The State Coroner’s Office
By Artemis Gouros

Most us of have only the barest knowledge of what a Coroner is and the role they play in our legal system, and what little knowledge we have has been gleaned from TV and film. In an effort to learn more I paid a visit to the NSW State Coroner’s Office located on busy Parramatta Rd in Sydney. The building houses offices and the courtrooms that are used for hearings and inquests. In Australia, each state and territory has a separate coronial jurisdiction headed by a Coroner who is responsible for the provision of coronial services. In NSW there are three full-time Coroners; the State Coroner, Senior Deputy State Coroner and the Deputy State Coroner. I discovered that all magistrates in NSW are also Coroners although they rarely perform coronial work.

The NSW State Coroner is John Abernethy and he took the time to show me around and explain the system. The Coroner described his position in the following way: “Our primary role is to ensure that all unnatural deaths are properly investigated.” Unnatural deaths include homicides, suicides, accidents and cases of sudden death where the cause is not immediately apparent. Cases will also be referred to the Coroner when a doctor has not seen the deceased in the three months prior to death and so cannot issue a death certificate. Mr Abernethy informed me that in “Most cases, the riddle is solved by the autopsy.”

He said that about half of the 7000 or so cases reported to the Coroner each year are actually death from natural causes. However, the Coroner has to investigate all cases to negate the possibility of foul play. The most important thing is the protection of the dead. Mr Abernethy stated that they were there to speak for the deceased, as they cannot speak for themselves. He also takes the view that that there is a real need for the public to know what the Coroner does and that the best way to deal with death is to be open about it. The process is basically as follows. The police are called to the scene of an unnatural death and inform the family about the necessity of calling in the Coroner.

They then give the family a brochure explaining the procedure. In the case of an objection to an autopsy, the family have to lodge an application in writing immediately. The Coroners Act 1980 permits an objection to a post mortem. The Supreme Court generally turns around any objections in a week. The Supreme Court deals swiftly with this issue in order to facilitate the investigation and respect the religious and cultural values inherent in a multicultural society such as ours. There have been a few objection cases to date and Mr Abernethy has found that most people lift their objection once they fully understand the necessity for a post mortem.

The deceased is taken to the Department of Forensic Medicine where an autopsy is performed. Both the Department of Forensic Medicine and the Coroner’s Office have counsellors to assist families during this time. Grief counsellors are also called to homicide scenes, the police allow them in to help the family. What the Coroner tries to determine is the date, place, identity (of the deceased), manner and cause of a death. The Coroner directs everyone in the investigation. If any of these points is not clear or unknown then the Coroner must hold an inquest into the death.