Information & Support pack ACT - Living is for Everyone

2 Practical matters2All sudden and unexpected deaths, where a death certificate cannot be issued, are reported to the Coronerfor investigation in order for the nature and cause of death to be determined. If you have any questions at allabout the Coronial process you can contact the Coroner’s Officer or Coroner’s Court.The Coronial ProcessThe Coronial process can be complex and involves the police, the Forensic Medical Centre, Kingston(FMCK), the Coroner’s office and some other agencies. Below is a diagram showing the relationshipsbetween the agencies that will work together to assist the Coroner in determining the nature and cause ofyour loved one’s death.State MortuaryConduct a postmortem (autopsy).Funeral DirectorAt your request willorganise the funeralservice.PoliceInform of the death, conductan investigation and provide areport to the coroner.CoronerThe Coroner is a magistratewhose job is to make a legalfinding on the nature andcause of any sudden death.This may be done through aninquiry or an inquest.InquiryMay take 1-3 months and is theprocess by which the Coronerreviews the written evidence(police report, post mortem resultsetc.) and makes a finding on thenature and cause of the death.InquestMay take 3-9 months. An inquestis a court hearing where witnessesare called to give evidencesurrounding the death. Thecoroner then makes a finding onthe nature and cause ofthe death.What is the difference between an inquiry and an inquest?An inquest is a court hearing conducted by the Coroner. The Coroner can summon people to be witnessesor to bring papers and other evidence. Evidence is given on oath and witnesses can be questioned. TheCoroner must hold an inquest if the person was in a prison or institution (eg psychiatric hospital). In othercases, the Coroner will decide whether or not an inquest is needed. The evidence collected for an inquest iscalled the Brief. A copy of the Brief can be made available to appropriate parties on written application to theCoroner. If an inquest is not needed the Coroner will review the report written by the police (including witnessstatements, post mortem results etc) and then make a finding on the death. This is called an inquiry.Can I get a death certificate?Once the Coronial Inquiry/Inquest is complete the Coroner will forward final information to the Registryof Births, Deaths and Marriages (telephone 6207 0460, Allara House, Allara Street, Canberra). You canpurchase a death certificate there. Sometimes the funeral director will organise for a copy of the deathcertificate to be forwarded to you once it is available. If a death certificate is required earlier an interim deathcertificate can be purchased. This will show personal details but not the cause of death. This information issufficient for most purposes.The FuneralYou will normally be informed of the death of your loved one by a police officer. Once you have beeninformed of the death you and your family need to organise a funeral. You may want to ask a close friendto help with this. If you do not know of a funeral director to use you can check the yellow pages directory oraccess the Australian Funeral Directors Association website at www.afda.org.au. This website has listingsof registered funeral directors in each state and also a section with frequently asked questions and answersabout funerals and about grief.4