9Interpretation

1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

   approved form means a form approved and issued under section 140B

   associate coroner means a person appointed under section 104A

   bodily sample, in relation to a body,—

   1. means a sample or specimen (whether of a body part, or of any other thing that is in or on the body, or of both) taken from the body by a pathologist after the death of the person concerned; and so
   2. includes a sample or specimen so taken of blood or tissue, urine or other bodily fluids, or contents of the stomach or bowel, and a sample or specimen so taken that is, or is part of, the following:
      1. any thing that is, or is in or on, an item of clothing on the body:
      2. a weapon, or other foreign item or substance (for example, a surgical implant, including a cardiac pacemaker or other biomechanical aid), that is in or on the body

   body means a dead person, but—

   1. includes a part of a person (whether or not the person's identity is known when the part is discovered or is later determined)—
      1. without which no person can live; or
      2. discovered in such circumstances or such a state that it is probable that the person is dead; and
   2. does not include a dead foetus or a stillborn child (as those terms are defined in section 4 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021); and
   3. for the purposes of an authorisation for release under section 42, does not include any body part or bodily sample retained in accordance with section 48(2)

   body part, in relation to a body,—

   1. means any part of the body (whether separated from the body before, on, or after the death concerned); and so
   2. includes a part so received or removed that is an organ, limb, hand, foot, or digit

   chief coroner means the person appointed under section 105, and includes either of the following people while he or she is authorised to act for the chief coroner under section 105A or 106:

   1. the deputy chief coroner:
   2. the acting chief coroner

   coroner has the meaning given to it by section 10

   craft includes any aircraft, ship, boat, or other machine or vessel, used or capable of being used for the carriage or transportation of persons or goods, or both, by air or water or over or under water

   death, in relation to reporting to a Police employee or a coroner, includes the finding of a body

   death in official custody or care means the death of any of the following:

   1. a patient within the meaning of the Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017 (whether or not the death occurred in a treatment centre):
   2. a child or young person who has been placed in a residence within the meaning of section 2(1) or 364 of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 (whether or not the death occurred in the residence):
   3. a child or young person who—
      1. is in the custody or care of an iwi social service, a cultural social service, a residential disability care operator, or the director of a child and family support service pursuant to section 43, 78, 101, 102, 110, 139, 140, 141, 142, 234, 238, or 345 of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989; or
      2. is in the charge of any person or organisation pursuant to section 362 of that Act:
   4. a patient within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 (whether or not the death occurred in the hospital concerned):
   5. a care recipient or proposed care recipient within the meaning of section 5(1) of the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003 (whether or not the death occurred in the facility concerned):
   6. a prisoner within the meaning of section 3(1) of the Corrections Act 2004 (whether or not the death occurred in the prison concerned):
   7. a person in the custody of the New Zealand Police:
   8. a person under the control of a security officer (as defined in section 3(1) of the Corrections Act 2004):
   9. a resident within the meaning of section 3 of the Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Act 2014

   dentist means a health practitioner who is, or is deemed to be, registered with the Dental Council established by section 114(2) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 as a practitioner of the profession of dentistry

   designated coroner, in relation to a death, means the coroner designated by the chief coroner under section 133 to receive reports of all deaths of that kind

   doctor means a health practitioner who is, or is deemed to be, registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand continued by section 114(1)(a) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 as a practitioner of the profession of medicine

   expert has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Evidence Act 2006

   expert evidence has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Evidence Act 2006

   health practitioner means a person who is or is deemed to be registered with an authority as a practitioner of a particular health profession under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003

   immediate family, in relation to a dead person,—

   1. means members of the dead person's family, whānau, or other culturally recognised family group, who—
      1. were in a close relationship with the person; or
      2. had, in accordance with customs or traditions of the community of which the person was part, responsibility for, or an interest in, the person's welfare and best interests; and
   2. to avoid doubt, includes persons whose relationship to the dead person is, or is through 1 or more relationships that are, that or those of—
      1. spouse, civil union partner, or de facto partner of the dead person:
      2. child, parent, guardian, grandparent, brother, or sister of the dead person:
      3. stepchild, step-parent, stepbrother, or stepsister of the dead person

   inquest means a hearing held by a coroner in connection with an inquiry opened and conducted by a coroner under Part 3

   inquiry means an inquiry into a death opened and conducted by a coroner under Part 3; and includes any related inquest held by the coroner

   interested party, in relation to the death, or suspected death, of a person means—

