Coroners Act 1993

No. 26, 1993

Compilation No. 3

Compilation date:   29 September 2018

Includes amendments up to: Norfolk Island Continued Laws Ordinance 2015 (No. 2, 2015)

CORONERS ACT 1993

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

PART 1  —  PRELIMINARY

 1. Short title

 2. Commencement

 3. Interpretation

PART 2  —  THE CORONER’S COURT

 4. Establishment of Coroner’s Court

 5. Appointment of Coroner and Deputy Coroner

 6. Oath or affirmation by Coroner or Deputy Coroner

 7. Protection of Coroner

 8. Delegation

 9. Appointment of Clerk of Coroner's Court

 10. Functions and powers of Clerk

PART 3  —  JURISDICTION OF CORONER

Division 1  —  Inquests into death

 11. Jurisdiction of Coroner

 12. Circumstances in which Coroner may dispense with inquest

Division 2 —  Inquiries into fires

 13. Jurisdiction in relation to fires

PART 4  —  POSTMORTEM EXAMINATIONS AND EXHUMATIONS

 14. Power of Coroner to order postmortem examination

 15. Medical practitioner as observer

 16. Warrant for removal of body

 17. Warrant for exhumation of body

 18. Order for exhumation at request of Coroner holding inquest into death of person who died outside Norfolk Island

 19. Order for removal of body for purposes of inquest outside Norfolk Island

 20. Report by medical practitioner

 21. Re-interment of remains

PART 5  —  INQUESTS AND INQUIRIES GENERALLY

 22. Inquest or inquiry

 23. Coroner not required to view body or scene of fire

 24. Witness to be examined on oath

 25. Summoning of witness

 26. Representation at inquests and inquiries

 27. Coroner not bound by rules of procedure, etc.

 28. Recording of proceedings

 29. Refusal of witness to be examined

 30. Power to order witnesses out of Court

 31. Contempt of Coroner

 32. Coroner’s findings and comments

 33. Inquests and inquiries to be adjourned if person charged

PART 6  —  MISCELLANEOUS

 34. Supreme Court may order inquest, etc

 35. Coroner may act on Sunday

 36. Amendment of order directing postmortem examination

 37. Payment of fees and expenses

 38. Forms

 39. Offences

 40. Repeal

 41. Transitional

       Schedule 1

       Schedule 2

Coroners Act 1993

An Act to provide for holding inquests into the manner and cause of deaths, inquiries into the cause and origin of fires and for related purposes

BE IT ENACTED by the Legislative Assembly of Norfolk Island as follows —

PART 1  —  PRELIMINARY

Short title

 1. This Act may be cited as the Coroners Act 1993.

Commencement

 2. This Act shall come into operation on a date fixed by the Administrator by notice published in the Gazette.

Interpretation

 3. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —

“body”, in relation, to a deceased person, includes the remains of the body;

“Clerk” means a person appointed to be the Clerk of the Coroner’s Court under section 9(1) and includes a person acting as Clerk under section 9(2);

“Coroner”, in relation to a matter, means the Coroner or Deputy Coroner who is exercising the powers, authority and jurisdiction of the Coroner in relation to the matter;

“Court” means the Coroner’s Court;

“death” includes suspected death;

“medical practitioner” includes —

(a) a person registered as a medical practitioner under the Medical Practitioners Registration Act 1983; and

(b) a person registered as a legally qualified medical practitioner under a law of Australia or New Zealand providing for the regulation of medical practitioners;

“member of the Police Force” includes a constable, sergeant and officer of police appointed under the Police Act 1931;

“relative”, in relation to a person who has, or is suspected of having, died, means —

(a) the spouse, a parent or a child of the person;

(b) a person who, at the time of the death or suspected death, was living with that person as his wife or her husband; or

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

who has attained the age of 18 years.

PART 2  —  THE CORONER’S COURT

Establishment of Coroner’s Court

 4. (1) There shall be a court to be known as the Coroner’s Court.

  (2) The Coroner’s Court is a Court of Record.

