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Queensland
Coroners and Other Acts
Amendment Bill 2009
Queensland
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment
Bill 2009
Contents
Page
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
3 Act amended in pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 Amendment of s 7 (Duty to report deaths) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5 Amendment of s 8 (Reportable death defined) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6 Amendment of s 9 (Death in care defined). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
7 Amendment of s 10 (Death in custody defined) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
8 Insertion of new s 10AA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
10AA Health care related death defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
9 Amendment of s 10A (State Coroner to notify children's
commissioner of deaths) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
10 Amendment of s 11 (Deaths to be investigated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
11 Insertion of new s 11A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
11A Reviewing coroner's decision about whether death
is a reportable death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
12 Amendment of s 12 (Deaths not to be investigated or further
investigated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
13 Amendment of s 13 (Coroner's powers of investigation) . . . . . . . 14
14 Amendment of s 14 (Guidelines and directions for investigations) 14
15 Amendment of s 16 (Duty to help investigation). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
16 Amendment of s 17 (Disclosure of confidential information to
Coroners Court) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
17 Insertion of new s 17A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
17A Protection from liability for giving information and
other things to coroner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Contents
18 Insertion of new s 18A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
18A Arrangements for and guidelines about assessing
suitability of body for Transplantation and Anatomy
Act 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
19 Replacement of s 21 (Observing an autopsy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
21 Observing an autopsy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
20 Amendment of s 22 (Extra medical evidence for autopsy) . . . . . . 19
21 Amendment of s 23 (Autopsy testing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
22 Insertion of new s 23A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
23A Applying for an order for autopsy testing . . . . . . . . . . 20
23 Amendment of s 24 (Removing tissue for autopsy testing) . . . . . 21
24 Amendment of s 24A (Autopsy certificate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
25 Amendment of s 25 (Autopsy reports) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
26 Amendment of s 26 (Control of body) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
27 Amendment of s 27 (When inquest must be held) . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
28 Amendment of s 28 (When inquest may be held) . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
29 Amendment of s 30 (Applying for inquest to be held). . . . . . . . . . 25
30 Amendment of s 32 (Notice of inquest) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
31 Amendment of s 34 (Pre-inquest conferences) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
32 Amendment of s 35 (Directions or orders about inquests) . . . . . . 28
33 Amendment of s 36 (Right to appear etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
34 Amendment of s 41 (Prohibited publications relating to inquests) 29
35 Amendment of s 43 (Excluding persons from inquest). . . . . . . . . 29
36 Amendment of s 45 (Coroner's findings) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
37 Amendment of s 46 (Coroner's comments) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
38 Amendment of s 47 (Coroner's comments and findings for
deaths in care or custody) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
39 Amendment of s 50 (Reopening inquests etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
40 Insertion of new ss 50A and 50B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
50A Reopening inquests on coroner's initiative . . . . . . . . . 30
50B Reopening investigations, other than inquests. . . . . . 31
41 Amendment of s 52 (Documents that can not be accessed) . . . . 32
42 Amendment of s 53 (Access to investigation documents for
research purposes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
43 Amendment of s 54 (Access to investigation documents for
other purposes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
44 Insertion of new s 54AA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Page 2
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Contents
54AA Access to information in section 7(4) report by
prescribed tissue banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
45 Amendment of s 54A (Access to investigation documents by
the children's commissioner) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
46 Amendment of s 56 (Refusing access in the public interest) . . . . 35
47 Amendment of s 60 (Returning physical evidence) . . . . . . . . . . . 35
48 Replacement of pt 3, div 6, hdg (Transferring investigation to
another coroner). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
49 Insertion of new s 63A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
63A Continuation of jurisdiction on retirement etc. . . . . . . 36
50 Amendment of s 71 (Functions and powers of State Coroner) . . 37
51 Insertion of new s 71A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
71A Assistance to and from coroners in other jurisdictions 38
52 Amendment of s 74 (Acting as State Coroner). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
53 Amendment of s 77 (Annual report) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
54 Insertion of new s 79A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
79A Resignation of Deputy State Coroner. . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
55 Amendment of s 86 (Delegation of powers to registrar or
deputy registrars) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
56 Amendment of s 88 (Immunity) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
57 Amendment of s 96 (Application of Act to stillborn child) . . . . . . . 41
58 Amendment of pt 6 hdgs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
59 Insertion of new pt 6, div 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Division 4 Transitional provisions for the Coroners and
Other Acts Amendment Act 2009
109 Definitions for div 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
110 Continued application of particular provisions . . . . . . 42
111 Application of s 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
112 Notice of inquest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
113 Application of s 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
60 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Part 3 Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration
Act 2003
61 Act amended in pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
62 Amendment of s 42 (Correcting the register) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Part 4 Amendment of Cremations Act 2003
63 Act amended in pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
64 Amendment of s 4 (Cremations this Act does not apply to) . . . . . 46
Page 3
2009
A Bill
for
An Act to amend the Coroners Act 2003, the Births, Deaths and
Marriages Registration Act 2003 and the Cremations Act 2003
for particular purposes
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 1 Preliminary
[s 1]
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Part 1 Preliminary 2
Clause 1 Short title 3
This Act may be cited as the Coroners and Other Acts 4
Amendment Act 2009. 5
Clause 2 Commencement 6
This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 7
