105ADeputy chief coroner

1. The Governor-General may, on the advice of the Attorney-General, appoint a coroner as deputy chief coroner for a term that does not exceed 5 years.

2. Where there is a vacancy in the role of chief coroner or the chief coroner is for any other reason absent from duty, the deputy chief coroner may, unless an acting chief coroner has been appointed, perform or exercise all or any of the functions, duties, and powers of the chief coroner.

3. Without limiting subsection (2), the deputy chief coroner may at any time perform or exercise any function, duty, or power of the chief coroner that has been delegated by the chief coroner to the deputy chief coroner.

4. The fact that a deputy chief coroner purports to perform or exercise, or to have performed or exercised, any function, duty, or power under this section is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, sufficient evidence of the deputy chief coroner’s authority to do so.