Work out whether a Victorian death is reportable and an inquest is required
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the reports the lawyer marks, list the facts that bear on section 4 and on section 52, and cite the paragraph each fact is said to meet. Do not classify the death.
- What the lawyer must review
- Decide whether section 4 makes the death reportable
- Decide whether section 52 requires an inquest, including the natural-causes exception for a person in custody or care
- Do not treat a bench summary as the section
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Coroners Court of Victoria
Produce. A classification note that cites section 4 and section 52 and does not decide them.
Have ready. Police or medical report of the death; Lawyer's instructions on custody, care and any medical procedure; Place of death and ordinary residence.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The person died in a hospital in Victoria after surgery, and the notes do not say the death was expected. The note quotes those facts against section 4(2)(b) and leaves the reportable-death decision blank. It does not say an inquest is mandatory.
Stop and hand it back when
- The place of death and the ordinary residence are both unknown.
- The note states that the death is or is not reportable.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the reports the lawyer marks, list the facts that bear on section 4 and on section 52, and cite the paragraph each fact is said to meet. Do not classify the death. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Section 4(1) requires a Victorian connection: the body is in Victoria, the death occurred in Victoria, the cause occurred in Victoria, or the person ordinarily resided in Victoria. Section 4(2) then includes an unexpected, unnatural or violent death or a death from accident or injury, and the medical-procedure, custody or care, and other kinds the section states.
- Section 4(3): a death after a voluntary assisted dying substance administered in accordance with the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 is not a reportable death.
- Section 52(2) requires an inquest where the coroner suspects homicide, where immediately before death the person was placed in custody or care, or in the prescribed circumstances the section states. Section 52(3A): a custody or care death need not go to inquest if the coroner considers it was due to natural causes.
- Section 52(5) lets a person request an inquest into a death the coroner is investigating. That request is not made in this classification note.
Sources
- Coroners Act 2008 (Vic) s 4, reportable death · 2026-10-23
- Coroners Act 2008 (Vic) s 52, inquest into a death · 2026-10-23
The classification is the lawyer's. The note only lines facts up against the sections.
No Coroners Court generative AI practice note was opened.