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 8
2003 9
Clause 3 Act amended in pt 2 10
This part amends the Coroners Act 2003. 11
Clause 4 Amendment of s 7 (Duty to report deaths) 12
(1) Section 7(1)(b), `subsection (2)'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`subsection (3)'. 15
(2) Section 7-- 16
insert-- 17
`(1A) Despite subsection (1)(b), a relevant service provider who 18
becomes aware of a death in care as mentioned in section 19
9(1)(a) must report the death under subsection (3), regardless 20
of whether someone else has reported or may report the death. 21
Page 6
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 5]
Note-- 1
Under section 9(3), a person's death is a death in care even if the 2
deceased person died somewhere other than the place where the 3
deceased person ordinarily lived for the purposes of being in care.'. 4
(3) Section 7(2)(a) and (b)-- 5
renumber as section 7(2)(b) and (c). 6
(4) Section 7(2)-- 7
insert-- 8
`(a) if the death happened in the course of or as a result of 9
police operations--the State Coroner or the Deputy 10
State Coroner; or'. 11
(5) Section 7-- 12
insert-- 13
`(5A) Nothing in this section prevents a person from reporting a 14
death in the way mentioned in subsection (3) if the person 15
considers the death may be a reportable death.'. 16
(6) Section 7(6)-- 17
insert-- 18
relevant service provider, in relation to a death in care, means 19
the provider of the residential service mentioned in section 20
9(1)(a) in which the deceased person ordinarily lived for the 21
purposes of being in care.'. 22
(7) Section 7(1A) to (6)-- 23
renumber as section 7(2) to (8). 24
Clause 5 Amendment of s 8 (Reportable death defined) 25
(1) Section 8(3)(d)-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
`(d) the death was a health care related death; or'. 28
(2) Section 8(3)-- 29
insert-- 30
Page 7
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 6]
`(h) the death happened in the course of or as a result of 1
police operations. 2
Examples of police operations-- 3
· a police motor vehicle pursuit for the purpose of 4
apprehending a person 5
· an evacuation'. 6
(3) Section 8-- 7
insert-- 8
`(5) For subsection (3)(b), an unnatural death includes the death of 9
a person who dies at any time after receiving an injury that-- 10
(a) caused the death; or 11
(b) contributed to the death and without which the person 12
would not have died. 13
Examples-- 14
· a person's death resulting from injuries sustained by the person in a 15
motor vehicle accident many months before the death 16
· a person's death from pneumonia suffered after fracturing the 17
person's neck or femur 18
· a person's death caused by a subdural haemotoma not resulting 19
from a bleeding disorder'. 20
Clause 6 Amendment of s 9 (Death in care defined) 21
(1) Section 9(1)(a)(ii), `residential services'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`services providing accommodation to persons with a 24
disability and'. 25
(2) Section 9(1)(a)(iii), `at a place'-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
`in a residential service'. 28
(3) Section 9(1)(b)(i)-- 29
omit, insert-- 30
Page 8
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 6]
`(i) being taken to an authorised mental health service 1
under section 25, 34, 39, 292 or 508 of that Act; 2
or'. 3
(4) Section 9(1)(b)(ii), `a place where there is'-- 4
omit. 5
(5) Section 9(1)(b)(iii), `detained'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`taken to, or detained in, an authorised mental health service'. 8
(6) Section 9(1)(d)-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`(d) the person was a child who was-- 11
(i) in the custody or guardianship of the chief 12
executive (child safety) under the Child Protection 13
Act 1999; or 14
(ii) placed in care under an assessment care agreement; 15
or 16
(iii) the subject of a child protection order granting 17
custody of the child to a person, other than a parent 18
of the child, who is a member of the child's family; 19
or 20
(iv) the subject of a child protection order granting 21
long-term guardianship of the child to-- 22
(A) a suitable person, other than a parent of the 23
child, who is a member of the child's family; 24
or 25
(B) another suitable person, other than a member 26
of the child's family, nominated by the chief 27
executive.'. 28
(7) Section 9(4)-- 29
insert-- 30
`assessment care agreement means an assessment care 31
agreement as defined under the Child Protection Act 1999. 32
Page 9
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 7]
authorised mental heath service means an authorised mental 1
health service as defined under the Mental Health Act 2000. 2
child protection order means a child protection order as 3
defined under the Child Protection Act 1999.'. 4
Clause 7 Amendment of s 10 (Death in custody defined) 5
Section 10(2)-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`(2) In this section-- 8
custody means detention, whether or not by a police officer, 9
under-- 10
(a) an arrest; or 11
(b) the authority of a court order; or 12
(c) the authority of an Act of the State, other than-- 13
(i) the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006; or 14
(ii) the Mental Health Act 2000; or 15
(d) the authority of an Act of the Commonwealth.'. 16
Clause 8 Insertion of new s 10AA 17
After section 10-- 18
insert-- 19
`10AA Health care related death defined 20
`(1) A person's death is a health care related death if, after the 21
commencement, the person dies at any time after receiving 22
health care that-- 23
(a) either-- 24
(i) caused or is likely to have caused the death; or 25
(ii) contributed to or is likely to have contributed to the 26
death; and 27
Page 10
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 8]
(b) immediately before receiving the health care, an 1
independent person would not have reasonably expected 2
that the health care would cause or contribute to the 3
person's death. 4
`(2) A person's death is also a health care related death if, after 5
the commencement, the person dies at any time after health 6
care was sought for the person and the health care, or a 7
particular type of health care, failed to be provided to the 8
person and-- 9
(a) the failure either-- 10
(i) caused or is likely to have caused the death; or 11
(ii) contributed or is likely to have contributed to the 12
death; and 13
(b) when health care was sought, an independent person 14
would not have reasonably expected that there would be 15
a failure to provide health care, or the particular type of 16
health care, that would cause or contribute to the 17
person's death. 18
`(3) For this section-- 19
(a) health care contributes to a person's death if the person 20
would not have died at the time of the person's death if 21
the health care had not been provided; and 22
(b) a failure to provide health care contributes to a person's 23
death if the person would not have died at the time of the 24
person's death if the health care had been provided. 25
`(4) For this section, a reference to an independent person is a 26
reference to an independent person appropriately qualified in 27
the relevant area or areas of health care who has had regard to 28
all relevant matters including, for example, the following-- 29
(a) the deceased person's state of health as it was thought to 30
be when the health care started or was sought; 31
Example of a person's state of health-- 32
an underlying disease, condition or injury and its natural 33
progression 34
Page 11
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 9]
(b) the clinically accepted range of risk associated with the 1
health care; 2
(c) the circumstances in which the health care was provided 3
or sought. 4
Example for paragraph (c)-- 5
It would be reasonably expected that a moribund elderly patient 6
with other natural diseases would die following surgery for a 7
ruptured aortic aneurysm. 8
`(5) In this section-- 9
commencement means the commencement of this section. 10
health care means-- 11
(a) any health procedure; or 12
(b) any care, treatment, advice, service or goods provided 13
for or purportedly for the benefit of human health.'. 14
Clause 9 Amendment of s 10A (State Coroner to notify children's 15
