Victorian Numbered Acts Victorian Numbered Acts(1) In this Act—
"Australian lawyer" has the same meaning as in the Legal Profession Act 2004 ;
"autopsy" means—
(a) the dissection of a body (including the removal of tissue); or
(b) any other prescribed procedure in relation to a body—
but does not include—
(c) a preliminary examination; or
(d) an identification procedure;
"body" means—
(a) the corpse of a human being; or
(b) a part or parts of the corpse or remains of a human being—
but does not include tissue removed from the corpse of a human being;
"child" means a person under the age of 18 years;
"coroner" means—
(a) the State Coroner;
(b) the Deputy State Coroner;
(c) a magistrate or acting magistrate assigned to be a coroner of the Coroners Court under section 93;
(d) a person appointed as an acting coroner of the Coroners Court under section 94;
"Coroners Court" means the Coroners Court of Victoria;
"Council" means the Coronial Council of Victoria established under Part 9;
"Country Fire Authority" means the Country Fire Authority established under the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 ;
"death "includes suspected death;
Notes
1 A still-birth, within the meaning of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 , is not a death.
2 See section 41 of the Human Tissue Act 1982 for a definition of death for the purposes of the law of Victoria.
"Deputy State Coroner "means the Deputy State Coroner of the Coroners Court appointed under section 92;
"domestic partner" of a person means—
(a) a person who is in a registered relationship with the person; or
(b) an adult person to whom the person is not married but with whom the person is in a relationship as a couple where one or each of them provides personal or financial commitment and support of a domestic nature for the material benefit of the other, irrespective of their genders and whether or not they are living under the same roof, but does not include a person who provides domestic support and personal care to the person—
(i) for fee or reward; or
(ii) on behalf of another person or an organisation (including a government or government agency, a body corporate or a charitable or benevolent organisation);
"identification direction" means a direction given by a coroner under section 24;
"identification procedure "means any procedure performed in accordance with an identification direction;
"immediate family "in relation to a deceased person, means spouse, domestic partner, son, daughter, parent, sibling, executor, personal representative or a person determined to be the senior next of kin under subsection (3);
"inquest" means a public inquiry that is held by the Coroners Court in respect of a death or a fire;
"Institute" means the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine established under the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine Act 1985 ;
"interstate coroner" means a coroner of another State or Territory;
"interested party" in relation to an inquest, means a person granted leave under section 56 to appear at the inquest;
"medical examination" means a preliminary examination, an identification procedure or an autopsy;
"medical investigator" means—
(a) the Institute; or
(b) a pathologist; or
(c) a registered medical practitioner under the general supervision of a pathologist;
"medical procedure" means a procedure performed on a person by or under the general supervision of a registered medical practitioner and includes imaging, internal examination and surgical procedure;
"Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board" means the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board established under the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Act 1958 ;
"parent," in relation to a child, includes—
(a) a step-parent;
(b) an adoptive parent;
(c) a foster parent;
(d) a guardian;
(e) a person who has custody or daily care and control;
(f) a person who has all the duties, powers, responsibilities and authority (whether conferred by a court or otherwise) which, by law, parents have in relation to children;
"pathologist" means a prescribed registered medical practitioner;
"person placed in custody or care" means—
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(a) a person who is in the custody or under the guardianship of the Secretary to the Department of Human Services under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 ; or
(b) a child taken into safe custody under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 ; or
(c) a person who is deemed to be in the legal custody of the Secretary to the Department of Human Services under section 483 of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 ; or
(d) a person under the control, care or custody of the Secretary to the Department of Human Services; or
(e) a person in the legal custody of the Secretary to the Department of Justice or the Chief Commissioner of Police; or
(f) a person in the custody of a member of the police force; or
(g) a person in the custody of a protective services officer appointed under Part VIA of the Police Regulation Act 1958 ; or
(h) a person admitted or committed to an assessment centre or treatment centre under the Alcoholics and Drug-dependent Persons Act 1968 ; or
(i) a patient in an approved mental health service within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1986 ; or
(j) a person who a member of the police force or prison officer is attempting to take into custody or who is dying from injuries sustained when a member of the police force or prison officer attempted to take the person into custody; or
(k) a person in Victoria who is dying from an injury incurred while in the custody of the State; or
(l) a prescribed person or a person belonging to a prescribed class of person;
"preliminary examination" in relation to a body means any of the following procedures—
(a) a visual examination of the body (including a dental examination);
(b) the collection and review of information, including personal and health information relating to the deceased person or the death of the person;
(c) the taking of samples of bodily fluid including blood, urine, saliva and mucus samples from the body (which may require an incision to be made) and the testing of those samples;
(d) the imaging of the body including the use of computed tomography (CT scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scan), x-rays, ultrasound and photography;
(e) the taking of samples from the surface of the body including swabs from wounds and inner cheek, hair samples and samples from under fingernails and from the skin and the testing of those samples;
(f) the fingerprinting of the body;
(g) any other procedure that is not a dissection, the removal of tissue or prescribed to be an autopsy;
"prescribed" means prescribed by the regulations unless otherwise provided;
"principal registrar" means the principal registrar appointed under section 97;
"registered medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner registered under the Health Professions Registration Act 2005 ;
"registrar" means the principal registrar, a deputy registrar or a registrar referred to in section 97;
reportable death has the meaning given by section 4;
reviewable death has the meaning given by section 5 ;
"senior next of kin" in relation to a deceased person, means—
(a) if the person, immediately before death had a spouse or domestic partner—the spouse or domestic partner; or
(b) if the person immediately before death did not have a spouse or domestic partner or if the spouse or domestic partner is not available—a son or daughter of or over the age of 18 years; or
(c) if a spouse, domestic partner, son or daughter is not available—a parent; or
(d) if a spouse, domestic partner, son, daughter or parent is not available—a sibling who is of or over the age of 18 years; or
(e) if a spouse, domestic partner, son, daughter, parent, or sibling is not available—a person named in the will as an executor; or
(f) if a spouse, domestic partner, son, daughter, parent, sibling or executor is not available—a person who, immediately before the death, was a personal representative of the deceased;
(g) if a spouse, domestic partner, son, daughter, parent, sibling, executor or personal representative is not available—a person determined to be the senior next of kin under subsection (3);
"sibling "in relation to a person includes a half-brother, half-sister, adoptive brother, adoptive sister, step-brother or step-sister of the person;
"spouse" of a person means a person to whom that person is married;
"State Coroner "means the State Coroner of the Coroners Court appointed under section 91;
"the rules "means rules of the Coroners Court;
"tissue" has the same meaning as in the Human Tissue Act 1982 .
(2) For the purposes of the definition of domestic partner in subsection (1)—
(a) "registered relationship" has the same meaning as in the Relationships Act 2008 ; and
(b) in determining whether persons who are not in a registered relationship are domestic partners of each other, all the circumstances of their relationship are to be taken into account, including any one or more of the matters referred to in section 35(2) of the Relationships Act 2008 as may be relevant in a particular case; and
(c) a person is not a domestic partner of another person only because they are co-tenants.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (g) of the definition of senior next of kin , a person is the senior next of kin if the coroner determines that the person should be taken to be the senior next of kin because of the closeness of the person's relationship with the deceased person immediately before his or her death.
(4) In this Act—
(a) a reference to a function includes a reference to a power and a duty; and
(b) a reference to the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty.