Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts(1) Subject to section 39, if it appears to a designated officer for a hospital, after making the inquiries that are reasonable in the circumstances in relation to a deceased person who has died in the hospital or whose dead body has been brought into the hospital, that—
(a) the deceased person had not, during his or her lifetime, expressed an objection to the retention after his or her death of his or her body—
(i) for the purpose of anatomical examination; or
(ii) for the purpose of the use of his or her body for the study and teaching of the anatomy of the human body; and
(b) the senior available next of kin of the deceased person has no objection to the retention of the body of the deceased person for a purpose referred to in paragraph (a);
the designated officer may, in writing, authorise the retention and use of the body of the deceased person at a school of anatomy for any of the purposes referred to in paragraph (a).
(2) If a designated officer for a hospital, after making the inquiries that are reasonable in the circumstances, is unable to ascertain the existence or whereabouts of the next of kin of the deceased person, subsection (1) applies as if paragraph (b) were omitted.
(3) The senior available next of kin of a person may make it known to a designated officer at any time when the person is unconscious before death that he or she has no objection to the retention after the death of the person of the body of the person for a purpose referred to in subsection (1), but the designated officer shall not act on such an indication if the person recovers consciousness.
(4) If there are 2 or more persons having a description referred to in a subparagraph of the dictionary, definition of senior available next of kin , paragraph (a) or (b), an objection by any 1 of those persons has effect for this section notwithstanding any indication to the contrary by the other or any other of those persons.