The Coronial System and Determining Manner of Death in Australia -An Overview

Death investigation in Australia was initially founded on the British coronial system. Today it continues to operate under a coroner-based service with each of the individual self-governing states and territories responsible for enacting and administering their own coronial legislation. This has led to some variation within Australia; however, there is broad similarity. Deaths reported to the coroner generally include those where the cause is unknown, there are violent/unnatural circumstances, the death is as a result of an anesthetic or medical procedure, the death occurred whilst held in care/custody, or the identity of the deceased is unknown. Coroners are legally qualified individuals who are appointed to administer the Coroners' Act, but have no medical training. They are required to investigate deaths to determine who a deceased person is, as well as, how, when, where and what caused them to die. This is an inquisitorial process with the purpose of determining the circumstances of death to serve the public interest. Their findings are presented in a written report that outlines the circumstances surrounding death in an attempt to indicate whether a death was natural or unnatural (due to external factors), and in the case of unnatural deaths, to outline the intent and external factors that led to death. Hence, the “manner of death” is presented as a narrative within the coroners' findings. The coroners use information obtained during their investigations to make recommendations about public health policy, justice, and the prevention of similar deaths in the future.