Jump to content

Coroners Court of Victoria

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coroners Court of Victoria
Established1 November 2009 (2009-11-01)
JurisdictionVictoria, Australia
  • (cause of death of a person
  • causes of fires)
LocationMelbourne
Composition methodExecutive selection
Authorised byGovernor of Victoria
Type of tribunalInquisitorial
Websitecoronerscourt.vic.gov.au
State Coroner
CurrentlyJudge Liberty Sanger OAM
Since2025

The Coroners Court of Victoria is an inquisitorial court located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[1] Its role involves the investigation of reportable deaths and fires that have occurred within the state of Victoria for the purpose of promoting public health and safety.[1] "Coroners Court" is the generic name given to the statutory authority that conducts proceedings in which a Coroner holds an inquest in Victoria.

The State Coroner, since September 2025, is Judge Liberty Sanger OAM, who succeeded Judge John Cain.[2]

Jurisdiction

[edit]

Coroners have jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause of death of a person. When a serious criminal offence has been disclosed during the course of an inquest, the Coroner may adjourn the proceedings until the criminal proceedings are concluded.

Coroners may also hold inquests concerning the cause of any fire in Victoria, unlike their English counterparts.

Generally there are no appeals from the decision of a coroner, although there is provision for the Supreme Court of Victoria to order an inquest or to grant prerogative relief in respect of the proceedings.

The State Coroner may also in some circumstances order the re-opening of an inquest.

History

[edit]

The office of coroner in Victoria derives from the legal framework inherited from the United Kingdom. The first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip, was a coroner by virtue of his commission as governor.[3] The governor's commission entitled him to appoint coroners for the Colony of New South Wales, and this was most likely to have been to justices of the peace. Until the District of Port Phillip became the Colony of Victoria and separated from New South Wales in 1851, coroners would have been appointed under the authority of the New South Wales law.

The first coroner of Melbourne and the county of Bourke was Dr William Byam Wilmot MD. He was appointed in 1841 by the then Superintendent of Port Phillip, but later Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Victoria, Charles La Trobe. The second city coroner, appointed in 1857, was Dr Richard Youl MD, while the third city coroner, appointed at the death of Youl in 1897, was Mr Samuel Curtis Candler.

Following reviews of coronial services in the 1970s and the proclamation of the Coroners Act 1985, the State Coroner's Office was established in 1986.[4] The first temporary morgue in Melbourne was erected on the corner of Flinders Street and Swanston Street in 1871, while the first permanent coroner's courthouse was constructed alongside the Yarra River in 1888.[5] The courthouse building was demolished in 1959. The Coroners Court of Victoria, as it is today, was established on 1 November 2009.[6] It is located in the State Coronial Services Centre alongside the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria.

Structure and jurisdiction

[edit]

The Governor of Victoria may appoint a State Coroner for Victoria.[7] The State Coroner has the function to oversee and co-ordinate coronial services in Victoria, ensure that all deaths, suspected deaths and fires concerning which a coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest are properly investigated, ensuring that an inquest is held whenever it is required, and to issue guidelines to coroners to assist them in the exercise or performance of their functions.

The Governor may also appoint Deputy State Coroners. Deputy State Coroners may exercise any of the functions of the State Coroner delegated by the State Coroner to them. Both must be either a County Court of Victoria judge, a magistrate, or a lawyer.

The Governor may also appoint Coroners. The Governor may also appoint a magistrate as a coroner. Unlike in other Australian states, all magistrates in Victoria do not automatically become coroners by virtue of their appointment as a magistrate.[8]

State Coroners

[edit]

The following individuals have been appointed to serve as State Coroners, or precedent titles:

Order Name Title Term began Term ended Time in office Notes
M1 Dr William Wilmot Melbourne City Coroner 1841 1857 15–16 years [9]
M2 Dr Richard Youl 1857 1897 39–40 years
M3 Dr Samuel Curtis Candler 1897 1908 10–11 years
M4 Dr Robert Hodgson Cole 1908 1923 14–15 years
M5 Daniel Berriman 1923 1927 3–4 years
M6 David Grant 1927 1935 7–8 years
M7 Arthur Tingate 1936 1945 8–9 years
M8 Herbert Wade 1947 1947 0 years
M9 James Burke 1947 1955 7–8 years
(M8) Herbert Wade 1956 1957 0–1 years
M10 James Duggan 1956 1958 1–2 years
M11 Harry William Pascoe 1958 1979 20–21 years
M12 Kevin Mason 1979 1982 2–3 years
M13 Anthony Ellis 1983 1986 2–3 years
M14 Harold (Hal.) Hallenstein 1986 June 1986 7–8 years
1 State Coroner of
Victoria		 June 1986 August 1994 [10]
2 Graeme Johnstone August 1994 29 November 2007 (2007-11-29) 12–13 years [11]
3 Jennifer Coate 29 November 2007 (2007-11-29) 30 October 2012 (2012-10-30) 4 years, 336 days [12][13]
4 Ian Gray 29 November 2012 (2012-11-29) 16 December 2015 (2015-12-16) 3 years, 17 days [14][15]
5 Sara Hinchey 17 December 2015 (2015-12-17) 1 December 2019 (2019-12-01) 3 years, 349 days [16][17]
6 John Cain 2 December 2019 (2019-12-02) 31 August 2025 (2025-08-31) 5 years, 272 days [18]
7 Liberty Sanger OAM 29 September 2025 (2025-09-29) incumbent 245 days [2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Coroners Act 2008 (Vic), Part 1, S. 1.
  2. ^ a b Allan, Jacinta (18 August 2025). "New State Coroner Appointed" (Press release). Government of Victoria. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  3. ^ "Coroners and Morgue". Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  4. ^ "State Coroner's Office". Public Record Office Victoria. Victorian Government. n.d. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  5. ^ Trabsky, Marc (2015). "The Custodian of Memories: Coroner Architecture in Nineteenth-Century Melbourne". Griffith Law Review. 24 (2): 199–220. doi:10.1080/10383441.2015.1051209. S2CID 146280711.
  6. ^ "Legislation | Coroners Court of Victoria". www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  7. ^ Coroners Act 1985, Part 2, S. 6(1).
  8. ^ Coroners Act 1985, Part 2, S. 8.
  9. ^ Cooke, Simon (July 2008). "Coroners". eMelbourne.net.au. School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  10. ^ McDonald, Jacqui (9 August 1994). "Coroner's departure no surprise to enemies" (Abstract). The Age. p. 4. Retrieved 5 May 2026 – via Gale.com.
  11. ^ Kumar, Robert; Spooner, Heather; Alsop, Clive (20 December 2012). "Coroner strove to save lives". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  12. ^ "'Thoughtful' judge to be state coroner". The Age. 27 November 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  13. ^ "New Victorian coroner a Monash graduate". Monash Memo. 12 December 2007. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008.
  14. ^ Levy, Megan (2 October 2012). "Ian Gray appointed new State Coroner". The Age. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  15. ^ Thompson, Angus; Doherty, Elissa (16 December 2015). "Retiring Coroner Ian Gray says Victorian Coroners Court should be more transparent". Herald Sun. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  16. ^ "About Judge Sara Hinchey". trufflehound.com.au. 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  17. ^ "Victoria's chief coroner Sara Hinchey quits after being cleared of taking alcohol from workplace". ABC News. Australia. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  18. ^ Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria, Department of Justice and Community Safety. "Coronial Council of Victoria". www.justice.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coroners_Court_of_Victoria&oldid=1353130317"