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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Coroners (Miscellaneous) Amendment
Bill 2020
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the
Coroners
Act 2003
.
Contents
Part 2—Amendment of Coroners
Act 2003
4Amendment of section
3—Interpretation
5Amendment of section
13—Jurisdiction of Court
20ARight of
appearance for nominated representative of families
7Amendment of section
23—Proceedings on inquests
23APrivilege in
respect of self-incrimination
9Amendment of section
25—Findings on inquests
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Coroners (Miscellaneous) Amendment
Act 2020.
This Act comes into operation 3 months after it is assented to by the
Governor.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a
specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment
of Coroners
Act 2003
4—Amendment
of section 3—Interpretation
Section 3—after subsection (2) insert:
(3) For the purposes of this Act, a reference to the circumstances of an
event will be taken to include matters related to or arising out of the event or
its aftermath and may include, without limitation, the actions of a person in
response to, or in connection with, the event or its aftermath.
5—Amendment
of section 13—Jurisdiction of Court
Section 13—after its present contents (now to be designated as
subsection (1)) insert:
(2) In ascertaining the
cause or circumstances of an event, the Coroner's Court is to promote the public
interest in open justice which may include, without limitation—
(a) the public identification of a person, public sector agency or other
organisation involved in the event, in particular in circumstances where it
appears that such a person, agency or organisation caused or contributed to a
death; or
(b) requiring a person, public sector agency or other organisation to
provide information about and explain their action or inaction in the
circumstances of the event; or
(c) assessing, subject to this Act, the accountability and responsibility
of a person, public sector agency or other organisation involved in the
event.
After section 20 insert:
20A—Right of appearance for nominated
representative of families
(1) This section applies to proceedings before the Coroner's Court
relating to the death or disappearance of a person.
(2) Without limiting any other provision of this Act, the nominated
representative of the family of a person to whom proceedings to which this
section applies is entitled to appear in those proceedings and may examine and
cross-examine any witness testifying in the proceedings.
(3) The reasonable costs of the nominated representative of a family are
to be met by the Crown.
(4) For the purposes of this section, a reference to the nominated
representative of a family will be taken to be a reference to a legal
practitioner—
(a) engaged by or on behalf of the family to represent them in particular
proceedings; and
(b) nominated, in accordance with any rules of the Court, by the family as
their nominated representative.
(5) In this section—
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person means a person
who—
(a) is a descendant of the indigenous inhabitants of Australia or the
Torres Strait Islands; and
(b) regards themself as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or, if they
are a child, is regarded as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander by at least
1 of their parents;
family, in relation to a person, means—
(a) the person's immediate family; and
(b) the person's extended family (being all other persons to whom the
person is related by blood or marriage); and
(c) in relation to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person,
includes any person held to be related to the person according to Aboriginal
kinship rules, or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules, as the case may
require.
7—Amendment
of section 23—Proceedings on inquests
Section 23(5)—delete subsection (5) and substitute:
(5) However, a person is not required to answer a question, or to produce
a record or document, under this section if answering the question, or producing
the record or document, would result in a breach of legal professional
privilege.
After section 23 insert:
23A—Privilege in respect of
self-incrimination
(1) This section applies if a witness, being a natural person, refuses to
answer a question, or to produce a record or document, on the grounds that the
answer to the question, or the contents of the record or document, would tend to
incriminate the person of an offence or expose the person to a civil
penalty.
(2) The Court may
require the witness to answer the question, or to produce the record or
document, if the Court is satisfied that the interests of justice require that
the witness answer the question or produce the record or document.
(3) If the Court requires the witness to answer the question, or to
produce the record or document, the Court must cause the witness to be given a
certificate under this section in respect of the evidence given and any other
evidence of any information, document or thing that may be obtained as a direct
or indirect consequence of the person having given the evidence.
(4) In any
proceedings (other than criminal proceedings in respect of the falsity of the
evidence)—
(a) evidence given by a person in respect of which a certificate under
this section has been given, and
(b) evidence of any information, document or thing obtained as a direct or
indirect consequence of the person having given such evidence,
cannot be used against the person.
(5)
Subsection (4)
has effect despite any challenge, review, quashing or calling into
question on any ground of the decision to give, or the validity of, the
certificate concerned.
(6) A person who refuses or fails to comply with a requirement of the
Court under
subsection (2)
commits a contempt of the Court.
9—Amendment
of section 25—Findings on inquests
(1) Section 25(2)—delete subsection (2) and substitute:
(2) The Court may add to its findings any recommendation that, in the
opinion of the Court—
(a) might prevent, or reduce the likelihood of, a recurrence of an event
similar to the event that was the subject of the inquest; or
(b) relates to a matter arising from the inquest, including (but not
limited to) matters concerning—
(i) the quality of care, treatment and supervision of the dead person
prior to death; and
(ii) public health or safety; and
(iii) the administration of justice,
and is, in the circumstances, an appropriate matter on which to make a
recommendation.
(2) Section 25(4)(a)—after "Attorney-General" insert:
and any relevant Minister other than the Attorney-General
(3) Section 25(4)(b)(i)—delete subparagraph (i)
(4) Section 25(5)—delete subsection (5) and substitute:
(5) Each relevant
Minister must, within 8 sitting days of the expiration of 3 months
after receipt of a copy of a recommendation resulting from an
inquest—
(a) cause a report to be laid before each House of
Parliament—
(i) giving details of any action taken or proposed to be taken in
consequence of the recommendation; or
(ii) if no action has been taken or is proposed to be taken—giving
reasons for not taking action or proposing to take action; and
(b) forward a copy of the report to the State Coroner.
(6) The State
Coroner may, at any time after the provision of a report under
subsection (5)
, request a supplementary report to be prepared by the Minister that
addresses any matter that the State Coroner considers necessary arising out of
the report.
(7) If the State Coroner makes a request under
subsection (6)
, the Minister to whom the request was made must, within 8 sitting
days of the expiration of 3 months after receiving the
request—
(a) cause a supplementary report to be laid before each House of
Parliament addressing the matters requested to be addressed by the State
Coroner; and
(b) forward a copy of the supplementary report to the State
Coroner.
(8) In this section—
relevant Minister, in relation to findings and
recommendations of the Court, means—
(a) if a recommendation is directed to a Minister, or to an agency or
other instrumentality of the Crown, as a result of the inquest—the
Minister to whom, or the Minister responsible for the agency or other
instrumentality of the Crown to which, the recommendation is directed;
or
(b) in any other case—the Attorney-General.