Coroners Act 2006, ss 4, 13–15

The law requires people to report deaths to the police in certain circumstances, including when they find a body, when there is no clear cause for a death, or when it appears the death resulted from violence or suicide (see below for more details). These requirements also apply to doctors and nurse practitioners, who, in other circumstances, could have issued a Certificate of Cause of Death.

Police employees, in turn, are generally required to report deaths to a coroner. This includes when a death is reported to them or when they find a body themselves.

Once a death has been reported to a coroner, the body can’t be buried, cremated or disposed of in any other way until authorisation is received from the coroner (by issuing an “Order for Disposal of Body”).

The coroners’ role is to establish when, where, and how the death happened and to work out whether anything can be done differently that might stop similar deaths in the future. In New Zealand, coroners are usually lawyers, rather than not doctors.

The main types of deaths that must be reported to the coroner are where:

• the death was suicide, or was unnatural or violent (for example, if the person drowned, was poisoned, or died in a car crash);
• the cause of death isn’t known;
• the person died unexpectedly during surgery or medical treatment or while under anaesthetic, or if they died unexpectedly after surgery or treatment and apparently as a result of it;
• a person dies in childbirth or as a result of a pregnancy;
• the person died in prison or police custody;
• the person died in some other form of official custody or care – for example, in a mental health institution or in a residence run by Oranga Tamariki / Ministry for Children; or
• a doctor hasn’t issued a Certificate of Cause of Death – for example, if the person had been ill but their doctor isn’t satisfied that the illness caused the death.

In these cases, the police will report the death to the coroner. If there’s been an accident – a car crash, for example – the body will be taken to a hospital mortuary. This would be arranged by the police at the scene or, if the person died after they got to hospital, by the hospital staff.

The coroner usually won’t issue an order for the disposal of the body until satisfied of the cause of death. The coroner may decide it’s not necessary to investigate further (in which case a doctor can issue a Certificate of Cause of Death and the body can then be buried, cremated or disposed of in some other way).

Coroners Act 2006, ss 19, 21A, 31

If the coroner decides to investigate the death, they’ll take legal possession of the body from the police.

The coroner may decide to get a pathologist (a specialist in diseases) to do a post-mortem examination of the body to find out the cause of death. To help decide whether a post-mortem is necessary, the coroner may first get a pathologist to do an initial inspection of the body by examining the body externally and/or using medical imaging techniques (such as x-rays or MRIs).

In certain cases, the coroner might decide that it’s necessary to hold an inquest. This is a type of legal hearing in the Coroner’s Court about the death and its cause.

Coroners Act 2006, ss 25, 26

The coroner can allow the following people to see, touch and stay with the deceased’s body:

• members of the immediate family of the deceased (or the person whose body it is suspected to be),
• representatives of the immediate family, or
• a ministers of religion or others fulfilling a religious or spiritual role, who have been chosen by the immediate family.

In deciding whether to allow this, the coroner will consider factors such as:

• whether this could make it harder to find out the cause of death
• any health risks to the visitors
• whether there are rooms and facilities available for the visitors
• whether the ethnic origins, social attitudes, social customs or spiritual beliefs of the deceased, suspected deceased or immediate family members require viewing, touching or remaining with or near the body (this includes requirements under tikanga Māori).

Human Tissue Act 2008, ss 49(1), 54 Coroners Act 2006, ss 23, 24, 27, 32, 36, 37

A post-mortem is a surgical examination of the deceased’s body, ordered by the coroner, to find out the cause of death (sometimes also called an “autopsy”). It’s carried out by a pathologist – a medical specialist in diseases.

The pathologist will examine the internal organs, as well as any external injuries, although the coroner can direct them to do a less invasive type of examination. The pathologist has a legal duty to avoid unnecessary mutilation to the body and must carry out any examination or collection of samples in an orderly, quiet and decent manner.

The coroner must consider the following factors when deciding whether to order a post-mortem:

• whether it will reveal useful information about the death;
• whether the death appears to have been unnatural or violent, and, if it does, whether the death appears to have been caused by someone else;
• any claims, rumours, suspicions or public concern about the death;
• whether a post-mortem could cause distress or offence to the family because of tikanga Māori or other cultural attitudes or beliefs; and
• whether the immediate family has asked for a post-mortem.

The coroner can order a post-mortem to be done immediately if there’s a good reason. This could be, for example:

• because delaying it would make it harder to find out the cause of death,
• because the deceased person is an infant, or
• out of recognition of tikanga Māori or other cultural practices or beliefs that customarily require bodies to be made available to the family as soon as possible after death.

When a coroner orders a post-mortem, they must notify the immediate family as soon as practicable, including telling them why the post-mortem is being done. They must also tell the family about their right to object (see below).

After the post-mortem, the coroner must give the family a copy of the pathologist’s report if the family asks for it. If the family have questions about the report, the coroner can get the pathologist who wrote it to contact the family and discuss it with them.

Coroners Act 2006, ss 33–35

The immediate family of the deceased has the right to make an objection to a post-mortem by going to the coroner, and then, if necessary, by going to the High Court.

Any member of the immediate family has a right to object to a post-mortem, except if:

• the coroner has decided an immediate post-mortem is needed because a delay could make it harder to find out the cause of death,
• it seems the death was caused by a criminal act, or
• the coroner is obliged by law to carry out a post-mortem.

Family members have 24 hours to object after the coroner determines that they have a right to object. If a family member objects, but the coroner still wants to go ahead with the post-mortem, the coroner must notify the family of this intention. The family then has 48 hours to take their objection to the High Court. Weekends and public holidays are not counted in these 48 hours, so the period in which an objection can be made may, in fact, be significantly longer than 48 hours. For example, presuming there were no public holidays, if the family was notified on 1 pm on a Friday, they would have until 1 pm on Tuesday to lodge an objection in the High Court.

The High Court must deal with an objection urgently. Lodging an objection in the High Court is a complex process – while you are allowed to do it yourself, it is usually a good idea to have a lawyer. Legal Aid is available for this (see: “Legal Aid and other legal help”).

Coroners Act 2006, ss 42-44

The coroner must release the body as soon as they’re satisfied there’s no reason to withhold it from the family. They’ll usually authorise its release (by signing an Order for Disposal of Body) within 24 hours after any post-mortem. It is important to note, though, that it can take longer for a body to be released, especially if the death was suspicious or the examination was particularly complex.

If the coroner has decided a post-mortem isn’t needed, the coroner must wait for 24 hours after notifying the police of this decision before releasing the body, although the police can allow the coroner to release it before this. There could also be delays if specialists (other than the pathologist) need to be called in. However, usually the body should be released with no more delay than would normally occur if a doctor signed a certificate of cause of death.