---
title: "Work out whether a Queensland death is reportable and an inquest is required"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/coronial-inquests/work-out-whether-a-death-is-reportable-and-whether-an-inquest-is-mandato/queensland"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A61-OB20261022-1-QLD"
practice_area: "Coronial Inquests"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["QLD"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Work out whether a Queensland death is reportable and an inquest is required

> From the reports the lawyer marks, list the facts against section 8(2), section 8(3) and section 27, and cite the paragraph each fact is said to meet. Do not classify the death or say an inquest is required.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/coronial-inquests/work-out-whether-a-death-is-reportable-and-whether-an-inquest-is-mandato/queensland  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-25

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Coronial Inquests](https://ailawframework.com/practice/coronial-inquests.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the reports the lawyer marks, list the facts against section 8(2), section 8(3) and section 27, and cite the paragraph each fact is said to meet. Do not classify the death or say an inquest is required. |
| What the lawyer must review | Decide whether both section 8(2) and section 8(3) are met Decide whether section 27 requires an inquest, including a death in custody or in care Check whether a section 30 direction or order requires an inquest despite the coroner |
| Written for | Queensland |
| Applies to | [Work out whether a death is reportable and whether an inquest is mandatory](https://ailawframework.com/practice/coronial-inquests/work-out-whether-a-death-is-reportable-and-whether-an-inquest-is-mandato.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

Section 8 makes a death reportable only if a Queensland connection and a kind of death are both present. Section 27 then sets when an inquest must be held.

- What the AI does: From the reports the lawyer marks, list the facts against section 8(2), section 8(3) and section 27, and cite the paragraph each fact is said to meet. Do not classify the death or say an inquest is required.
- What the lawyer does: The lawyer decides whether the death is reportable and whether an inquest is mandatory.
- Who reviews: Lawyer competent in this practice area
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 23 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Section 8(1) requires both subsection (2) and subsection (3). Subsection (2) is the Queensland connection, including a body in Queensland or ordinary residence in Queensland. Subsection (3) includes an unknown person, a violent or unnatural death, suspicious circumstances, a health care related death, no cause of death certificate, a death in care, a death in custody, and a death in the course of police operations.
2. Section 8(5): a death after a voluntary assisted dying substance under the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 is not a reportable death.
3. Section 27(1) requires an inquest for a death in custody, a death in care that raises issues about the care, a police-operations death unless the coroner is satisfied an inquest is not required, and a mining related reportable death.
4. An Attorney-General direction, a State Coroner's order, or a District Court order on a section 30 application also requires an inquest, despite a coroner's decision not to hold one.

## Notes

- Section 27(2) says a death in custody does not include a person detained under the Public Health Act 2005. Do not drop that limit.
- No Coroners Court practice direction on generative AI was opened.

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: Coroners Court of Queensland

**Deliverable**: A classification note citing section 8 and section 27, without a conclusion.

**Inputs**

- Report of the death
- Facts on custody, care, health care and police operations
- Where the death and the body are

**Example**: Illustrative example: The person died in Queensland in a violent incident that was not in custody. The note quotes those facts against section 8(3)(b) and records that section 27(1)(a) is not met on the material. It does not say no inquest can be held.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The Queensland connection in section 8(2) is not addressed.
- The note says an inquest is or is not required.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Coroners Act 2003 (Qld) s 8, reportable death defined](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/ca2003120/s8.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Coroners Act 2003 (Qld) s 27, when an inquest must be held](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/ca2003120/s27.html) (checked 2026-10-23)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*