commissioner of deaths) 16
Section 10A(1)(b), `section 7(3)'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`section 7(4)'. 19
Clause 10 Amendment of s 11 (Deaths to be investigated) 20
Section 11(7), after `custody'-- 21
insert-- 22
`, or a death mentioned in section 8(3)(h) that is not also a 23
death in custody,'. 24
Clause 11 Insertion of new s 11A 25
After section 11-- 26
insert-- 27
Page 12
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 12]
`11A Reviewing coroner's decision about whether death 1
is a reportable death 2
`(1) A person dissatisfied with a coroner's decision about whether 3
a death that happens after the commencement of this section is 4
a reportable death may apply for an order about whether it is a 5
reportable death. 6
`(2) The application must be made to-- 7
(a) if the coroner is not the State Coroner--the State 8
Coroner; or 9
(b) if the coroner is the State Coroner--the District Court. 10
`(3) A person dissatisfied with the State Coroner's decision under 11
subsection (2)(a) may apply to the District Court. 12
`(4) An application under subsection (3) must be made within 14 13
days after the person receives written reasons for the decision. 14
`(5) If the State Coroner or the District Court orders that the death 15
is a reportable death, the coroner is taken to have considered 16
the death to be a reportable death for section 11(2)(a).'. 17
Clause 12 Amendment of s 12 (Deaths not to be investigated or 18
further investigated) 19
(1) Section 12(1), after `Minister'-- 20
insert-- 21
`or by the State Coroner under section 11(4)(b)'. 22
(2) Section 12(2)(b)-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`(b) each of the following applies-- 25
(i) the death was not a reportable death under section 26
8(3)(a) or (g); 27
(ii) the coroner's investigation shows that an autopsy 28
of the body is not necessary; 29
(iii) the coroner decides to authorise a doctor to issue a 30
cause of death certificate; or'. 31
Page 13
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 13]
Clause 13 Amendment of s 13 (Coroner's powers of investigation) 1
(1) Section 13(3) and (4)-- 2
renumber as section 13(4) and (5). 3
(2) Section 13-- 4
insert-- 5
`(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the coroner may authorise a 6
doctor or nurse to take a sample of the deceased person's 7
blood for testing. 8
`(6) In this section-- 9
nurse means a registered nurse under the Nursing Act 1992.'. 10
Clause 14 Amendment of s 14 (Guidelines and directions for 11
investigations) 12
(1) Section 14(4) to (6)-- 13
renumber as section 14(5) to (7). 14
(2) Section 14-- 15
insert-- 16
`(4) Without limiting subsection (1)(b) or (3), the State Coroner 17
may also issue guidelines applying to all persons who carry 18
out a function under this Act about the following-- 19
(a) the types of reportable death mentioned in section 8; 20
(b) a preliminary investigation to decide whether a death is 21
a reportable death; 22
(c) the investigation of a suspected death; 23
(d) any other matter that is relevant and desirable to ensure 24
best practice in the coronial system.'. 25
Clause 15 Amendment of s 16 (Duty to help investigation) 26
(1) Section 16(1)(b) and (2), after `information'-- 27
insert-- 28
Page 14
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 16]
`, a document or anything else'. 1
(2) Section 16(4) to (6), `give the information'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`comply with the requirement'. 4
(3) Section 16(6), `giving the information'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`complying with the requirement'. 7
Clause 16 Amendment of s 17 (Disclosure of confidential 8
information to Coroners Court) 9
(1) Section 17, heading, `Coroners Court'-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`coroner'. 12
(2) Section 17(2)-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`(2) The provision is taken to enable the disclosure of the 15
information to a coroner investigating a death as if-- 16
(a) a reference to the court is a reference to a coroner; and 17
(b) a reference to a proceeding is a reference to an 18
investigation; and 19
(c) a reference to a party is a reference to-- 20
(i) a police officer, lawyer or other person helping the 21
coroner; or 22
(ii) a person who is to appear or is appearing at an 23
inquest.'. 24
(3) Section 17(4)-- 25
omit, insert-- 26
`(4) A coroner may only disclose information obtained under this 27
section for a purpose connected with the investigation being 28
conducted by the coroner.'. 29
Page 15
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 17]
(4) Section 17(5), `Coroners Court'-- 1
omit, insert-- 2
`coroner'. 3
(5) Section 17(5)(a), `inquest'-- 4
omit, insert-- 5
`investigation'. 6
Clause 17 Insertion of new s 17A 7
Part 3, division 1-- 8
insert-- 9
`17A Protection from liability for giving information and 10
other things to coroner 11
`(1) A person is not liable, civilly, criminally or under an 12
administrative process, for giving a coroner any of the 13
following-- 14
(a) information, a document or anything else (the required 15
item) in compliance with a requirement made under 16
section 16; 17
(b) confidential information under section 17. 18
`(2) Also, merely because the person gives the required item or 19
confidential information, the person can not be held to have-- 20
(a) breached any code of professional etiquette or ethics; or 21
(b) departed from accepted standards of professional 22
conduct. 23
`(3) Without limiting subsections (1) and (2)-- 24
(a) in a proceeding for defamation, the person has a defence 25
of absolute privilege for publishing the required item or 26
confidential information; and 27
(b) if the person would otherwise be required to maintain 28
confidentiality about the required item or confidential 29
Page 16
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 18]
information under an Act, oath or rule of law or practice, 1
the person-- 2
(i) does not contravene the Act, oath or rule of law or 3
practice by giving the required item or confidential 4
information; and 5
(ii) is not liable to disciplinary action for giving the 6
required item or confidential information.'. 7
Clause 18 Insertion of new s 18A 8
After section 18-- 9
insert-- 10
`18A Arrangements for and guidelines about assessing 11
suitability of body for Transplantation and Anatomy 12
Act 1979 13
`(1) This section applies if a prescribed tissue bank is a party to an 14
arrangement under section 54AA to access section 7(4) 15
reports. 16
`(2) Before an autopsy is performed on a body, the prescribed 17
tissue bank, or a person acting for the prescribed tissue bank, 18
may conduct an external examination of the body for the 19
purpose of assessing whether the body is suitable for the 20
removal of tissue for the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 21
1979. 22
`(3) However, subsection (2) does not apply if the State Coroner, 23
the coroner who is investigating the death, or a person acting 24
for the prescribed tissue bank is aware that the deceased 25
person had, during his or her lifetime, objected to the removal 26
after death of tissue from his or her body. 27
`(4) A person who conducts the examination must comply with-- 28
(a) any directions of the coroner; and 29
(b) any guidelines issued by the State Coroner about the 30
conduct of the process by which donor suitability for the 31
removal of tissue under the Transplantation and 32
Anatomy Act 1979 is assessed. 33
Page 17
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 19]
`(5) However, to the extent that a direction conflicts with the 1
guidelines, the person must comply with the direction. 2
`(6) In this section-- 3
tissue see the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979, section 4
4(1).'. 5
Clause 19 Replacement of s 21 (Observing an autopsy) 6
Section 21-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`21 Observing an autopsy 9
`(1) The coroner, or a police officer who is investigating a death 10
under this or another Act, is entitled to observe and participate 11
in the autopsy. 12
`(2) If the coroner considers it appropriate, a person may observe 13
