Coroners Court

"Protecting the lives of its citizens is a primary function of the State. It's processes for investigating sudden death ideally should be geared to finding the causes and eliminating them for the future, while respecting the sensibilities of the family in its grief."

New Zealand Law Commission Report 62: Coroners, August 2000

The Coroners Act 2006 was prompted by a Law Commission Report produced in 2000 which identified a number of issues with the Coronial Act 1988. The Ministry of Justice undertook a series of reforms relating to the Coroners Act 1988. The Bill, to replace the 1988 Act, was introduced into Parliament in 2004 and was passed into law in August 2006.

The Coroners Act 2006 repeals and replaces the Coroners Act 1988. The Coronial Services of New Zealand was established under the Coroners Act 2006, and took effect on 1 July 2007. The Act was designed to enhance public confidence in the integrity and independence of the coronial system.

Key features of the Act

• Appointment of the Chief Coroner;
• Provision for up to 20 legally qualified full-time Coroners rather than 55 mostly part-time Coroners;
• Establishment of the Coronial Services Unit (CSU);
• Clarification of the role of Coroners and other agencies involved in investigating deaths;
• Structured and standardised training for coronial staff nation-wide to provide greater consistency of practice across the country;
• Addressing problems of timeliness, lack of collegiality, and lack of standardised processes;
• Clarity of deaths that must be reported to the Coroner;
• Better recognition of the different cultural and spiritual needs of families and those with a close relationship to the deceased; and
• Enhancing the inquiry and inquest processes and allowing greater public access to information.