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Coroners Act 2006

Inquiries into causes and circumstances of deaths - Inquiries

60: Deaths into which inquiries must be opened

You could also call this:

"When a coroner must investigate a death"

Illustration for Coroners Act 2006

You need to know when a coroner must look into a death. A coroner must open an inquiry into a death if it seems the person died by their own hand, except if it was assisted dying under the End of Life Choice Act 2019. A coroner must also look into a death if the person was in official custody or care when they died.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM377596.

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Part 3Inquiries into causes and circumstances of deaths
Inquiries

60Deaths into which inquiries must be opened

  1. A responsible coroner must open and conduct an inquiry into a death if—

  2. the death appears to have been self-inflicted (other than as a result of assisted dying under the End of Life Choice Act 2019); or
    1. the dead person appears to have been a person in official custody or care; or
      1. the coroner is not satisfied that the matters required by this Act to be established by an inquiry are already adequately disclosed in respect of the death by information arising from investigations or examinations the coroner has made or caused to be made.

        1. This section is subject to sections 59 and 59A.

        Notes
        • Section 60: replaced, on , by section 39 of the Coroners Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 29).
        • Section 60(1)(a): amended, on , by section 41 of the End of Life Choice Act 2019 (2019 No 67).