and participate in an autopsy for his or her vocational or 14
clinical education or training with the consent of the doctor 15
who is conducting the autopsy. 16
Examples-- 17
an attending doctor, medical students, mortuary staff, nurses and police 18
officers 19
`(3) The coroner may allow a person, or the person's 20
representative, to observe the autopsy if the coroner 21
considers-- 22
(a) the person has a sufficient interest in the autopsy; and 23
(b) the attendance of the person, or the person's 24
representative, at the autopsy would not compromise the 25
integrity of the coronial investigation or any other 26
investigation into the death; and 27
Example of other investigation-- 28
a criminal investigation, workplace health and safety 29
investigation or disciplinary investigation 30
(c) the attendance of the person, or the person's 31
representative, at the autopsy is otherwise appropriate. 32
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Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 20]
`(4) Before allowing a person to observe an autopsy under 1
subsection (3), the coroner-- 2
(a) must, whenever practicable, consult with and consider 3
the views of-- 4
(i) a family member of the deceased person; and 5
(ii) the doctor who is to conduct the autopsy; and 6
(b) may consult with, and consider the views of, anyone 7
else the coroner considers appropriate. 8
`(5) If the coroner allows a person to observe an autopsy under 9
subsection (3), the coroner must give the person notice of the 10
time and place of the autopsy before it is conducted.'. 11
Clause 20 Amendment of s 22 (Extra medical evidence for autopsy) 12
(1) Section 22(1)(a)(ii), after `conduct'-- 13
insert-- 14
`, or conducted,'. 15
(2) Section 22(1)(b) and example-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`(b) a person who has any medical records of the deceased 18
person, or tissue samples from the deceased person, to 19
give them to the doctor who is to conduct, or conducted, 20
the autopsy. 21
Example-- 22
The coroner may require the person in charge of the nursing 23
home in which the deceased person died to release the deceased 24
person's medical records.'. 25
(3) Section 22(3), after `means'-- 26
insert-- 27
`, unless the notice requires the original copy of the written 28
report or medical records to be given'. 29
Page 19
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 21]
Clause 21 Amendment of s 23 (Autopsy testing) 1
(1) Section 23(2) to (5)-- 2
renumber as section 23(3) to (6). 3
(2) Section 23-- 4
insert-- 5
`(2) The coroner may make the order on an application under 6
section 23A or on the coroner's own initiative.'. 7
Clause 22 Insertion of new s 23A 8
After section 23-- 9
insert-- 10
`23A Applying for an order for autopsy testing 11
`(1) A person may apply to the coroner in writing for an order that 12
the doctor who has been ordered to conduct an autopsy, or 13
who conducted an autopsy, also conduct a test for any or all of 14
the following as stated in the application-- 15
(a) an infectious condition; 16
(b) a notifiable condition; 17
(c) an emergency notifiable condition; 18
(d) a controlled notifiable condition. 19
`(2) The coroner may grant the application only if the coroner is 20
satisfied the applicant has a sufficient interest in the test result. 21
`(3) In this section-- 22
conduct, a test, includes arrange for a test to be conducted. 23
controlled notifiable condition means a controlled notifiable 24
condition as defined in the Public Health Act 2005, section 25
63. 26
coroner means the coroner who ordered the doctor to conduct 27
an autopsy or the State Coroner. 28
Page 20
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 23]
emergency notifiable condition means an emergency 1
notifiable condition as defined in the Public Health Act 2005, 2
section 315. 3
notifiable condition means a notifiable condition as defined 4
in the Public Health Act 2005, section 64.'. 5
Clause 23 Amendment of s 24 (Removing tissue for autopsy testing) 6
(1) Section 24(2), from `the tissue' to `foetus'-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`prescribed tissue is removed'. 9
(2) Section 24(5) to (10)-- 10
renumber as section 24(6) to (11). 11
(3) Section 24(4)-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`(4) However, if prescribed tissue has been removed, the coroner 14
must not order the release of the body unless satisfied that-- 15
(a) if practicable, a family member of the deceased person 16
has been informed of the removal of the prescribed 17
tissue; and 18
(b) the retention of the prescribed tissue is necessary for the 19
investigation of the death, despite any concerns raised 20
with the coroner about the retention of the prescribed 21
tissue. 22
`(5) If the coroner is not satisfied as mentioned in subsection (4)(a) 23
and (b), the coroner must order the doctor to return the 24
prescribed tissue to the body before the body is released.'. 25
(4) Section 24(6), as renumbered, `an organ or foetus'-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
`prescribed tissue'. 28
(5) Section 24(9)(a), as renumbered-- 29
omit, insert-- 30
Page 21
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 24]
`(a) if a family member of the deceased person has told the 1
coroner that he or she wishes to test, or use, the tissue 2
for a lawful purpose or to bury the tissue--release the 3
tissue to the family member, or the family member's 4
representative, for the test, use or burial; or'. 5
(6) Section 24(11), as renumbered-- 6
insert-- 7
`prescribed tissue means-- 8
(a) a whole organ or foetus; or 9
(b) an identifiable body part. 10
Example for paragraph (b)-- 11
a limb, digit or jaw'. 12
Clause 24 Amendment of s 24A (Autopsy certificate) 13
(1) Section 24A(2)(b)-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`(b) give a signed copy of the notice to-- 16
(i) the registrar under the Births, Deaths and 17
Marriages Registration Act 2003; and 18
(ii) the coroner who ordered the conduct of the 19
autopsy.'. 20
(2) Section 24A(3)(b), other than example-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
`(b) give a signed copy of the certificate to-- 23
(i) the registrar under the Births, Deaths and 24
Marriages Registration Act 2003; and 25
(ii) the coroner who ordered the conduct of the 26
autopsy.'. 27
Page 22
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 25]
Clause 25 Amendment of s 25 (Autopsy reports) 1
(1) Section 25(1)(b)-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`(b) give the report to the coroner.'. 4
(2) Section 25(2) to (5)-- 5
renumber as section 25(3) to (5) and (7). 6
(3) Section 25-- 7
insert-- 8
`(2) If an investigating police officer asks for a copy of the autopsy 9
report, or a copy of a test report, the doctor who conducted the 10
autopsy or the person who did the test must give a copy of the 11
report to the police officer.'. 12
(4) Section 25(3), as renumbered, after `subsection (1)'-- 13
insert-- 14
`or (2)'. 15
(5) Section 25-- 16
insert-- 17
`(6) However, subsections (4) and (5) do not apply if the State 18
Coroner has given the chief executive or health chief 19
executive written notice stating-- 20
(a) that the reports mentioned in the subsections are not to 21
be given to-- 22
(i) the chief executive or the health chief executive; or 23
(ii) a public service employee, health service employee 24
or health executive; and 25
(b) the reasons why the reports are not to be given.'. 26
Clause 26 Amendment of s 26 (Control of body) 27
(1) Section 26(2)-- 28
omit, insert-- 29
Page 23
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 27]
`(2) The coroner stops having control of the body when the 1
coroner-- 2
(a) if the coroner stops investigating the death under section 3
12(2)(a)--orders the release of the body to the Minister 4
responsible for administering the Aboriginal Cultural 5
Heritage Act 2003 and the Torres Strait Islander 6
Cultural Heritage Act 2003; or 7
(b) if the coroner stops investigating the death under section 8
12(2)(b)--authorises a doctor to issue a cause of death 9
certificate for the deceased person; or 10
(c) if the coroner stops investigating the death under section 11
12(2)(c) or (d)--orders the release of the body for 12
