Under the Coroners Act 2008 (Vic), the words 'if possible' in s 67 make it obligatory for a coroner to pursue all reasonable lines of inquiry, and the exemption from the rules of evidence obliges the coroner to take an expansive or inclusive approach to the collection and consideration of material. The phrase 'is to' in s 57(3) imposes a mandatory obligation on the coroner to inform a witness of the availability of a certificate of immunity before ruling on compellability, and failure to comply invalidates any ruling under s 57(4). In an inquisitorial proceeding, a coroner must consider relevant evidence regardless of whether the parties rely on it, and the most contemporary medical evidence bearing on a relevant consideration (such as reliability of a witness's memory) constitutes a 'salient fact' that the coroner is bound to take into account.
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