New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CORONERS ACT 1980 - SECT 4

4 Definitions

(1) In this Act, except so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires:
"Australian law" has the same meaning as it has in the Evidence Act 1995 .
"civil penalty" has the same meaning as it has in the Evidence Act 1995 .
"inquest" means an inquest concerning the death or suspected death of a person.
"inquiry" means an inquiry concerning a fire or explosion.
"place" includes any land, building, mine, ship, vehicle or aircraft or any other vessel or vehicle.
"regulations" means regulations under this Act.
"relative", in relation to a person who has or is suspected to have died means:

(a) the spouse of that person, a parent of that person, a person who stands in loco parentis to that person, a guardian of that person or a child of that person, or

(c) if there is no relative, as defined in paragraph (a), of that person, a brother or sister of that person,

who has attained the age of 18 years.
"senior next of kin" of a deceased person means:

(a) the deceased person’s spouse, or

(b) if the deceased person did not have a spouse or a spouse is not available-any of the deceased person’s sons or daughters who are of or above the age of 18 years, or

(c) if the deceased person did not have a spouse, son or daughter or a spouse, son or daughter is not available-either of the deceased person’s parents, or

(d) if the deceased person did not have a spouse, son, daughter or living parent or a spouse, son, daughter or parent is not available-any of the deceased person’s brothers or sisters who are of or above the age of 18 years, or

(e) if the deceased person did not have a spouse, son, daughter, living parent, brother or sister or a spouse, son, daughter, parent, brother or sister is not available:

(i) any person who is named as an executor in the deceased person’s will, or

(ii) any person who was the deceased person’s personal representative immediately before the deceased person’s death.

"spouse" means:

(a) a husband or wife, or

(b) the other party to a de facto relationship within the meaning of the Property (Relationships) Act 1984 ,

but where more than one person would so qualify as a spouse, means only the last person so to qualify.
"Supreme Court" means the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
"this State" means the State of New South Wales.

(1A) Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act.

(2) A reference in this Act to a police officer informing a coroner of the death or suspected death of a person or of a fire or explosion includes a reference to any prescribed person employed by the Lord Howe Island Board so informing a coroner but only if the coroner is informed that the death occurred or is suspected of having occurred on Lord Howe Island or that the fire or explosion occurred on Lord Howe Island.

(3) A reference in this Act to the remains of a deceased person includes a reference to any part of the remains of that person.

(4) In this Act:

(a) a reference to a function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty, and

(b) a reference to the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty.

(5) For the purposes of this Act:

(a) a reference, in paragraph (a) of the definition of "relative" in subsection (1), to the child of a person includes, where the person was in a domestic relationship within the meaning of the Property (Relationships) Act 1984 , a reference to a person who was, by virtue of section 5 of that Act, a child of the parties to the relationship, and

(b) a reference in that paragraph to a parent includes a reference to a party to such a domestic relationship of which the deceased, or suspected deceased, was by virtue of section 5 of the Property (Relationships) Act 1984 , a child.