burial; or 13
(d) if the coroner stops investigating the death under section 14
12(2)(e)--orders the release of the body to the other 15
jurisdiction; or 16
(e) transfers control of the body to another coroner; or 17
(f) decides that it is not necessary for the coroner's 18
investigation to keep the body after an autopsy and the 19
coroner orders the release of the body for burial.'. 20
(2) Section 26(5), penalty, `for subsection (5)'-- 21
omit. 22
(3) Section 26-- 23
insert-- 24
`(6) For subsection (2)(a), (c), (d) and (f), a reference to the 25
coroner, in relation to an order for the release of a body, 26
includes, if the coroner investigating the death is not available, 27
another coroner.'. 28
Clause 27 Amendment of s 27 (When inquest must be held) 29
(1) Section 27(1)(a)-- 30
insert-- 31
Page 24
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 28]
`(iii) a death mentioned in section 8(3)(h) that is not also 1
a death in custody, unless the coroner is satisfied 2
the circumstances of the death do not require the 3
holding of an inquest; or'. 4
(2) Section 27(2)-- 5
renumber as section 27(3). 6
(3) Section 27-- 7
insert-- 8
`(2) For subsection (1)(a)(i), a death in custody-- 9
(a) includes a death that is also another type of reportable 10
death under section 8; but 11
Example-- 12
A death in custody may also be a death in care under section 8(3)(f) or a 13
death in the course of police operations under section 8(3)(h). 14
(b) does not include the death of a person if, when the 15
person died, the person was detained under the Public 16
Health Act 2005.'. 17
Clause 28 Amendment of s 28 (When inquest may be held) 18
(1) Section 28(1), from `considers'-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`is satisfied it is in the public interest to hold the inquest.'. 21
(2) Section 28(2), `desirable'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`in the public interest'. 24
Clause 29 Amendment of s 30 (Applying for inquest to be held) 25
(1) Section 30(1), `, in the approved form,'-- 26
omit. 27
(2) Section 30(2) to (7)-- 28
Page 25
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 30]
renumber as section 30(3) to (8). 1
(3) Section 30-- 2
insert-- 3
`(2) The application must-- 4
(a) be written; and 5
(b) outline why the applicant considers it is in the public 6
interest for an inquest to be held.'. 7
(4) Section 30(3), as renumbered, `6 months after receiving the 8
application'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`the prescribed period'. 11
(5) Section 30-- 12
insert-- 13
`(9) In this section-- 14
prescribed period, for the coroner to decide the application, 15
means-- 16
(a) 6 months after the coroner receives the application; or 17
(b) the longer period the coroner considers necessary to 18
enable the coroner to obtain relevant information for 19
making the decision.'. 20
Clause 30 Amendment of s 32 (Notice of inquest) 21
(1) Section 32(1)(b)-- 22
renumber as section 32(1)(c). 23
(2) Section 32(1)-- 24
insert-- 25
`(b) the issues to be investigated at the inquest; and'. 26
(3) Section 32(2), `14'-- 27
omit, insert-- 28
Page 26
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 31]
`28'. 1
(4) Section 32(3)-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply-- 4
(a) to an adjourned inquest; or 5
(b) if the State Coroner directs that a notice not be 6
published; or 7
(c) if the Coroners Court has published a notice about a 8
conference for the inquest under section 34(2). 9
`(4) The Coroners Court must publish a statement of the issues to 10
be investigated at the inquest and the date, time and place of 11
the inquest on an appropriate website of the Office of the State 12
Coroner. 13
Editor's note-- 14
At the commencement of this subsection, the website is 15
.'. 16
Clause 31 Amendment of s 34 (Pre-inquest conferences) 17
(1) Section 34(2)-- 18
renumber as section 34(4). 19
(2) Section 34-- 20
insert-- 21
`(2) The Coroners Court may publish, in a daily newspaper 22
circulating generally in the State, a notice of-- 23
(a) the matter to be investigated at the inquest; and 24
(b) the proposed issues to be investigated at the inquest; and 25
(c) the date, time and place of the conference set by the 26
coroner. 27
`(3) If the Coroners Court decides to publish a notice as mentioned 28
in subsection (2), the notice must be published at least 28 days 29
before the conference is to be held.'. 30
Page 27
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 32]
Clause 32 Amendment of s 35 (Directions or orders about inquests) 1
(1) Section 35, heading, after `inquests'-- 2
insert-- 3
`and pre-inquest conferences'. 4
(2) Section 35, after `inquest'-- 5
insert-- 6
`or pre-inquest conference'. 7
(3) Section 35-- 8
insert-- 9
`(3) In this section-- 10
pre-inquest conference means a conference mentioned in 11
section 34.'. 12
Clause 33 Amendment of s 36 (Right to appear etc.) 13
(1) Section 36(2) and (3)-- 14
renumber as section 36(4) and (5). 15
(2) Section 36-- 16
insert-- 17
`(2) Subsection (3) applies if the Coroners Court considers a 18
person mentioned in subsection (1)(c) has a sufficient interest 19
only because it is in the public interest, and consistent with the 20
purposes of this Act, that the person appear and make 21
submissions at the inquest about a matter on which the 22
coroner may comment under section 46(1). 23
Example of a person for subsection (2)-- 24
a specialist advocacy group with particular expertise in a matter on 25
which a coroner may comment under section 46(1) 26
`(3) Despite subsection (1), the person-- 27
(a) may not examine witnesses at the inquest without the 28
court's leave; and 29
Page 28
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 34]
(b) may only make submissions about a matter on which the 1
coroner may comment under section 46(1).'. 2
Clause 34 Amendment of s 41 (Prohibited publications relating to 3
inquests) 4
(1) Section 41, heading, after `inquests'-- 5
insert-- 6
`and pre-inquest conferences'. 7
(2) Section 41(1), (3) and (4), after `inquest'-- 8
insert-- 9
`or pre-inquest conference'. 10
Clause 35 Amendment of s 43 (Excluding persons from inquest) 11
Section 43, after `inquest'-- 12
insert-- 13
`or pre-inquest conference'. 14
Clause 36 Amendment of s 45 (Coroner's findings) 15
Section 45(3)(b), `section 12(1)'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`section 12(2)'. 18
Clause 37 Amendment of s 46 (Coroner's comments) 19
Section 46(2)(d)(i) and (ii)-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`(i) the Attorney-General; and 22
(ii) the Minister administering the entity; and 23
(iii) the chief executive officer of the entity; and'. 24
Page 29
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 38]
Clause 38 Amendment of s 47 (Coroner's comments and findings 1
for deaths in care or custody) 2
(1) Section 47, heading-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`47 Coroner's comments and findings for particular deaths'. 5
(2) Section 47(1), from `care'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`care, death in custody or death that happened in the course of 8
or as a result of police operations.'. 9
(3) Section 47(3), definition relevant Act, paragraph (b)(vi)-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`(vi) for the death of a person in custody under the 12
Juvenile Justice Act 1992--that Act; or 13
(c) for a death that happened in the course of or as a result 14
of police operations--the Police Powers and 15
Responsibilities Act 2000.'. 16
Clause 39 Amendment of s 50 (Reopening inquests etc.) 17
Section 50, heading, after `etc.'-- 18
insert-- 19
`--on application'. 20
Clause 40 Insertion of new ss 50A and 50B 21
After section 50-- 22
insert-- 23
`50A Reopening inquests on coroner's initiative 24
`(1) The coroner who held an inquest, or the State Coroner, may 25
on his or her own initiative, reopen the inquest to re-examine a 26
finding, or hold a new inquest, if satisfied-- 27
(a) new evidence casts doubt on the finding; or 28
Page 30
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 40]
(b) it is otherwise in the public interest. 1
`(2) A coroner who has reopened an inquest, or is holding a new 2
inquest, under this section may accept any of the evidence 3
