Coroners Act 2003

The coroner must order the physical evidence be returned to its owner as soon as the coroner decides that the evidence is no longer required for—

the investigation; or

the investigation of another death under this Act; or

a proceeding for an offence relating to the death.

However, the coroner must not order the return of physical evidence to its owner if—

it is not lawful for the owner to possess the physical evidence; or

under the guidelines issued by the State Coroner, it is not desirable that the physical evidence be returned to its owner because of its nature, condition and value.Example of physical evidence for paragraph (b)—a cracked safety helmet that a deceased person was wearing when killed

In this section—owner means—

the person who appears to the coroner to be the lawful owner of the physical evidence; or

for something that was owned by a person who has died—the deceased person’s personal representative.