   1. a person who is recognised under section 22 as a representative of the immediate family of the person who is, or is suspected to be, dead; and
   2. a member of the immediate family of the person who is, or is suspected to be, dead who has asked to be notified of matters, and has given the responsible coroner contact details for that purpose, because the member considers that the member’s interests are not represented by a representative recognised under section 22; and
   3. a person whose conduct is, in the view of the responsible coroner, likely to be called into question during the course of any inquiry in relation to the death or suspected death; and
   4. any other person or organisation that the responsible coroner considers has an interest in the death or suspected death (apart from any interest in common with the public)

   investigation, in relation to a death and a coroner, means every function, power, or duty the coroner may or must perform or exercise in relation to the death, including, without limitation, the coroner's functions, powers, or duties relating to—

   1. a post-mortem of the body concerned; and
   2. an inquiry into the death; and
   3. an inquest related to an inquiry into the death

   irrecoverable means impossible or impracticable to recover

   Justice has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1957

   marae includes the area of land on which all buildings such as the wharenui (meeting house), the wharekai (dining room), ablution blocks, and any other associated buildings are situated

   medical procedure—

   1. means a medical, surgical, or dental treatment or operation, or any procedure of a similar kind; and
   2. includes the administration of a medicine (as defined in section 3 of the Medicines Act 1981) or an anaesthetic

   Minister means the Minister of the Crown who, under the authority of a warrant or with the authority of the Prime Minister, is for the time being responsible for the administration of this Act

   New Zealand—

   1. means the land and the waters enclosed by the outer limits of the territorial sea of New Zealand (as described in section 3 of the Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, and Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1977); and
   2. includes the Ross Dependency

   other investigating authority, in relation to a death, means an authority (other than a coroner) permitted or required by law to investigate the death; and includes, without limitation, any of the following authorities:

   2. the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand continued by section 20 of the Civil Aviation Act 2023:
   3. the Corporation as defined in section 39 of the Accident Compensation Act 2001:
   4. the Director or a Deputy Director or a district inspector as defined in section 2(1) of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992:
   5. a district inspector as defined in section 5(1) of the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003:
   6. the Health and Disability Commissioner appointed under section 8 of the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994:
   7. a food safety officer as defined in section 8(1) of the Food Act 2014:
   8. a regulator as defined in section 16 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 or an inspector appointed under section 163 of that Act:
   9. the New Zealand Transport Agency established by section 93 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003:
   10. a Medical Officer of Health under the Health Act 1956:
   11. the authority known as Maritime New Zealand continued by section 429 of the Maritime Transport Act 1994:
   12. the Independent Police Conduct Authority established under section 4 of the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988:
   13. the Transport Accident Investigation Commission established by section 3 of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission Act 1990:
   14. a Royal Commission, or a commission of inquiry appointed by an Order in Council made under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908, or a commission of inquiry or board of inquiry or court of inquiry or committee of inquiry appointed, pursuant to, or by, any provision of an Act:
   15. an inquiry to which section 6 of the Inquiries Act 2013 applies

   overseas death means a death that occurs outside New Zealand other than a death on or from—

   1. a New Zealand registered aircraft (as defined in section 5 of the Civil Aviation Act 2023; or
   2. a New Zealand ship (as defined in section 2(1) of the Maritime Transport Act 1994); or
   3. an aircraft or a ship of the Armed Forces (as defined in section 2(1) of the Defence Act 1990)

   pathologist—

   1. means a doctor who is competent to perform post-mortems because his or her scope of practice (as defined in section 5(1) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003) includes the branch of medicine of pathology; and
   2. in relation to a post-mortem directed under section 31, means the pathologist directed to perform the post-mortem; and includes another pathologist who, with a coroner's authorisation under section 38(1)(b), is attending, participating in, and helping with, the post-mortem

   pathologist’s report means a report given by a pathologist to a coroner under section 31(6)

   post-mortem means a post-mortem examination

   relief coroner means a person appointed under section 104

   Remuneration Authority means the Authority established by section 4(1) of the Remuneration Authority Act 1977

   responsible coroner, in relation to a death, means,—

   1. until a replacement coroner is appointed under section 133A(2), the coroner who is—
      1. the designated coroner to whom the death is reported under section 15(2)(a); or
      2. if the death is reported to another coroner under section 15(2)(b), the responsible coroner appointed by the chief coroner under section 133A(1); and
   2. on and after the date on which the chief coroner appoints a replacement coroner under section 133A(2), the coroner who is the replacement coroner

   responsible department means the department of State that, with the authority of the Prime Minister, is for the time being responsible for the administration of this Act

   Secretary means the chief executive of the responsible department

   vehicle means a conveyance for use on land, whether or not it is also capable of being used on or over water.