given, or findings made, at the earlier inquest as being correct. 4
`50B Reopening investigations, other than inquests 5
`(1) The State Coroner may, on his or her own initiative-- 6
(a) reopen an investigation into a death; or 7
(b) direct the coroner who conducted an investigation into a 8
death, or another coroner, to reopen the investigation. 9
`(2) The State Coroner may take the action mentioned in 10
subsection (1) if the State Coroner considers-- 11
(a) the circumstances of the death warrant further 12
investigation; or 13
(b) the coroner's findings could not be reasonably supported 14
by the evidence; or 15
(c) new evidence casts doubt on the findings. 16
`(3) The coroner who conducted an investigation into a death may, 17
on his or her own initiative, reopen the investigation. 18
`(4) The coroner may take the action mentioned in subsection (3) 19
if the coroner considers-- 20
(a) the circumstances of the death warrant further 21
investigation; or 22
(b) new evidence casts doubt on the findings. 23
`(5) The State Coroner, or another coroner, who has reopened an 24
investigation under this section may accept any of the 25
evidence given at the earlier investigation as being correct. 26
`(6) In this section-- 27
investigation does not include an inquest.'. 28
Page 31
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 41]
Clause 41 Amendment of s 52 (Documents that can not be 1
accessed) 2
Section 52(1)(c), from `unless'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`unless-- 5
(i) the information is the result of a test ordered to be 6
done by the coroner on application under section 7
23A and the person wanting access is the applicant 8
for the order; or 9
(ii) the information is relevant to a matter mentioned in 10
section 45(2), whether or not the coroner has made 11
the findings mentioned in that subsection; or'. 12
Clause 42 Amendment of s 53 (Access to investigation documents 13
for research purposes) 14
(1) Section 53(2)(a), from `relates'-- 15
omit, insert-- 16
`relates, unless the State Coroner considers it appropriate 17
having regard to-- 18
(i) the importance of the research; and 19
(ii) the public interest in allowing the access before the 20
investigation has finished; or'. 21
(2) Section 53(3), `another investigation document'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`an investigation document, other than a document mentioned 24
in subsection (2)(b),'. 25
(3) Section 53(4)(d), `police document'-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
`document mentioned in paragraph (c)'. 28
(4) Section 53(5) to (7)-- 29
renumber as section 53(6), (7) and (9). 30
Page 32
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 43]
(5) Section 53-- 1
insert-- 2
`(5) The State Coroner's consent allows the person to access 1 or 3
more stated types of investigation documents-- 4
(a) for the period stated in the consent; or 5
(b) until the State Coroner withdraws the consent; 6
whichever happens first.'. 7
(6) Section 53(9), as renumbered, definition genuine researcher, 8
paragraph (c)-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`(c) another person who is conducting genuine research.'. 11
Clause 43 Amendment of s 54 (Access to investigation documents 12
for other purposes) 13
(1) Section 54(2)(b), after `available'-- 14
insert-- 15
`and has not delegated his or her power to the registrar under 16
section 86(4)(c)'. 17
(2) Section 54(3), example, paragraph (b)-- 18
omit. 19
(3) Section 54(3), example, paragraph (c)-- 20
renumber as paragraph (b). 21
Clause 44 Insertion of new s 54AA 22
After section 54-- 23
insert-- 24
`54AA Access to information in section 7(4) report by 25
prescribed tissue banks 26
`(1) The State Coroner may enter into an arrangement with a 27
person who owns a prescribed tissue bank about giving the 28
Page 33
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 44]
prescribed tissue bank, or a person acting for the prescribed 1
tissue bank, access to documents that are section 7(4) reports 2
for the purpose of ascertaining the following information 3
about a deceased person from the documents-- 4
(a) the deceased person's name; 5
(b) the deceased person's age; 6
(c) a brief description of the circumstances of the deceased 7
person's death; 8
(d) the deceased person's previous medical information; 9
Examples for paragraph (d)-- 10
· details of the deceased person's recent hospitalisation 11
· the name and contact details of a doctor the deceased person 12
consulted 13
· the deceased person's medical history 14
(e) the name of the deceased person's senior available next 15
of kin; 16
(f) an address, telephone number or other contact details of 17
the deceased person's senior available next of kin. 18
`(2) Without limiting what may be included in an arrangement, the 19
arrangement may provide for how and where the prescribed 20
tissue bank or person may access the documents. 21
`(3) The State Coroner may provide access to a document to the 22
prescribed tissue bank or person under the arrangement. 23
`(4) Sections 52(1)(c), 53, 54 and 55 do not apply in relation to 24
access to a document under the arrangement. 25
`(5) However, access to a document under the arrangement is 26
otherwise subject to this division. 27
`(6) A fee prescribed under a regulation for access to an 28
investigation document does not apply to a document 29
accessed under this section. 30
`(7) A person who has been given access to a document under this 31
section must not directly or indirectly disclose information in 32
the document. 33
Page 34
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 45]
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 1
`(8) A person does not contravene subsection (7) if the 2
disclosure-- 3
(a) is made in the performance of a function under the 4
Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979, including as a 5
person acting for a prescribed tissue bank under the 6
arrangement; or 7
(b) is permitted or required under this or another Act. 8
`(9) In this section-- 9
access a document does not include obtain a copy of the 10
document.'. 11
Clause 45 Amendment of s 54A (Access to investigation documents 12
by the children's commissioner) 13
Section 54A(1)(a) and (b), `section 7(3)'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`section 7(4)'. 16
Clause 46 Amendment of s 56 (Refusing access in the public 17
interest) 18
Section 56(5)-- 19
omit. 20
Clause 47 Amendment of s 60 (Returning physical evidence) 21
Section 60(2), from `if'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`if-- 24
(a) it is not lawful for the owner to possess the physical 25
evidence; or 26
Page 35
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 48]
(b) under the guidelines issued by the State Coroner, it is 1
not desirable that the physical evidence be returned to its 2
owner because of its nature, condition and value. 3
Example of physical evidence for paragraph (b)-- 4
a cracked safety helmet that a deceased person was wearing 5
when killed'. 6
Clause 48 Replacement of pt 3, div 6, hdg (Transferring 7
investigation to another coroner) 8
Part 3, division 6, heading-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`Division 6 Transferring, or continuing, 11
jurisdiction of coroner'. 12
Clause 49 Insertion of new s 63A 13
Part 3, division 6, after section 63-- 14
insert-- 15
`63A Continuation of jurisdiction on retirement etc. 16
`(1) This section applies if-- 17
(a) a person stops being a coroner for any reason, other than 18
death or removal from office; and 19
(b) the person has not made all the findings of an 20
investigation into a death conducted by the person 21
before the person stopped being a coroner (the existing 22
investigation). 23
`(2) If the person agrees, the person is taken to continue to be a 24
coroner for the existing investigation so far as it is necessary 25
to make findings for matters the State Coroner, in consultation 26
with the Chief Magistrate, decides are matters for which the 27
coroner should make findings.'. 28
Page 36
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 50]
Clause 50 Amendment of s 71 (Functions and powers of State 1
Coroner) 2