  (3) The Coroner’s Court shall be constituted by the Coroner.

Appointment of Coroner and Deputy Coroner

 5. (1) The Administrator may appoint a person —

(a) to be the Coroner; and

(b) to be the Deputy Coroner.

  (2) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall hold office for the period and on the terms and conditions as the Administrator determines.

  (3) Where —

(a) the Coroner is absent or for any reason unable to discharge the duties of the office;

(b) there is a vacancy in the office of Coroner; or

(c) the Coroner so directs,

the Deputy Coroner has the powers, authority and jurisdiction of the Coroner.

Oath or affirmation by Coroner or Deputy Coroner

 6. A person appointed under section 5 shall not perform a function or duty of his or her office before proceeding to take an oath or make an affirmation in accordance with the form in Schedule 1.

Protection of Coroner

 7. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person shall not bring an action against a Coroner in respect of anything done by him or her in the execution of his or her office.

  (2) In an action brought against a Coroner for an act done by him or her in the execution of his or her duty as Coroner with respect to a matter within his or her jurisdiction as Coroner, it must be expressly alleged in the statement of claim that the act was done maliciously and without reasonable and probable cause, and, if the allegations are denied and at the trial of the action the plaintiff fails to prove them, judgment shall be given for the defendant.

  (3) An action shall not be brought against a Coroner for anything done by him or her in the execution of his or her office unless it is commenced —

(a) within 6 months after the act complained of was committed; or

(b) within 2 months after —

(i) the  conviction or order under which the act complained of was done; or

(ii) the warrant under which the act was done has been quashed or set aside,

whichever is the later period.

  (4) An action referred to in subsection (3) against a Coroner shall not be commenced until at least one month after notice in writing of the intended action has been served personally or by post by the party intending to commence the action specifying the cause of action and the court in which it is intended to be brought and endorsed with the name and address of the party or his or her solicitor or agent.

Delegation

 8. (1) The Coroner may, by instrument in writing, delegate to the Clerk any of his or her powers and functions under this Act other than the power to conduct an inquest and this power of delegation.

  (2) A power or function delegated under this section, when exercised or performed by the delegate, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been exercised or performed by the Coroner.

  (3) A delegation under this section does not prevent the exercise of a power or the performance of a function by the Coroner.

Appointment of Clerk of Coroner’s Court

 9. (1) The Coroner may appoint a person to be the Clerk of the Coroner’s Court.

  (2) The Clerk, or Deputy Clerk, within the meaning of the Court of Petty Sessions Act 1960, may act as Clerk of the Coroner’s Court.

Functions and powers of Clerk

 10. (1) The function of the Clerk is to assist the Coroner in the exercise of his or her jurisdiction.

  (2) The Clerk may —

(a) on behalf of the Coroner, receive information about a death or fire;

(b) administer on oath or affirmation or take an affidavit; and

(c) issue a summons requiring a witness to attend an inquest to give oral evidence or to produce documents.

PART 3  —  JURISDICTION OF CORONER

Division 1  —  Inquests into death

Jurisdiction of Coroner

 11. (1) The Coroner shall hold an inquest into the manner and cause of the death of a person who —

(a) is killed;

(b) is found drowned;

(c) dies a sudden death the cause of which is unknown;

(d) dies under suspicious or unusual circumstances;

(e) dies while under, or as a result of the administration of, an anaesthetic administered in the course of a medical, surgical, or dental operation or operation of a similar nature;

(f) dies, and a medical practitioner has not given a certificate as to the cause of death;

(g) dies, not having been attended by a medical practitioner at any period within 3 months before his or her death;

(h) dies within one year and one day after the date of an accident where the cause of death is directly attributable to the accident;

(j) dies in a prison or lock-up or in a hospital for the mentally ill;

(k) dies and that death is reported to the Coroner in accordance with section 27(2) of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Act 1963; or

(m) dies and the Administrator orders that an inquest be held.

