Division 2 Exclusive jurisdiction of State Coroner and Deputy State Coroners
22 Division confers exclusive jurisdiction
(cf Coroners Act 1980, ss 13A (2) and 13AB (2))
(1) The jurisdiction conferred by this Division is conferred exclusively on any coroner who holds office as the State Coroner or a Deputy State Coroner (a senior coroner).(2) If jurisdiction to hold an inquest concerning a death or suspected death arises both under this Division and Division 1, an inquest concerning the death or suspected death may be held only by a senior coroner.
23 Jurisdiction concerning deaths in custody or as a result of police operations
(cf Coroners Act 1980, s 13A (1))
A senior coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest concerning the death or suspected death of a person if it appears to the coroner that the person has died (or that there is reasonable cause to suspect that the person has died):(a) while in the custody of a police officer or in other lawful custody, or(b) while escaping, or attempting to escape, from the custody of a police officer or other lawful custody, or(c) as a result of, or in the course of, police operations, or(d) while in, or temporarily absent from, any of the following institutions or places of which the person was an inmate:(i) a detention centre within the meaning of the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987,(ii) a correctional centre within the meaning of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999,(iii) a lock-up, or(e) while proceeding to an institution or place referred to in paragraph (d), for the purpose of being admitted as an inmate of the institution or place and while in the company of a police officer or other official charged with the person’s care or custody.
24 Jurisdiction concerning deaths of children and disabled persons
(cf Coroners Act 1980, s 13AB (1), (3) and (4))
(1) A senior coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest concerning the death or suspected death of a person if it appears to the coroner that the person was (or that there is reasonable cause to suspect that the person was):(a) a child in care, or(b) a child in respect of whom a report was made under Part 2 of Chapter 3 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 within the period of 3 years immediately preceding the child’s death, or(c) a child who is a sibling of a child in respect of whom a report was made under Part 2 of Chapter 3 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 within the period of 3 years immediately preceding the child’s death, or(d) a child whose death is or may be due to abuse or neglect or that occurs in suspicious circumstances, or(e) a person (whether or not a child) who, at the time of the person’s death, was living in, or was temporarily absent from, residential care provided by a service provider and authorised or funded under the Disability Services Act 1993 or a residential centre for disabled persons, or(f) a person (other than a child in care) who is in a target group within the meaning of the Disability Services Act 1993 who receives from a service provider assistance (of a kind prescribed by the regulations) to enable the person to live independently in the community.(2) If jurisdiction to hold an inquest concerning the death of a child arises under this section or section 23, the senior coroner must use his or her best endeavours to notify the following persons of any right that they have to legal representation at the inquest:(a) the persons having parental responsibility for the child,(b) the child’s parents (if they do not have that responsibility),(c) such family members as would be reasonably expected to have an immediate interest in the outcome of the inquest.(3) In this section:child means a person who is less than 18 years old.
child in care means a child or young person who is less than 18 years old:
(a) who is under the parental responsibility of the Minister administering the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, or(b) for whom the Director-General of the Department of Community Services or a designated agency has the care responsibility under section 49 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, or(c) who is a protected person within the meaning of section 135 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, or(d) who is the subject of an out-of-home care arrangement under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, or(e) who is the subject of a sole parental responsibility order under section 149 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, or(f) who is otherwise in the care of a service provider.parental responsibility, in relation to a child or young person, means all the duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that, by law, parents have in relation to their children.
residential centre for disabled persons means:
(a) premises declared to be a residential centre for handicapped persons under section 3A of the Youth and Community Services Act 1973, or(b) premises licensed under Part 3 of the Youth and Community Services Act 1973,but does not include premises exempted under that Act from the requirement to be licensed.service provider has the same meaning as it has in the Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993.