Coroners Act 2006

Deaths to be reported and post-mortems - Release of bodies, and retention and return of body parts and bodily samples

50: Coroner must notify immediate family of retention, and of right to request return, of parts and samples

You could also call this:

"Coroner tells family about keeping body parts or samples from a dead person"

If a pathologist takes a body part or sample from a dead person, you need to know what happens next. The coroner tells your family about the body part or sample before or when the body is released. The coroner explains why it was taken and how long it will be kept. The coroner must tell your family what the body part or sample is, and that you can ask for more information about it. They also tell you that you can ask for the body part or sample back, if it has not been destroyed. You can even ask the pathologist about the body part or sample, with the coroner's approval. The coroner gives you a deadline to ask for the body part or sample back. If the coroner does not follow these rules, it does not change what has already been done.

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

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49: Coroner's authorisation under section 48(2)(b), or

"When a coroner says it's okay to keep a body part for research"

51: Pathologists proposing to retain parts or samples under section 48(2)(c) must advise of right to request return, or

"Pathologists must tell you they're keeping body parts and that you can ask for them back"

Part 2Deaths to be reported and post-mortems
Release of bodies, and retention and return of body parts and bodily samples

50Coroner must notify immediate family of retention, and of right to request return, of parts and samples

This section applies if, under section 48(2)(a) or (b), a pathologist intends to retain, or has retained, a body part or bodily sample from a dead person’s body.
A responsible coroner must, before the release of the body, give notice of the intention to retain a part or sample if, due to the nature of the part or sample, the coroner considers that it is appropriate to give notice before the body is released.
Unless the coroner has given notice under subsection (2), the coroner must, on or immediately after the release of the body, give notice that a part or sample has been retained.
A notice under this section must be given to every representative of the immediate family recognised under section 22 and must—
identify in general terms the part or sample that the pathologist intends to retain, or has retained; and
advise that detailed information about the part or sample is available on request; and
explain the authority and reasons for the intention to retain, or for the retention of, the part or sample; and
indicate how long the pathologist expects the part or sample will need to be retained for those reasons; and
indicate (if known by the coroner) whether, and, if so, to what extent, the part or sample is likely to be destroyed in the course of being used for the purpose for which it is retained; and
advise that members of the immediate family have the right to request the return of the part or sample (to the extent that the part or sample has not been destroyed); and
indicate the date by which the return of any part or sample that has not been destroyed must be requested.

In considering whether to request the return of a part or sample, members of the dead person's immediate family may, with the coroner's approval, contact the pathologist for further information about the part or sample (including information about how the part or sample has been dealt with and how it may be dealt with if it is not returned).
A failure to comply with this section does not affect the validity of any action taken by or on behalf of the coroner.

Notes

Section 50: replaced, on 21 July 2016, by section 32 of the Coroners Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 29).