  (1A) For purposes of clarification, subsection (1) includes an inquiry into the death of a person―

 (a)  within Norfolk Island waters whether the person dies or is found dead on or below the surface and whether or not on a vessel; and

 (b)  beyond Norfolk Island waters if―

(i) the deceased had a connection with Norfolk Island; or

(ii) the deceased had last been seen alive within Norfolk Island waters,

but only if it is more convenient to hold the inquest in Norfolk Island than in another place and no other jurisdiction claims the right to hold an inquest.

  (2) The Coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest into the manner and cause of the death, outside Norfolk Island, of a person ordinarily resident within Norfolk Island, if the person’s death occurred in any of the circumstances specified in subsection (1).

  (3) The Coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest into the death of a person notwithstanding that —

(a) the body of the deceased person is not within Norfolk Island;

(b) the body of the deceased person has been destroyed; or

(c) the body of the deceased person is in a place from which it cannot be recovered.

Circumstances in which Coroner may dispense with inquest

 12. (1) Where, after consideration of the information furnished to him or her relating to a person’s death, the Coroner is of the opinion that the manner and cause of death is sufficiently disclosed and that an inquest is unnecessary, the Coroner may dispense with holding an inquest.

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply where —

(a)                a person dies while under, or as a result of the administration of, an anaesthetic administered in the course of a medical, surgical or dental operation; and

(b) a relative makes a request in writing to the Coroner, within 7 days after the death, that an inquest be held into the manner and cause of death.

  (3) Where the Coroner dispenses under subsection (1) with holding an inquest, the Coroner shall furnish to the Administrator a certificate stating that he or she has dispensed with holding the inquest and the grounds on which his or her opinion was based that the cause of death was sufficiently disclosed.

  (4) Where the Coroner is satisfied that an inquest into the cause of the death of a person ordinarily resident in the Territory who died outside the Territory has been, or is to be, held outside the Territory, the Coroner may dispense with holding an inquest.

Division 2  —  Inquiries into fires

Jurisdiction in relation to fires

 13. (1) Where property is destroyed or damaged by fire, the Coroner shall hold an inquiry into the cause and origin of the fire —

(a) if he or she is of the opinion that an inquiry into the cause and origin of the fire should be held; or

(b) if the Administrator requests him or her to do so.

   (1A) Subsection (1) includes an inquiry into the causes of a fire where property is destroyed or damaged by fire on a vessel within Norfolk Island waters.

  (2) An inquiry under subsection (1) shall be conducted in the same way as an inquest under this Act.

PART 4  —  POSTMORTEM EXAMINATIONS AND EXHUMATIONS

Power of Coroner to order postmortem examination

 14. (1) The Coroner may, in writing, direct a medical practitioner to make a postmortem examination of the body of a person who has died in any of the circumstances specified in section 11(1).

  (2) If the Coroner is of the opinion that a further or more complete postmortem examination of the body of a deceased person should be made, the Coroner may, in writing, direct the same or another medical practitioner to make the further or more complete postmortem examination of the body.

  (3) Where the Coroner has made an order under this section in relation to the body of a person who has died in hospital, he or she may, by order, direct the Director, within the meaning of the Norfolk Island Hospital Act 1985, to deliver to the relevant medical practitioner the medical records relating to the person.

  (4) A medical practitioner who has received a record in pursuance of subsection (1) shall return it to the Director referred to in that subsection as soon as practicable after the completion of the postmortem.

Medical practitioner as observer

 15. A medical practitioner who attended a person in a professional capacity at or immediately before the person’s death or during the person’s last illness is entitled to be present as an observer at a postmortem examination of the body of the person.

Warrant for removal of body

 16. (1) Where the Coroner has directed that a postmortem examination of the body of a deceased person be made, the Coroner may issue a warrant to a member of the Police Force named in the warrant authorising him or her, with such assistance as the member considers necessary, to take and remove the body to a specified place for the examination.

  (2) A member of the Police Force named in the warrant may, at any time in the day or night, with such assistance as he or she considers necessary —

(a) enter into and search and, where necessary, break open, a house, building or place where he or she has reasonable cause to suspect the body of a deceased person may be found; and

(b) remove the body to the place where the postmortem examination is to be held.