(1) Section 71(1)(d)(ii), `desirable'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`in the public interest'. 5
(2) Section 71(1)(f), after `deaths'-- 6
insert-- 7
`and for other matters'. 8
(3) Section 71(1)(g)-- 9
renumber as section 71(1)(h). 10
(4) Section 71(1)-- 11
insert-- 12
`(g) to promote public awareness of the coronial system; 13
and'. 14
(5) Section 71-- 15
insert-- 16
`(2A) Without limiting subsection (2), the State Coroner may enter 17
into an arrangement with a government entity to facilitate the 18
entity's relationship with the coronial system. 19
Example-- 20
a memorandum of understanding between the State Coroner and a 21
government entity with functions including the investigation of deaths'. 22
(6) Section 71(5), `subsection (4)'-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`subsection (5)'. 25
(7) Section 71(6)-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
`(6) Despite subsection (5), the State Coroner-- 28
(a) may be appointed as, and perform the functions and 29
exercise the powers of, a member of the Child Death 30
Page 37
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 51]
Case Review Committee under the Commission for 1
Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2
2000; and 3
(b) may be appointed to, and perform the functions and 4
exercise the powers of, another office if-- 5
(i) holding the office, performing the functions and 6
exercising the powers are compatible with the 7
office of State Coroner; and 8
(ii) the Attorney-General, after consulting with the 9
Chief Magistrate, approves of the State Coroner 10
holding the office, performing the functions and 11
exercising the powers. 12
Example of another office-- 13
appointed member of the Police Education Advisory Committee 14
`(6A) The State Coroner must immediately stop holding an office, 15
performing a function or exercising a power mentioned in 16
subsection (7)(b) if required to do so by the 17
Attorney-General.'. 18
(8) Section 71(2A) to (7)-- 19
renumber as section 71(3) to (9). 20
(9) Section 71-- 21
insert-- 22
`(10) In this section-- 23
government entity means a government entity as defined in 24
the Public Service Act 2008, section 24.'. 25
Clause 51 Insertion of new s 71A 26
After section 71-- 27
insert-- 28
`71A Assistance to and from coroners in other jurisdictions 29
`(1) The State Coroner may request in writing the person holding a 30
corresponding office in another State to provide assistance in 31
Page 38
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 52]
connection with the exercise by the State Coroner or another 1
coroner of any power under this Act. 2
`(2) The State Coroner, at the written request of the person holding 3
a corresponding office in another State, may provide 4
assistance to that person or a coroner of that State in 5
connection with the exercise of a power under the law of that 6
State. 7
`(3) If the Attorney-General so directs, the State Coroner must 8
provide assistance in response to a request of a kind referred 9
to in subsection (2). 10
`(4) For the purpose of providing assistance, the State Coroner or 11
another coroner may exercise any of his or her powers under 12
this Act irrespective of whether he or she would, apart from 13
this section, have authority to exercise that power. 14
Note-- 15
The State Coroner has, in addition to all the powers of a coroner, a 16
general function of overseeing and coordinating coronial services and 17
ensuring that inquests and other investigations are held. The assistance 18
provided may involve the exercise of administrative powers by the State 19
Coroner or the exercise by him or her or another coroner of coronial 20
powers. 21
`(5) For this section, this Act applies as if the matter that is the 22
subject of the request or direction were the subject of an 23
investigation under this Act. 24
`(6) In this section-- 25
corresponding office means an office that corresponds to the 26
officer of the State Coroner.'. 27
Clause 52 Amendment of s 74 (Acting as State Coroner) 28
Section 74(6)(b), from `but'-- 29
omit, insert-- 30
`but is not available to perform the State Coroner's functions 31
because of absence or another reason.'. 32
Page 39
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 53]
Clause 53 Amendment of s 77 (Annual report) 1
(1) Section 77(2)-- 2
insert-- 3
`(d) the names of the persons given access to investigation 4
documents as genuine researchers under section 53.'. 5
(2) Section 77-- 6
insert-- 7
`(4) The Attorney-General must table a copy of the report in the 8
Legislative Assembly within 14 sitting days after receiving 9
the report.'. 10
Clause 54 Insertion of new s 79A 11
After section 79-- 12
insert-- 13
`79A Resignation of Deputy State Coroner 14
`(1) The person appointed as Deputy State Coroner may, by 15
written notice to the Minister, resign as Deputy State Coroner. 16
`(2) However, on resigning as Deputy State Coroner, the person 17
does not stop being a magistrate.'. 18
Clause 55 Amendment of s 86 (Delegation of powers to registrar or 19
deputy registrars) 20
(1) Section 86, heading, after `of'-- 21
insert-- 22
`duties or'. 23
(2) Section 86(4) and (5)-- 24
renumber as section 86(7) and (8). 25
Page 40
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 56]
(3) Section 86-- 1
insert-- 2
`(4) Also, without limiting subsection (1) or (2), a coroner may 3
delegate any or all of the following duties or powers to the 4
registrar-- 5
(a) the act of ordering the disposal of tissue under section 6
24; 7
(b) the act of ordering the release of a body for burial under 8
section 26; 9
(c) the power to consent to a person accessing an 10
investigation document under section 54(2), if the 11
investigation to which the document relates is finished. 12
`(5) However, a coroner who is not the State Coroner may only 13
delegate a duty or power as mentioned in subsection (4) with 14
the State Coroner's consent. 15
`(6) In performing a duty or exercising a power delegated under 16
subsection (4), the registrar must consult with the coroner who 17
delegated the duty or power.'. 18
Clause 56 Amendment of s 88 (Immunity) 19
Section 88(2), `A'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`A person mentioned in section 36(1)(a) or a'. 22
Clause 57 Amendment of s 96 (Application of Act to stillborn child) 23
Section 96, `19(1)(b),'-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
`19, 25(1) to (3),'. 26
Page 41
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 58]
Clause 58 Amendment of pt 6 hdgs 1
Part 6, division 1 heading and division 2 heading, 2
`Transitionals'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`Transitional provisions'. 5
Clause 59 Insertion of new pt 6, div 4 6
Part 6-- 7
insert-- 8
`Division 4 Transitional provisions for the 9
Coroners and Other Acts 10
Amendment Act 2009 11
`109 Definitions for div 4 12
`In this division-- 13
amendment means amendment under the Coroners and Other 14
Acts Amendment Act 2009. 15
previous, followed by a provision number, means the 16
provision of that number as in force before its amendment. 17
`110 Continued application of particular provisions 18
`Despite the Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Act 2009, 19
each of the following provisions continues to apply to the 20
death of a person who died before the provision's amendment 21
commenced-- 22
· previous section 8 23
· previous section 9 24
· previous section 10. 25
Page 42
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 60]
`111 Application of s 12 1
`Section 12 applies in relation to the death of a person whether 2
the person died before or after the commencement of this 3
section. 4
`112 Notice of inquest 5
`A notice of inquest complying with previous section 32 and 6
given before the commencement of this section is taken to 7
comply with section 32. 8
`113 Application of s 36 9
`(1) This section applies if-- 10
(a) before the commencement, the Coroners Court 11
considered a person had a sufficient interest in an 12
inquest; and 13
(b) on the commencement, the person had not exercised the 14
person's rights under section 36(1). 15
`(2) Previous section 36 continues to apply in relation to the 16
person for the inquest. 17
`(3) In this section-- 18
