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CORONERS ACT 1995 - SECT 19 Obligation to report death

CORONERS ACT 1995 - SECT 19

PART 4 - Reporting of deaths Obligation to report death

(1)  A person who has reasonable grounds to believe that a reportable death, other than a reportable death referred to in subsection (4) , has not been reported must report it as soon as possible to a coroner or a police officer.
Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.
(2)  The coroner or the police officer must inform the Chief Magistrate or, if the Chief Magistrate has delegated relevant functions or powers to another coroner, that coroner, of the reported death as soon as possible.
(3)  If more than one medical practitioner is present at or after a death and one of them reports it to a coroner or police officer, the other medical practitioners need not report the death but must give to the coroner investigating the death any information which may help the investigation.
(4)  The death of a person–
(a) who was held in custody or held in care immediately before death; or
(b) who was escaping or attempting to escape from prison, a detention centre, a secure mental health unit, police custody or the custody of a person who had custody under an order of a court for the purposes of taking that person to or from a court; or
(c) which occurred in the process of a police officer, correctional officer, mental health officer or prescribed person, within the meaning of section 31 of the Criminal Justice (Mental Impairment) Act 1999 , attempting to detain that person–
must be reported as soon as possible to a coroner by the person in whose custody or care the person was held or by the police officer, correctional officer, mental health officer or prescribed person attempting to detain that person.
Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.