This Act helps prevent deaths and promotes justice. You will see it do this through investigations into sudden or unexplained deaths. It looks at the causes and circumstances of these deaths. The Act makes recommendations to reduce the chances of similar deaths happening. You can think of it like trying to stop something bad from happening again. To achieve its purpose, the Act says which deaths must be reported to a coroner. It explains how these deaths are reported and investigated. The Act also considers the cultural and spiritual needs of the family and friends of the person who died. It balances these needs with the public's need to understand how and why someone died. The Act provides an independent system for coroners to investigate deaths. They work with other authorities to do this. The Act also replaces the Coroners Act 1988. This means the old Act is no longer used and this new one takes its place.