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Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1997
35Notification of deaths by doctors
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35 Notification of deaths by doctors
(1) A doctor must give the registrar-general written notice of the death
and cause of death of a person within 48 hours after the death if the
doctor—
(a) was responsible for the deceased person’s medical care
immediately before the death; or
(b) examined the body of the deceased person after the death; or
(c) has considered information about the deceased person’s medical
history and the circumstances of the deceased person’s death
and is able to form an opinion as to the probable cause of death.
Examples––par (c)
• examining medical records or speaking to the deceased person’s treating
doctor
• account of someone who was with the deceased person when the person died
or who discovered the deceased person’s body
(2) An offence against this section is a strict liability offence.
(3) This section does not apply if the doctor believed, on reasonable
grounds, that—
(a) another doctor had given the required notice; or
(b) the death had been reported to a coroner under the Coroners Act
1997.