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CORONERS (AMENDMENT) BILL 1993*
NEW SOUTH WALES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This Explanatory Note relates
to this Bill as introduced into Parliament)
The object of this Bill is to amend the Coroners Act 1980 for the following purposes:
to provide that appointments of coroner by the Governor are in future to be
made on the recommendation of the Minister (See Schedule 1 (9) (a));
to abolish the office of deputy coroner and provide instead for the appointment
of assistant coroners to provide administrative assistance to coroners and to
exercise some of the functions of coroners, as training for appointment as
coroner (See Schedule 1 (8), (9) (b), (c), (10), (11), (12) (a), (13), (14));
to apply the Act .to explosions in the same way as it currently applies to fires
(so as to enable inquiries to be held by coroners into explosions, whether or not
they result in fires) (See Schedule 1 (l), (2) (a), (c), (5), (7), (19), (21), (22)
(b), (c), (23)--(26), (30) (b), (41));
to extend the meaning of "relative" in the Act by including as parents persons
who are guardians or who stand in the legal relationship of parent (See
Schedule 1 (2) (b));
to provide for the appointment of up to 2 Deputy State Coroners (instead of
only one as at present) and for the appointment of one as the Senior Deputy
State Coroner to act as State Coroner during the illness or absence or a vacancy
in the office of the State Coroner (See Schedule l (3), (4), (6));
to re-enact an existing provision which requires coroners' inquests and
inquiries held in the Sydney metropolitan area to be held only by coroners who
are Magistrates (with a redefinition of the area to which the provision applies)
and to remove a provision which allows a coroner who is a Magistrate to
delegate some of his or her powers as coroner (See Schedule 1 (15), (16), (17)
(e));
* Amended in committee--see table at end of volume.
to alter the provisions dealing with the obligation to report a death to a coroner
so as to enable a death to be reported to an assistant coroner (as an alternative
to reporting to a coroner) (See Schedule 1 (17) (b)--(d));
to re-write existing sections 13 and 14 (dealing with the situations in which an
inquest can be held and the situations in which an inquest can be dispensed
with) to make the provisions easier to understand and to make the following
changes to those provisions (See Schedule 1 (18)):
· to limit a coroner's jurisdiction to hold an inquest to those cases in
which the death occurred not more than 100 years ago (See proposed
section 13B);
· to require an inquest to be held by the State Coroner if the death
occurred in prison or other custody, while escaping custody, while
proceeding to or from a place of custody, or in connection with Police
operations (See proposed section 13A);
· to add residential centres for handicapped persons to the list of
institutions in which deaths are examinable by a coroner and at the
same time remove the restrictions on dispensing with an inquest when a
death occurs in such an institution while retaining that restriction for
deaths occurring in those circumstances in which the inquest is required
to be held by the State Coroner as referred to above (See proposed
sections 13 (1) (h) and 14B (1) (b));
· to expand the power of a coroner under current section 14 (6) to require
production of medical records (to enable him or her to decide whether
to dispense with an inquest) so as to enable a coroner to require
production of any records and other things for that purpose (See
proposed section 14F);
to enable a coroner or the jury in an inquest to make recommendations relating
for example to matters of public health and safety (See Schedule 1 (27));
to require a fresh inquest or inquiry to be held on the application of a police
officer or a person granted leave to appear at the original inquest if the
discovery of new evidence or facts makes a fresh inquest or inquiry necessary
or desirable in the interests of justice (See Schedule 1 (28));
to insert a specific provision to give statutory force to a coroner's common law
right to possession of a person's remains whenever a coroner has jurisdiction to
hold an inquest into the person's death (See Schedule 1 (29));
to make it clear that an existing requirement that all witnesses be examined on
oath does not interfere with the coroner's discretion as to which witnesses to
call (See Schedule 1 (31));
to provide a specific procedure whereby a person granted leave to appear at an
inquest may request that a specific person be called as a witness and to require
a coroner to give reasons for refusing such a request (See Schedule 1 (32));
to require it to be presumed that a relative of a person has a sufficient interest
in the person's death to be granted leave to appear at the inquest, unless the
coroner is satisfied that exceptional circumstances justify leave being refused
(See Schedule 1 (33));
to make minor changes of an administrative nature to the procedure for the
filing of depositions taken at an inquest or inquiry (See Schedule 1 (34));
to enable an assistant coroner, at the direction of a coroner, to exercise the
power of the coroner to issue a summons or warrant for the appearance of a
witness (See Schedule 1 (35) (c), (36), (37), (39) (a) and (b));
to enable a person apprehended under a coroner's warrant to be taken before
any justice and remanded or bailed in accordance with the procedure applicable
to warrants issued by justices (See Schedule 1 (39) (c));
to insert a provision whereby a director or manager of a corporation is taken to
commit the offence of publishing evidence contrary to the directions of a
coroner when the corporation has committed the offence (See Schedule 1
(40))
to provide for regulations to be made dealing with the appointment of medical
practitioners as Coronial Medical Officers and to allow the State Coroner to
give directions to coroners requiring post mortem examinations to be carried
out only by Coronial Medical Officers (See Schedule 1 (43));
to enable an assistant coroner, at the direction of a coroner, to exercise the
power of the coroner to order the conduct of a post mortem examination or
special examination or test (See Schedule 1 (44));
to make it clear that medical officers employed at hospitals, gaols and other
public institutions are not entitled to the special payment provided by the Act
for carrying out post mortem examinations in the course of the exercise of their
ordinary functions (See Schedule 1 (45));
to provide protection from liability for persons carrying out post mortem
examinations and other tests in accordance with a direction under the Act (See
Schedule 1 (46));
to increase the maximum penalty for an offence under the Act from 5 penalty
units to 10 penalty units and for an offence in the regulations from 2 penalty
units to 5 penalty units (See Schedule 1 (48) and (50));
to empower the State Coroner to assist coroners in other jurisdictions (See
Schedule 1 (49));
to enact savings and transitional provisions (See Schedule 1 (51));
(aa) to make minor or consequential amendments (See Schedule 1 (12) (b), (17)
(a), (20), (22) (a), (30) (a), (42), (47)).
The Bill also:
(a) amends the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Act 1973 to enable an
assistant coroner, at the direction of a coroner, to exercise the power of the
coroner to issue an order authorising the disposal of a body (See Schedule 2);
and
(b) amends the Crimes Act 1900 to make it clear that a coroner's inquest is a
judicial proceeding for the purposes of Part 7 (Public Justice Offences) of that
Act (which contains offences for among other things tampering with evidence
to be used in a judicial proceeding) (See clause 5).
Clause 1 specifies the short title of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on a day or days to
be appointed by proclamation.
Clause 3 is a formal provision that gives effect to the amendments to the Coroners
Act 1980 explained above.
Clause 4 is a formal provision that gives effect to the amendments to the
Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Act 1973 explained above.
Clause 5 makes the amendments to the Crimes Act 1900 explained above.
Schedule 1 contains the amendments to the Coroners Act 1980.
Schedule 2 contains the amendments to the Registration of Births, Deaths and
Marriages Act 1973.