South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts (1) In this Act,
unless the contrary intention appears—
"anaesthetic" means a local or general anaesthetic, and includes the
administration of a sedative or analgesic;
"body" of a dead person means the whole, or any part, of the body (whatever
its physical state may be);
"coroner" means—
(a) the
State Coroner; or
(b) a
Deputy State Coroner; or
(c) any
other coroner appointed under Part 2;
"Coroner's Court" or "Court" means the Coroner's Court of South Australia;
"corresponding authorisation", in relation to the body of a dead person, means
an authorisation under a corresponding law by a coroner (within the meaning of
that corresponding law) that corresponds to an authorisation—
(a) for
the release of the body of the dead person from the control of the coroner; or
(b) for
the disposal of human remains in respect of the body of the dead person;
"corresponding law" means—
(a) the
Coroners Act 1997 (Australian Capital Territory);
(b) the
Coroners Act 2009 (New South Wales);
(c) the
Coroners Act 1993 (Northern Territory);
(d) the
Coroners Act 2003 (Queensland);
(e) the
Coroners Act 1995 (Tasmania);
(f) the
Coroners Act 2008 (Victoria);
(g) the
Coroners Act 1996 (Western Australia);
"death in custody" means the death of a person where there is reason to
believe that the death occurred, or the cause of death, or a possible cause of
death, arose, or may have arisen, while the person—
(a) was
being detained in any place within the State under any Act or law, including
any Act or law providing for home detention (and, for the purposes of this
paragraph, a detainee who is absent from the place of his or her detention but
is in the custody of an escort will be regarded as being in detention, but not
otherwise); or
(b) was
in the process of being apprehended or was being held—
(i)
at any place (whether within or outside the
State)—by a person authorised to do so under any Act or law of the
State; or
(ii)
at any place within the State—by a person
authorised to do so under the law of any other jurisdiction; or
(c) was
evading apprehension by a person referred to in paragraph (b); or
(d) was
escaping or attempting to escape from any place or person referred to in
paragraph (a) or (b);
"Deputy State Coroner"—see section 5;
"investigator" means—
(a) a
police officer; or
(b) a
person appointed under this Act to be an investigator;
"legal practitioner" has the same meaning as in the Legal Practitioners
Act 1981 ;
"medical practitioner" means a person registered under the Health Practitioner
Regulation National Law to practise in the medical profession (other than as a
student);
"premises" means any land, building, structure, vehicle, vessel or aircraft;
"reportable death" means the State death (other than a State death to which
subsection (2) or (2a) applies) of a person—
(a) by
unexpected, unnatural, unusual, violent or unknown cause; or
(b) on
an aircraft during a flight, or on a vessel during a voyage; or
(c) in
custody; or
(d) that
occurs during or as a result, or within 24 hours, of—
(i)
the carrying out of a surgical procedure or an invasive
medical or diagnostic procedure; or
(ii)
the administration of an anaesthetic for the purposes of
carrying out such a procedure,
not being a procedure specified by the regulations to be a procedure to which
this paragraph does not apply;
(e) that
occurs at a place other than a hospital but within 24 hours of—
(i)
the person having been discharged from a hospital after
being an inpatient of the hospital; or
(ii)
the person having sought emergency treatment at a
hospital; or
(f)
where the person was, at the time of death—
(i)
a protected person under the
Aged and Infirm Persons' Property Act 1940 or the
Guardianship and Administration Act 1993 ; or
(ii)
in the custody or under the guardianship of the Minister
or Chief Executive under the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017
; or
(iii)
a patient in an approved treatment centre under the
Mental Health Act 1993 or the Mental Health Act 2009 ; or
(iv)
a resident of a licensed supported residential facility
under the Supported Residential Facilities Act 1992 ; or
(v)
accommodated in a hospital or other treatment facility
for the purposes of being treated for drug addiction; or
(g) that
occurs in the course or as a result, or within 24 hours, of the person
receiving medical treatment to which consent has been given under Part 5 of
the Guardianship and Administration Act 1993 or Part 2A of the
Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act 1995 ; or
(h)
where no certificate as to the cause of death 1 has been given to the
Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages; or
(i)
that occurs in circumstances prescribed by the
regulations;
"State" includes—
(a) the
sea that is within the adjacent area in respect of the State (as defined for
the purposes of the Coastal Waters (State Powers) Act 1980 (Cth)); and
(b) the
airspace above that sea;
"State Coroner" means the person holding or acting in the office of
State Coroner under Part 2;
"State death" means the death of a person—
(a) that
occurred in the State; or
(b)
where the place of death is unknown but it is reasonably possible that the
death occurred in the State; or
(c)
where the body of the person is in the State; or
(d) a
cause of which occurred, or possibly occurred, in the State; or
(e)
where, at the time of death, the person was ordinarily a resident in the
State; or
(f) in
the case of a death on an aircraft or vessel—where the flight or voyage
was to a place of disembarkation in the State.
(2) For the purposes
of this Act, the death of a person is not reportable if—
(a) the
person dies outside of the State; and
(b) a
coroner under a corresponding law has issued a corresponding authorisation in
respect of the body of the dead person.
(2a) For the purposes
of this Act, the death of a person is not reportable if the death occurs as a
result of the administration of a voluntary assisted dying substance in
accordance with the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 .
(3) For the purposes
of this Act, a reference to the circumstances of an event may be taken to
include matters related to or arising out of the event or its aftermath.
Note—
1 See section 36(3) of the
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 .