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DX SX10088 | Wellington
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[email address] | www.justice.govt.nz
20 February 2024
K Thompson
[FYI request #25226 email]
Ref: OIA 109160
Tēnā koe K
Official Information Act request (OIA): Coroners Court case closure times
I refer to your email of 18 December 2023 to Stats NZ requesting information on the time
taken for deaths to be investigated. On 23 January 2024, your request was partially
transferred to the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry) as the information you have requested is
more closely connected with the functions of the Coroners Court. Specifically, you have
requested:
How long does it take for deaths to be investigated and a report to be completed?
I am advised that Stats New Zealand attempted to clarify your request in December 2023,
however they did not receive a response. In order to respond to your request, the Ministry
has interpreted ‘deaths to be investigated’ to mean Coroners Court cases. Coroners Court
cases are investigations into the deaths that are reported to the coroner, in accordance with
sections 13 and 14 of the Coroners Act 2006: those that appear to have been without known
cause, self-inflicted, unnatural, violent, or medically unexpected. The Ministry has also
interpreted ‘report’ to mean the coroner’s findings or certificate issued at the closure of the
case. Therefore, the Ministry has interpreted your request to be for information on Coroners
Court case closure times.
In response to your request, please see Table 1 attached. Table 1 provides the average age
in days of Coroners Court cases at closure for the 12 months ending 31 December 2023.
As your request did not specify a date range, the Ministry has provided the most recently
available calendar year end data. Should you be interested in further information on
Coroners Court case timeliness, you have the option to make another OIA request to the
Ministry. In order to provide the most useful information for you, it would be helpful for you to
specify the date range you are interested in seeking information on.
It may be helpful to note the following along with the data provided in this response. There is
no prescribed timeframe for a coroner to complete an investigation. Each Coroners Court
investigation depends on the circumstances of the death, with different cases requiring
different evidence and information to be gathered. The circumstances of some deaths mean
they may take longer to investigate. Coroners consider evidence from a range of sources
and may consult with multiple agencies, such as the New Zealand Police, WorkSafe or the
Health and Disability Commissioner.
Depending on the circumstances of the death, a coroner may put their inquiry on hold
pending the outcome of another agency’s investigation or any criminal proceedings. A case
may also be reopened following a direction from the High Court or the Solicitor-General. The
amount of time an inquiry is on hold, or is closed before being reopened, is included in the
overall time it takes to complete a Coroners Court investigation. As a result of these factors,
some inquiries will not be completed until some time after a person has died.
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry website at: justice.govt.nz/about/official-information-act-requests/oia-responses/.
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the Act. The Office of the Ombudsman may be
contacted by email to [email address] or by phone on 0800 802 602.
I trust that this information assists.
Nāku noa, nā
Jacquelyn Shannon
Group Manager, Courts and Tribunals, Regional Service Delivery
Ref:
OIA 109160
Encl: Table 1: Average age in days of Coroners Court cases at closure for the 12 months
ending 31 December 2023
Table 1: Average age in days of Coroners Court cases at closure for the 12 months
ending 31 December 2023
12-month period ending
Average age in days
31 December 2023
550
Notes for Table 1:
• This data was extracted from the case management system used by the Coroners Court as at
5 January 2024 and may differ from previously released or published data.
• This data includes Coroners Court cases only, which are those cases where the coroner
accepts jurisdiction for death.
• This data excludes advice cases, which are those where the coroner declines jurisdiction, and
a doctor certifies the death.
• Cases are included based on the date the case was notified to the coroner, which can differ
from the date of death.
• This data only includes closed cases which have a cause of death that has been determined
by the coroner, where a finding or certificate has been issued in the 12 months ending 31
December 2023.
• Case age is counted as the time in days between the death being notified to the coroner and
the date when the final findings were issued.
