CORONERS ACT 1997 - NOTES

CORONERS ACT 1997 - NOTES

Dictionary

(see s 2)

Note 1     The Legislation Act

contains definitions and other provisions relevant to this Act.

Note 2     For example, the Legislation Act

, dict, pt 1, defines the following terms:

              •     Act

              •     ACT

              •     appoint

              •     Attorney-General

              •     Chief Magistrate

              •     child

              •     clerk

              •     correctional centre

              •     corrections officer

              •     Deputy Speaker

              •     director-general (see s 163)

              •     director of public prosecutions

              •     doctor

              •     domestic partner (see s 169 (1))

              •     establish

              •     Executive

              •     exercise

              •     function

              •     give

              •     indictable offence

              •     individual

              •     in relation to

              •     instrument

              •     law

              •     lawyer

              •     magistrate

              •     Minister (see s 162)

              •     oath

              •     occupy

              •     parent

              •     person (see s 160)

              •     police officer

              •     power

              •     proceeding

              •     property

              •     public servant

              •     registrar-general

              •     regulation

              •     sitting day

              •     Speaker

              •     Supreme Court

              •     the Territory

              •     under.

"Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander" person means a person who—

        (a)     is a descendant of an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander person; and

        (b)     identifies as an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander person; and

        (c)     is accepted as an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander person by an Aboriginal community or Torres Strait Islander community.

"ancillary examination", for part 4 (Post-mortem examinations and exhumations)—see section 19A.

"body" includes part of a body, and the remains of a body.

"Chief Coroner" means the person who is Chief Coroner under section 6.

"chief psychiatrist"—see the Mental Health Act 2015

, dictionary.

"coroner" includes a deputy coroner appointed under section 8.

"coronial investigation scene", for part 5A (Coronial investigation scenes)—see section 68B.

"coronial investigation scene declaration", for part 5A (Coronial investigation scenes)—see section 68B.

"coronial investigation scene order", for part 5A (Coronial investigation scenes)—see section 68B.

"coronial investigation scene power", for part 5A (Coronial investigation scenes)—see section 68B.

"court" means the Coroner's Court continued in existence under section 4 (1).

"custodial officer"—see section 3D.

"death" includes a suspected death.

"death in care"—see section 3BB.

"death in custody"—see section 3C.

"disaster" means an occurrence in the ACT due to natural or other causes that—

        (a)     caused or threatened to cause substantial—

              (i)     loss of life or property; or

              (ii)     injury or distress to persons or damage to property or the environment; or

        (b)     in any way substantially endangered the safety of the public in any part of the ACT.

"engage in conduct" means—

        (a)     do an act; or

        (b)     omit to do an act.

"hearing" means a hearing for an inquest or inquiry under division 5.1.

"inquest" means an inquest concerning the death of a person.

"inquiry" means an inquiry concerning a disaster or fire.

"member of the immediate family", of a deceased person the subject of an inquest, means—

        (a)     a person who was the deceased person's domestic partner, parent, step-parent, grandparent, child, brother or sister, or guardian or ward; and

        (b)     if the deceased person was an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person—a person who, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the deceased person's Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community, had the responsibility for, or an interest in, the welfare of the deceased person.

Note     For the meaning of domestic partner, see the Legislation Act

, s 169.

"mental health officer"—see the Mental Health Act 2015

, dictionary.

"place" includes a vehicle, a vessel or an aircraft.

"post-mortem examination" means the inspection of a body to determine the cause of death and may, but need not, include dissection of the body.

Examples

              •     external post-mortem examination, including taking skin or other samples

              •     post-mortem examination using computed tomography (CT)

              •     post-mortem examination using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

"registrar" means the registrar of the Coroner's Court appointed under section 11, and includes a deputy registrar.

Endnotes

1     About the endnotes

Amending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the amendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished law but are set out in the endnotes.

Not all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001

, part 11.3 are annotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be obtained from the Parliamentary Counsel's Office.

Uncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The details of these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced expiries are underlined in the legislation history and amendment history.

If all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered provisions gives details of previous and current numbering.

The endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.

2     Abbreviation key