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This Act may be cited as the Coroners Act 1996.
This Act comes into operation on such day as is fixed by proclamation.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —
agency has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of the Public Sector Management Act 1994;
coroner includes the State Coroner and the Deputy State Coroner;
coroner’s investigator means a person referred to in section 14;
coroner’s registrar means a person referred to in section 12;
court means the Coroner’s Court of Western Australia established under section 5;
death includes suspected death;
Deputy State Coroner means the person appointed under section 7;
Director of Public Prosecutions means the Director of Public Prosecutions appointed under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1991;
doctor means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the medical profession;
guidelines means guidelines issued under section 58;
inquest means a formal hearing by the court;
investigation includes an inquest;
pathologist means a doctor with a prescribed qualification in pathology, or a doctor recognized by a prescribed professional body as a pathologist;
person held in care means —
a person under, or escaping from, the control, care or custody of —
the CEO as defined in section 3 of the Children and Community Services Act 2004; or
the Chief Executive Officer of the department of the Public Service principally assisting the Minister administering the Prisons Act 1981 in its administration; or
a member of the Police Force;
or
a person for whom the CEO as defined in the Court Security and Custodial Services Act 1999 is responsible under section 10, 13, 15 or 16 of that Act, whether that person is at a custodial place as defined in that Act, is being moved between custodial places or escapes, or becomes absent, from a custodial place or during movement between custodial places; or
a person admitted to a centre under the Alcohol and Other Drugs Act 1974; or
a resident as defined in the Declared Places (Mental Impairment) Act 2015 section 3; or
a person —
who is an involuntary patient under the Mental Health Act 2014; or
who is apprehended or detained under that Act; or
who is absent without leave from a hospital or other place under section 97 of that Act;
or
a person detained under the Young Offenders Act 1994; or
a person subject to a hospital order under the Criminal Law (Mental Impairment) Act 2023; or
a person subject to a supervision order under the Criminal Law (Mental Impairment) Act 2023;
post mortem examination means an examination of the body of a person who has died, for the purpose of investigating the death;
prescribed means prescribed by regulation;
reportable death means a Western Australian death —
that appears to have been unexpected, unnatural or violent or to have resulted, directly or indirectly, from injury; or
that occurs during an anaesthetic; or
that occurs as a result of an anaesthetic and is not due to natural causes; or
that occurs in prescribed circumstances; or
of a person who immediately before death was a person held in care; or
that appears to have been caused or contributed to while the person was held in care; or
that appears to have been caused or contributed to by any action of a member of the Police Force; or
of a person whose identity is unknown; or
that occurs in Western Australia where the cause of death has not been certified under section 44 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998; or
that occurred outside Western Australia where the cause of death is not certified to by a person who, under the law in force in that place, is a legally qualified medical practitioner;
senior next of kin has the meaning given under section 37(5);
State Coroner means the person appointed under section 6;
tissue includes an organ or part of the human body or a substance extracted from, or from a part of, the human body;
Western Australian death means a death —
that occurred in Western Australia; or
where the body is in Western Australia; or
the cause of which occurred in Western Australia; or
of a person who was ordinarily residing in Western Australia at the time of death; or
of a person who, at the time of death, was in an industry to and in relation to which the Industrial Relations Act 1979 applies due to the operation of section 3 of that Act.
[Section 3 amended: No. 40 of 1998 s. 8(2); No. 47 of 1999 s. 9; No. 8 of 2000 s. 3; No. 15 of 2003 s. 4; No. 34 of 2004 Sch. 2 cl. 6; No. 59 of 2004 s. 76; No. 22 of 2008 Sch. 3 cl. 10; No. 35 of 2010 s. 46; No. 25 of 2014 s. 42; No. 3 of 2015 s. 15; No. 4 of 2015 s. 83; No. 10 of 2023 s. 290 and 410.]
Despite the definition of reportable death in section 3, a Western Australian death of a person who has self‑administered, or has been administered, a voluntary assisted dying substance in accordance with the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019 is not a reportable death for the purposes of this Act.
Subsection (1) does not apply to a Western Australian death of a person who immediately before death was a person held in care.
[Section 3A inserted: No. 27 of 2019 s. 168.]