Warrant for exhumation of body

 17. (1) Where the body of a deceased person has been buried, the Coroner may, if he or she is satisfied that there is reasonable cause to believe that the person died in any of the circumstances specified in section 11(1) and that a postmortem examination of the body should be made, issue his or her warrant for the exhumation of the body of the deceased person for postmortem examination.

  (2) Where —

(a) the body of a deceased person has been buried and the inquest concerning the death of the person has not been completed; or

(b) the Supreme Court has quashed an inquest and has directed that a fresh inquest be held,

the Coroner may, if he or she is of the opinion that a postmortem or a more complete postmortem examination should be made of the body of the deceased person, issue his or her warrant for the exhumation of the body for the examination.

Order for exhumation at request of Coroner holding an inquest into death of person who died outside Norfolk Island

 18. (1) Where —

(a) the body of a person who died outside Norfolk Island has been buried in Norfolk Island; and

(b)  the Coroner is informed by a coroner having jurisdiction in the place where the person died —

(i) that an inquest is to be, or is being, held into the cause of the death of the person; and

(ii) that it is desirable that a postmortem examination, or a more complete postmortem examination, should be made of the body of the deceased person,

the Coroner may issue his or her warrant for the exhumation of the body for the examination.

  (2) A warrant for the exhumation of the body of a deceased person under subsection (1) —

(a) shall authorise the member of the Police Force named in the warrant to exhume the body; and

(b) shall direct the person to whom it is directed to take the body to a place specified in the warrant for the postmortem examination.

Order for removal of body for purposes of inquest outside Norfolk Island

 19. Where —

(a) the body of a person who has died outside Norfolk Island is within Norfolk Island; and

(b) the Coroner is informed by a coroner having jurisdiction in the place where the person died that an inquest is to be held there into the manner and cause of the person’s death,

the Coroner may, as he or she thinks fit, by order in writing, direct the person named in the order to do all or any of the following:

(c) to exhume the body;

(d) to carry out a postmortem examination;

(e) to remove the body to the place outside Norfolk Island where the inquest is to be held.

Report by medical practitioner

 20. Where under this Act, a medical practitioner carries out a postmortem examination of the body of a deceased person, he or she shall, as soon as practicable after the examination is completed, furnish a report on the examination to the Coroner.

Re-interment of remains

 21. Where the body of a deceased person has been exhumed in accordance with a warrant issued under this Part, the Coroner shall, as soon as he or she is satisfied that the body should be re-interred, direct by order in writing a person named in the order to re-inter the body.

PART 5  —  INQUESTS AND INQUIRIES GENERALLY

Inquest or inquiry

 22. (1) The Coroner shall hold an inquest or inquiry in the Coroner’s Court without a jury.

  (2) The Coroner shall fix a time and place at which an inquest or an inquiry is to be held.

  (3) The Coroner may, by order in writing —

(a) adjourn an inquest or inquiry from time to time and from place to place; or

(b) fix a time, earlier than the time fixed under the subsection (2), at which an inquest or inquiry is to be held.

  (4) The Coroner may, as he or she thinks fit, by notice in the Gazette give notice of the time and place at which an inquest or inquiry, or an adjourned inquest or inquiry, is to be held.

Coroner not required to view body or scene of fire

 23. The Coroner may view the body of a deceased person, the place of death or the scene of a fire if he or she thinks fit.

Witness to be examined on oath

 24. At an inquest or an inquiry, the Coroner shall make full inquiry into the cause of the death of the deceased person or the cause and origin of the fire and shall examine on oath or affirmation all persons —

(a) who tender evidence relevant to the inquest or inquiry; or

(b) who, in the opinion of the Coroner, are able to give evidence relevant to the inquest or inquiry.

Summoning of witness

 25. (1) The Coroner may issue his or her summons requiring the attendance, at a time and place specified in the summons, of a person who, in the Coroner’s opinion, is able to give evidence relevant to an inquest or inquiry.

