Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX SX11166 | Wellington
T 04 918 8800 |
F 04 918 8820
[email address] | www.justice.govt.nz
4 April 2024
Ian Runciman
[FYI request #25850 email]
OIA 110338
Tēnā koe Ian,
Request for POL 47 documents from Hamilton Coroners Court cases
I refer to your email of 23 February 2024 to the New Zealand Police (Police) requesting
information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA). Specifically, you requested:
“…please supply sudden death documents known as POL 47, between February 2020 and
December 2023. Can we narrow down to Hamilton please.”
On 6 March 2024, Police transferred this part of your request to the Ministry of Justice (the
Ministry) because the information requested is more closely connected with the functions of
the Ministry.
On 13 March 2024, the Ministry advised that instead of providing the POL 47 documents, we
could provide you with the number of closed cases notified to the Coroner between 1
February 2020 and 31 December 2023 that had a POL 47 document attached. As the
Ministry did not receive a response, we are responding to your request as the Ministry
initially received it. We have interpreted your request as being for POL 47 documents from
closed Coroners Court files, where the death occurred in Hamilton and was notified to the
Coroner between 1 February 2020 and 31 December 2023.
For the reasons that follow, the Ministry is refusing your request pursuant to s 18(g) of the
OIA because the Ministry does not hold the information, and there are no grounds for
believing that the information is held by another department, Minister of the Crown,
organisation, or local authority.
Only information specified in s 94(4) of the Coroner’s Act 2006 is accessible in accordance
with the OIA. This includes all depositions of evidence admitted for the purposes of the
inquiry. These Coroners Court documents are ‘held’ by the Ministry for the purposes of the
OIA, and may be requested from the Ministry as the responsible department.
All other Coroners Court information may only be accessed with the permission of the Chief
Coroner. This includes POL 47 documents. The Coroners Court is part of of the judicial arm
of the government and is excluded from the operation of the OIA under s 2(6)(a).
POL 47 documents may be provided to the Coroner during the initial stages of a Coroners
Court inquiry. POL 47 documents are not required to be given to the Secretary for Justice
under the Coroners Act. Therefore, only POL 47 documents given to the Secretary as a
result of being included in a deposition of evidence in the course of a Coroners Court inquiry
will be available under the OIA.
The Ministry therefore does not hold copies of POL 47 documents from closed Coroners
Court files where the death occurred in Hamilton and was notified to the Coroner between 1
February 2020 and 31 December 2023.
To the extent that Coroners Court files within scope of your request contain a POL 47
document, they may only be accessed with the permission of the Chief Coroner. You can
request this permission via the Office of the Chief Coroner by emailing
[email address]. If you require any clarification of the information contained in this response, please contact
Joe Locke, Media & Social Media Manager, on 021 636 416, or email
[email address]. If you are not satisfied with the decision regarding the Official Information Act 1982, you
have the right to complain to the Ombudsman. You can contact the Office of the
Ombudsman by calling 0800 802 602; or emailing
[email address]. I trust this information assists.
Nāku noa, nā
Jacquelyn Shannon
Group Manager, Courts and Tribunals, Regional Service Delivery
