Coroners Act 2009

A medical practitioner must not give a certificate as to the cause of death of a person for the purposes of notification of the cause of death under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 if the medical practitioner is of the opinion that—

the person’s death is a reportable death, or

the person died in circumstances that would be examinable under Division 2 of Part 3.2.

Despite subsection (1), a medical practitioner may give a certificate as to the cause of death of a person if the medical practitioner is of the opinion that the person—

was aged 72 years old or older, and

died in circumstances other than in any of the circumstances referred to in paragraphs (b)–(f) of the definition of reportable death in section 6(1) or in section 23 or 24(1), and

died after sustaining an injury from an accident, being an accident that was attributable to the age of that person, contributed substantially to the death of the person and was not caused by an act or omission by any other person.

A medical practitioner may not certify the cause of death of a person in accordance with subsection (2) if, before the certificate is given, a relative of the deceased person indicates to the medical practitioner that he or she objects to the giving of the certificate.

If a medical practitioner certifies the cause of death of a person in accordance with subsection (2), the certificate must state that it is given in pursuance of that subsection.

A medical practitioner who is prevented from certifying the cause of death of a person because of this section must, as soon as practicable after the death, report that death to a police officer.

A police officer to whom a death is reported under this section is required to report the death to a coroner or assistant coroner as soon as possible after the report is made.

An assistant coroner to whom a death is reported under this section is required to report the death to a coroner as soon as possible after the report is made.

A coroner to whom a death is reported under this section is required to inform the State Coroner of the report as soon as practicable after the report is made.