commencement means the commencement of this section.'. 19
Clause 60 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary) 20
(1) Schedule 2, definitions coronial document, family member, 21
indigenous burial remains and investigation-- 22
omit. 23
(2) Schedule 2-- 24
insert-- 25
`autopsy certificate means an autopsy certificate mentioned in 26
section 24A(3)(a). 27
Page 43
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 60]
autopsy notice means an autopsy notice mentioned in section 1
24A(2)(a). 2
coronial document means a document prepared for an 3
investigation, other than a record, or a copy of a record, of an 4
inquest made under the Recording of Evidence Act 1962. 5
Examples-- 6
· an autopsy certificate, autopsy notice or autopsy report 7
· a report from a police officer helping a coroner about the 8
investigation into a reportable death 9
· a record of the coroner's findings and comments 10
family member, of a deceased person, means-- 11
(a) if the coroner investigating the death becomes aware of 12
a document satisfying the coroner that the deceased 13
person's wish would have been that a particular person 14
be the deceased person's family member for this 15
Act--the particular person; or 16
Example of document for paragraph (a)-- 17
an advance health directive under the Powers of Attorney Act 18
1998 appointing the particular person as the deceased person's 19
attorney 20
(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply-- 21
(i) a spouse of the deceased person; or 22
(ii) if a spouse is not reasonably available--an adult 23
child of the deceased person; or 24
(iii) if a spouse or adult child is not reasonably 25
available--a parent of the deceased person; or 26
(iv) if a spouse, adult child or parent is not reasonably 27
available--an adult sibling of the deceased person; 28
or 29
(v) if a spouse, adult child, parent or adult sibling is 30
not reasonably available--an adult who, 31
immediately before the deceased person's death, 32
had a relationship with the deceased person that the 33
coroner investigating the death considers is 34
Page 44
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 60]
sufficient for being a family member of the 1
deceased person for this Act; or 2
(vi) if the deceased person was an Aboriginal person or 3
Torres Strait Islander and a spouse, adult child, 4
parent or adult sibling is not reasonably 5
available--an ATSI family member. 6
health care related death see section 10AA. 7
indigenous burial remains means-- 8
(a) Aboriginal human remains as defined in the Aboriginal 9
Cultural Heritage Act 2003; or 10
(b) Torres Strait Islander human remains as defined in the 11
Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003. 12
investigation includes-- 13
(a) a preliminary investigation by a coroner to decide, for 14
section 11(2)(a), whether a death is a reportable death; 15
and 16
(b) the holding of an inquest. 17
owns, in relation to a prescribed tissue bank, see the 18
Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979, section 42A(6). 19
prescribed tissue bank means a tissue bank prescribed under 20
the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979. 21
residential service see the Residential Services 22
(Accreditation) Act 2002, section 4. 23
section 7(4) report means a report given under section 7(4) by 24
a police officer to a coroner. 25
senior available next of kin see the Transplantation and 26
Anatomy Act 1979, section 4(1). 27
tissue bank see the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979, 28
section 42A(6).'. 29
Page 45
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Part 3 Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003
[s 61]
Part 3 Amendment of Births, Deaths 1
and Marriages Registration Act 2
2003 3
Clause 61 Act amended in pt 3 4
This part amends the Births, Deaths and Marriages 5
Registration Act 2003. 6
Clause 62 Amendment of s 42 (Correcting the register) 7
Section 42(1)-- 8
insert-- 9
`(c) subject to section 41(5), to reflect a coroner's findings if 10
the findings differ from the information entered on a 11
register.'. 12
Part 4 Amendment of Cremations Act 13
2003 14
Clause 63 Act amended in pt 4 15
This part amends the Cremations Act 2003. 16
Clause 64 Amendment of s 4 (Cremations this Act does not apply 17
to) 18
Section 4(c)-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`(c) Aboriginal human remains as defined in the Aboriginal 21
Cultural Heritage Act 2003 or Torres Strait Islander 22
human remains as defined in the Torres Strait Islander 23
Cultural Heritage Act 2003.'. 24
Page 46
© State of Queensland 2009
AMENDMENTS TO BILL
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment
Bill 2009
Amendments agreed to during Consideration
1 Amendment of clause 2 (Commencement)--
Page 6, line 7, after `Act'--
insert--
`, other than section 50(5) to (9) and section 59 (to the extent
it inserts a new part 6, division 4 heading and new sections
114 and 115),'.
2 Amendment of clause 50 (Amendment of s 71 (Functions
and powers of State Coroner))--
(1) Page 37, line 28--
omit, insert--
`(6) Despite subsections (4) and (5), the State Coroner--
(a) may be appointed to act as, and perform the functions
and exercise the powers of, the Deputy Chief
Magistrate; and'.
(2) Page 37, line 29, paragraph (a)--
renumber as paragraph (b).
(3) Page 38, line 4, paragraph (b)--
renumber as paragraph (c).
(4) Page 38, line 17, `subsection (7)(b)'--
omit, insert--
`subsection (7)(c)'.
(5) Page 38, line 23--
omit, insert--
Page 1
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
`(10) However, if the State Coroner is acting as Deputy Chief
Magistrate, the Magistrates Act 1991, section 41(1) applies to
the extent it requires an acting Deputy Chief Magistrate to
comply with every reasonable direction given to, or
requirement made by, the Chief Magistrate.
`(11) To remove any doubt, it is declared that the Magistrates Act
1991, section 14(b) applies to the State Coroner while acting
as Deputy Chief Magistrate.
`(12) The State Coroner may not perform the functions, or exercise
the powers, of the State Coroner while the State Coroner acts
as Deputy Chief Magistrate or, under the Magistrates Act
1991, section 14(b), as Chief Magistrate.
`(13) In this section--'.
3 Amendment of clause 59 (Insertion of new pt 6, div 4)--
Page 43, line 19, `section.'.'--
omit, insert--
`section.
`114 Validation relating to State Coroner
`(1) This section applies to--
(a) the purported appointment, at any time before the
commencement of this section, of the State Coroner to
act as Deputy Chief Magistrate; and
(b) the purported acting, at any time before the
commencement of this section, of the State Coroner as
Chief Magistrate under the Magistrates Act 1991,
section 14(b) while purportedly appointed as Deputy
Chief Magistrate.
`(2) The purported appointment or purported acting is taken to
have been valid and always to have been valid.
`(3) Every decision or order made, sentence imposed or anything
done by the State Coroner--
Page 2
Coroners and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2009
(a) while purportedly appointed as Deputy Chief
Magistrate; or
(b) while purportedly acting as Chief Magistrate under the
Magistrates Act 1991, section 14(b) while purportedly
appointed as Deputy Chief Magistrate;
is taken to have been valid, and always to have been valid, to
the same extent as would be the case if the purported
appointment or purported acting were valid.
`115 Validation relating to Deputy State Coroner
`(1) This section applies to the purported acting, at any time before
the commencement of this section, of the Deputy State
Coroner as State Coroner under section 74(6) because of a
purported appointment or purported acting mentioned in
section 114(1).
`(2) The purported acting as State Coroner is taken to have been
valid and always to have been valid.
`(3) Every decision or order made or anything done by the Deputy
State Coroner while purportedly acting as State Coroner is
taken to have been valid, and always to have been valid, to the
same extent as would be the case if the purported acting were
valid.'.
© State of Queensland 2009
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