Coroners Act 2003

To perform its functions, the board has a right to all information in the custody or under the control of a prescribed entity.

The board may, by written notice given to a prescribed entity, require the entity, within a stated reasonable period—

to give the information to the board; and

if the information is contained in a document—to allow the board to inspect the document and take a copy of it.

The notice must state the purpose for making the requirement.

The prescribed entity must comply with the notice, unless the entity has a reasonable excuse.Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.

Without limiting subsection (4), it is a reasonable excuse for a prescribed entity to fail to comply with the notice because complying with the notice—

if the entity is an individual—might tend to incriminate the individual; or

would require the entity to disclose information that is the subject of legal professional privilege; or

would prejudice the effectiveness of a lawful method or procedure for preventing, detecting, investigating or dealing with a contravention or possible contravention of a law; or

would enable the existence or identity of a confidential source of information, in relation to the enforcement or administration of a law, to be ascertained; or

would endanger a person’s life or physical safety; or

would prejudice a prosecution or another matter before a court.

For subsection (1), information is not taken to be in the prescribed entity’s control merely because of an agreement between the prescribed entity and another entity under which the other entity must give the information to the prescribed entity.

For subsection (4), if the notice requires the prescribed entity to allow the board to inspect a document that contains exempt information, the entity may comply with the notice by allowing the board to inspect a copy of the document with any exempt information obliterated.

This section applies despite any other Act.

In this section—exempt information, for a prescribed entity, means information for which the entity considers it would not be required to give because of a reasonable excuse mentioned in subsection (5).prescribed entity means any of the following—

the chief executive of a department;

the Queensland Family and Child Commission;

the commissioner of the police service;

an entity that provides services to persons in relevant relationships if those persons are affected by domestic and family violence deaths;

an entity prescribed by regulation.