Despite the definition of reportable death in section 3, a Western Australian death of a child is not a reportable death for the purposes of this Act if the death occurs in the following circumstances —
an abortion is performed on a person;
the child is born alive and subsequently dies following the performance of the abortion;
at the time the abortion is performed, the performance of the abortion does not constitute an offence under a written law.
Subsection (1) applies whether the death occurs before, on or after the day on which the Abortion Legislation Reform Act 2023 section 20 comes into operation.
[Section 3B inserted: No. 20 of 2023 s. 20.]
A rule of the common law that, immediately before the commencement of this section, would have operated to confer a power or impose a duty on a coroner or a coroner’s court ceases to have effect on and after the commencement of this Act.
The Courts and Tribunals (Electronic Processes Facilitation) Act 2013 Part 2 applies to this Act.
[Section 4A inserted: No. 34 of 2020 s. 54.]
A court to be known as the Coroner’s Court of Western Australia is established.
The court is to be constituted by a coroner and has exclusive jurisdiction to hold all inquests under this Act.
The court constituted by a coroner may sit and exercise the jurisdiction of the court at the same time as any other court constituted by a coroner is sitting and exercising the jurisdiction of the court.
The court is a court of record and is to have an official seal of which judicial notice must be taken.
A State Coroner is to be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Attorney General.
A person is not eligible for appointment as State Coroner unless that person is eligible to be appointed as a magistrate.
The State Coroner is entitled to the same salary, allowances and reimbursements, leave of absence and superannuation rights, as the Chief Magistrate of the Magistrates Court is entitled to in relation to that office.
Subject to subsection (3), the State Coroner is entitled to hold office on the same terms as a magistrate.
If a person was a contributor within the meaning of the Superannuation and Family Benefits Act 1938 2 immediately before appointment as State Coroner then that person may continue to be a contributor, or member, under that Act while holding office as State Coroner.
The State Coroner may not practise as a legal practitioner or be directly or indirectly concerned in such practice.
In the exercise of that office the State Coroner has the same protection and immunity as a judge has in respect of proceedings in the Supreme Court.
The State Coroner may at any time, by written notice addressed to the Governor, resign from office.
[Section 6 amended: No. 43 of 2000 s. 36(1); No. 65 of 2003 s. 25; No. 59 of 2004 s. 76; No. 21 of 2008 s. 652(2); No. 9 of 2022 s. 424.]
The Attorney General, on the recommendation of the State Coroner, is to appoint a coroner to be Deputy State Coroner for such period as is specified in the instrument of appointment.
A person appointed under subsection (1) is to perform such functions of the State Coroner as are assigned by the State Coroner.
Where the State Coroner is absent from duty or the office of State Coroner is vacant, the Deputy State Coroner may act in the office of State Coroner and when so acting has all the functions of the State Coroner.
The Deputy State Coroner may not practise as a legal practitioner or be directly or indirectly concerned in such practice.
In the exercise of that office the Deputy State Coroner has the same protection and immunity as a judge has in respect of proceedings in the Supreme Court.
The Deputy State Coroner may at any time, by written notice addressed to the Attorney General, resign as Deputy State Coroner.
[Section 7 inserted: No. 8 of 2000 s. 4; amended: No. 65 of 2003 s. 25(2); No. 21 of 2008 s. 652(3); No. 9 of 2022 s. 424.]
The Attorney General, on the recommendation of the State Coroner, may appoint a coroner to act in the office of Deputy State Coroner for such period as is specified in the instrument of appointment.
A person appointed under subsection (1) is to act in the office of Deputy State Coroner when the Deputy State Coroner is absent from duty or the office of Deputy State Coroner is vacant and when so acting has all the functions of the Deputy State Coroner.
The person appointed as acting Deputy State Coroner may at any time, by written notice addressed to the Attorney General, resign from that office.
[Section 7A inserted: No. 8 of 2000 s. 4.]
The functions of the State Coroner are —
to ensure that a State coronial system is administered and operates efficiently;
to oversee and coordinate coronial services;
to ensure that all reportable deaths reported to a coroner are investigated;
to ensure that an inquest is held whenever there is a duty to do so under this Act or whenever it is desirable that an inquest be held;
to issue guidelines in accordance with this Act;
such other functions as are conferred or imposed on the State Coroner under this Act.