  (2) A summons under this section may require the person to whom it is directed to bring and produce such documents as are specified in the summons, being documents that, in the Coroner’s opinion, are relevant to the inquest or inquiry.

  (3) A summons under this section may be served by delivering a copy to the person to whom it is directed or, if the person cannot be found, by leaving it, at his or her last known place of abode, with some person apparently a resident of the place and apparently not under the age of 16 years.

  (4) Service of a summons under this section may be proved by the oath or affidavit of the person by whom it was served.

  (5) Where —

(a) a summons under subsection (4) has been served on the person to whom it is directed;

(b) tender has been made to the person of a sum sufficient to enable the person to attend at the place specified in the summons; and

(c) the person fails to attend at the time and place specified in the summons,

the Coroner may issue his or her warrant for the arrest of the person.

  (6) A warrant under subsection (5) may be directed to all members of the Police Force, and any member of the Police Force may execute the warrant as if it had been directed specifically to him or her by name.

  (7) The member of the Police Force who executes a warrant under subsection (1) shall, as soon as possible after the arrest of the person named in the warrant, take the person before the Coroner.

  (8) Where a person who has been so arrested is brought before the Coroner, the Coroner —

(a) may direct that the person remain in such custody as the Coroner directs; or

(b) may release the person on the person entering into a recognisance, with or without sureties, in such sum as the Coroner determines, that the person will attend at a time and place specified in the recognisance.

  (9) If a person who has been released under paragraph (8)(b) fails to attend at the time and place specified in the recognisance —

(a) the Coroner may issue his or her warrant for the arrest of the person;

(b) the Coroner may declare the recognisance of the person and the recognisance of his or her sureties to be forfeited and then —

(i) may make an order for the payment to the Clerk of the sum due under the recognisance by the persons bound by it whether as principal or as sureties, and the order may be enforced as if it were an order made on a plaint by the Clerk; and

(ii) at any time before the sale of goods under a warrant of execution for the sum, may cancel or mitigate the forfeiture on the person liable applying and giving security to the Coroner’s satisfaction for the future performance of the recognisance, and paying or giving security for payment of the costs incurred in respect of the forfeiture or on such other conditions as the Coroner thinks just; and

(c) all sums paid in respect of a recognisance declared in pursuance of this subsection to be forfeited shall be paid to the Clerk.

  (10) A person shall not, without reasonable excuse —

(a) fail to attend at the time and place specified in a summons or recognisance; or

(b) having so attended, fail to remain in attendance until excused by the Coroner from further attendance.

Penalty for an offence against this subsection:  10 penalty units or 6 months imprisonment.

Representation at inquests and inquiries

 26. The Coroner may grant leave to a person —

(a) who has been summoned to give evidence at an inquest or inquiry; or

(b) who, in the opinion of the Coroner, has a sufficient interest in the subject matter of the inquest or inquiry,

to appear in person at the inquest or inquiry or to be represented by counsel, solicitor or agent and to examine and cross-examine witnesses on matters relevant to the inquest or inquiry.

Coroner not bound by rules of procedure, etc.

 27. (1) The Coroner —

(a) shall conduct an inquest or inquiry with as little formality and technicality, and with as much speed as is consistent with the proper consideration of the matter before him or her; and

(b) is not bound by the rules of procedure and evidence but may inform himself or herself as he or she thinks fit.

  (2) Where the procedure for an action in an inquest or inquiry is not prescribed in the Act or the law under which the action is to be taken, the Coroner may give directions for the procedure to be followed in respect of the action.

Recording of proceedings

 28. (1) At an inquest or an inquiry into the cause and origin of a fire, the deposition of a witness shall be recorded.

  (2) The Coroner may direct that the deposition of a witness be recorded by such method as he or she thinks fit and the Clerk shall make a notation of the direction on the transcript.

  (3) Depositions are records of the Court and shall be in the custody of the Clerk.

  (4) The Clerk shall, on the request of a person, who —

(a) makes written application to the Clerk accompanied by the fee determined by the Coroner; and

(b) satisfies the Coroner that he or she has a good reason for so applying,

deliver to the person a written transcript of a deposition.

