversial, but I thought I'd put that on the table. 

"In our town planning I always said go up instead of spreading out." 

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate considers options as the city's cemeteries fill up. (  News Video )

The suggestion was one of several options councillors were exploring. 

Others included purchasing more land west of the city for a new cemetery or offering a burial-at-sea service inside the new dive precinct off Main Beach. 

"Miami [in the United States] has done a cemetery underwater, so I want to look into that to see if it's of interest," Cr Tate said. 

"There will be a community consultation on that." 

Another option council was considering was digging deeper plots and burying family members on top of each other. 

Cr Tate said that was the option he and his wife would pursue. 

"Ruth and I bought four plots at Southport and we're going to go down a couple of storeys," he said. 

"So three layers, times four, so that gives us 12 in the family." 

Gold Coast funeral director Terry Hobson said two people could already be buried on top of each other. 

"Automatically, grave plots with the council are made for two people," he said. 

"If you wish to put three people in that grave, you pay extra to the council and they will dig that grave another foot deeper and you can put three people in there." 

Funeral director Terry Hobson says the Gold Coast is running out of space in its council cemeteries. (  ABC Gold Coast: Tom Forbes )

A council plot costs $2,900 and then an extra $1,682 to open and then close the grave. 

Terry Hobson, who has been a funeral director for 23 years, said Mudgeeraba Cemetery was almost full too. 

He expected the land to run out in the next two years. 

"Council are saying it's got three or four years, but it hasn't," he said. 

"You can't wait until a cemetery is full before saying 'we're running out of room, we'd better do something'." 

Cr Tate said he wanted to resolve the issue before the next council election in March 2020.