Coroners Act 2006

Deaths to be reported and post-mortems - Post-mortems

31: Coroner may direct post-mortem

You could also call this:

"Coroner can order a post-mortem to help find out how someone died"

A coroner can tell a pathologist to do a post-mortem on a body. You might wonder why they do this - it's to help the coroner decide if they need to look into the death. The coroner can also do this if they are already looking into the death. If many people die because of the same thing, the coroner can tell a pathologist to do post-mortems on some or all of the bodies. They can also ask a dentist to be there during the post-mortem. The coroner must follow certain rules, like section 33 and section 34(1)(d), when deciding to do a post-mortem. The pathologist doing the post-mortem cannot be the doctor who was looking after the person before they died. If the coroner says so, the pathologist must do the post-mortem right away, as per section 37. After the post-mortem, the pathologist must give the coroner a written report about what they found.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM377553.

This page was last updated on 12 December 2025 — View changes

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30: Charges for copies under section 28 or 29, or

"Paying for copies of coroner's information"

32: Criteria for decision whether to direct post-mortem, or

"Deciding if a post-mortem is needed after someone dies"

Part 2Deaths to be reported and post-mortems
Post-mortems

31Coroner may direct post-mortem

A coroner may direct a pathologist to perform a post-mortem of a body—
for the purpose of enabling the coroner to decide whether to open an inquiry into the death concerned; or
if the coroner is to open, or has opened and not completed, an inquiry into the death concerned.

Where more than 1 death appears to have occurred as a result of a single event or a series of related events, a coroner—
may direct 1 or more pathologists to perform post-mortems of any or all of the bodies (whether found before or after the direction is made) of people whose deaths appear to be a result of that event or series of events; and
may direct 1 or more dentists to attend any or all of those post-mortems.

If a coroner proposes to direct a post-mortem under this section, section 33 (right in some cases to object to post-mortem) may apply to that post-mortem and section 34(1)(d) (procedure for objections under section 33) may prohibit the coroner from directing that the post-mortem be performed.
Repealed
The pathologist must not be a doctor who, to the coroner's knowledge, was a doctor who attended the person concerned immediately before death.
If, in accordance with section 37, the coroner so directs, the pathologist must perform the post-mortem immediately.
As soon as practicable after completing the post-mortem, the pathologist must give the coroner a written report on the results of the post-mortem.

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Notes

Section 31(1A): inserted, on 21 July 2016, by section 22(1) of the Coroners Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 29).
Section 31(3): repealed, on 21 July 2016, by section 22(2) of the Coroners Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 29).