Refusal of witness to be examined

 29. (1) A person who appears to give evidence at an inquest or inquiry, whether or not in obedience to a summons or by virtue of a summons, shall not —

(a) refuse to take an oath or make an affirmation;

(b) without lawful excuse, refuse to be examined on oath or after making an affirmation;

(c) having taken the oath or made an affirmation, refuse, without lawful excuse, to answer a question relevant to the inquest or inquiry; or

(d) having been required to produce a document specified in the summons or warrant, refuse or neglect, without lawful excuse, to produce the documents.

Penalty: 10 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months.

  (2) Nothing in subsection (1) requires a person to make an answer which will criminate or tend to criminate him or her.

Power to order witnesses out of Court

 30. The Coroner may, if he or she thinks fit, order all witnesses, other than a person to whom leave has been granted under section 26 and a witness who has been examined or is under examination, to go and remain outside and beyond the hearing of the Court until required to give evidence.

Contempt of Coroner

 31. (1) A person who —

(a) insults the Coroner during the holding of an inquest or inquiry;

(b) wilfully interrupts the proceedings of an inquest or inquiry;

(c) obstructs or assaults a person in attendance at an inquest or inquiry; or

(d) wilfully neglects or refuses to comply with an order made by the Coroner under section 30,

may, by order of the Coroner, be excluded from the Court and the Coroner may, whether the person is so excluded or not, summarily convict the person of an offence under this section and impose a penalty of 1.75 penalty units or imprisonment for one month.

  (2) Such a person may, by order of the Coroner, be taken into custody by a member of the Police Force and may be called on to show cause why he or she should not be convicted.

  (3) A summons or other process need not be issued against the person and evidence need not be taken on oath before the person is convicted.

Coroner’s findings and comments

 32. (1) At the conclusion of an inquest, the Coroner shall record his or her findings as to —

(a) the identity of the deceased person;

(b) when and where the deceased person came to his or her death;

(c) the manner and cause of the death of the deceased person;

(d) the particulars needed to register the death under the Registration of Births Deaths and Marriages Act 1963; and

(e) any relevant circumstances concerning the death.

  (2) At the conclusion of an inquiry, the Coroner shall record his or her findings as to —

(a) the cause and origin of the fire; and

(b) the circumstances in which the fire occurred.

  (3) The Coroner may comment on a matter, including public health or safety or the administration of justice, connected with the death or fire the subject of the inquest or inquiry.

  (4) The Coroner shall not, in an inquest or inquiry, include in a finding or comment a statement that a person is or may be guilty of an offence.

  (5) The Coroner may, as he or she thinks fit, by notice in the Gazette, publish a report of the Coroner’s findings.

Inquests and inquiries to be adjourned if person charged

 33. (1) Where, after the commencement of an inquest or an inquiry, the Clerk of the Court of Petty Sessions informs the Coroner in writing that a person has been charged before that Court with an indictable offence in which the question —

(a) whether the person charged caused the death of the deceased person; or

(b) whether the person charged caused the fire,

is in issue, the Coroner shall not proceed further with the inquest or inquiry until —

(c) where the person is committed to take his or her trial for the offence before the Supreme Court  - after the date on which the guilt or innocence of the person charged has been finally determined or, if the Administrator declines to file an information against the person, the date on which the Administrator has declined to file the information; or

(d) where the person is not so committed - after the date on which the person is discharged.

  (2) The Coroner may, if he or she thinks fit continue the inquest or inquiry after the date referred to in subsection (1)(c), but the Coroner shall not make a finding that is inconsistent with the judgment or verdict of the Court that finally determined the guilt or innocence of the person charged.

  (3) If the Coroner is of opinion that the inquest or inquiry should not be so continued, the Coroner shall dispense with further holding the inquest.

PART 6  —  MISCELLANEOUS

Supreme Court may order inquest, etc.

 34. (1) Where the Supreme Court, on an application made by or under the authority of the Administrator, is satisfied that —

(a) the Coroner has refused or neglected to hold an inquest into the cause of a person’s death; and

(b) it is in the interests of justice that an inquest into the cause of the death should be held,

the Supreme Court may order that an inquest into the cause of the person's death be held.

  (2) Where —

(a) an inquest into the cause of a person’s death has been held; and

(b) the Supreme Court, on an application made by or under the authority of the Administrator, is satisfied that, by reason of fraud, rejection of evidence, irregularity of proceedings, insufficiency of inquiry, discovery of new facts or evidence or otherwise, it is necessary or desirable in the interests of justice that the inquest be quashed and that another inquest be held,

the Supreme Court may order that the inquest be quashed and another inquest be held into the cause of the person’s death.

Coroner may act on Sunday

 35. (1) The Coroner may, as he or she thinks fit, do any act, issue a summons, warrant or order, or commence or hold an inquest or inquiry on a Sunday.

  (2) The Coroner shall note on the proceedings the grounds for commencing or holding an inquest on a Sunday.

Amendment of order directing postmortem examination

 36. Where —

(a) the Coroner has, in an order under this Act, directed a medical practitioner named in the order to conduct a postmortem examination; and

(b) the medical practitioner is, for any reason, unable to conduct the postmortem examination,

the Coroner may amend the order by substituting the name of another medical practitioner.

Payment of fees and expenses

 37. (1) The Coroner may allow to a witness who gives evidence before him or her, whether or not in obedience to a summons, such expenses as the Court of Petty Sessions may allow to a witness under the Court of Petty Sessions Act 1960.

  (2) A medical practitioner who conducts a postmortem examination in accordance with an order or at the request of the Coroner shall be paid such fees as the Coroner directs.

  (3) A person who, for the purposes of this Act, assists —

(a) in the exhumation of a body;

(b) in the conduct of a postmortem examination; or

(c) in the re-interring of a body,

shall be paid such amount, if any, as the Coroner directs.

  (4) The expenses, fees and amounts allowable or to be paid under this section shall be paid by the Administration.

Forms

 38. A summons, warrant, order or other document under this Act shall be in accordance with a form determined by the Coroner.

Offences

 39. (1) A person shall not —

(a) contravene, or fail to comply with, a provision of this Act that is applicable to him or her;

(b) fail to comply with an order or direction made by the Coroner under this Act; or

(c) obstruct or hinder a member of the Police Force or other person acting in pursuance of a warrant issued, or an order made, by the Coroner.

Penalty: 10 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months.

  (2) A person, having reason to believe that a postmortem examination of the body of a deceased person has been, or may be, ordered under this Act, shall not remove the body with intent to prevent or hinder the holding of the postmortem examination.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.

Repeal

 40. The Acts specified in Schedule 2 are repealed.

Transitional

 41. (1) In this section, “repealed Act” means the Coroners Act 1927 as in force immediately before the commencement of this Act.

  (2) A person who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, was appointed as the Coroner or the Deputy Coroner under the repealed Act, continues to be the Coroner or Deputy Coroner as if the person had been appointed under this Act until the appointment of a Coroner and Deputy Coroner is made under this Act.

  (3) The repealed Act shall continue to apply in relation to an inquest or an inquiry reported to the Coroner before the commencement of this Act.

 SCHEDULE 1 Section 6

OATH

I, A.B., do swear that I will well and truly serve in the office of                      and that I will do right to all manner of people according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.  So help me God!

AFFIRMATION

I,  A.B., do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will well and truly serve in the office of                      and that I will do right to all manner of people according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.

 SCHEDULE 2 Section 40

REPEALED ACTS

Coroners Act 1927 No.  3 of 1927

Coroners Act 1963 No.  9 of 1963

Coroners Act 1969 No. 10 of 1969

Coroners (Validation) Act 1949 No.  2 of 1949

Coroners (Validation) Act 1951 No.  3 of 1951

NOTES

The Coroners Act 1993 as shown in this consolidation comprises Act No. 26 of 1993 and amendments as indicated in the Tables below.

Table of Amendments