24Jurisdiction concerning deaths of children and disabled persons

#### 24 Jurisdiction concerning deaths of children and disabled persons 24 Jurisdiction concerning deaths of children and disabled persons (cf [Coroners Act 1980](/view/html/repealed/current/act-1980-027), s 13AB(1), (3) and (4)) > > (1) A senior coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest concerning the death or suspected death of a person if it appears to the coroner that the person was (or that there is reasonable cause to suspect that the person was)— > > > > > (a) a child in care, or > > > > > (b) a child in respect of whom a report was made under Part 2 of Chapter 3 of the [Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1998-157) within the period of 3 years immediately preceding the child’s death, or > > > > > (c) a child who is a sibling of a child in respect of whom a report was made under Part 2 of Chapter 3 of the [Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1998-157) within the period of 3 years immediately preceding the child’s death, or > > > > > (d) a child whose death is or may be due to abuse or neglect or that occurs in suspicious circumstances, or > > > > > (e) a person (whether or not a child) who, at the time of the person’s death, was living in, or was temporarily absent from, specialist disability accommodation or an assisted boarding house, or > > > > > (f) a person, other than a child in care, who— > > > > > > > (i) is a person in the relevant group, and > > > > > > > (ii) receives assistance of a kind prescribed by the regulations from a service provider to enable the person to live independently in the community. > > > (2) If jurisdiction to hold an inquest concerning the death of a child arises under this section or section 23, the senior coroner must use his or her best endeavours to notify the following persons of any right that they have to legal representation at the inquest— > > > > > (a) the persons having parental responsibility for the child, > > > > > (b) the child’s parents (if they do not have that responsibility), > > > > > (c) such family members as would be reasonably expected to have an immediate interest in the outcome of the inquest. > > > (3) In this section— > > > > assisted boarding house has the same meaning as it has in the [Boarding Houses Act 2012](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2012-074), and includes— > > > > > (a) premises that would be an assisted boarding house within the meaning of that Act but for an exemption for the premises granted under section 40 of, or given by the regulations under, that Act, and > > > > > (b) premises that were a residential centre for disabled persons (within the meaning of this section before it was amended by that Act) at the time of the death concerned. > > > > child means a person who is less than 18 years old. > > > > child in care means a child or young person who is less than 18 years old— > > > > > (a) who is under the parental responsibility of the Minister administering the [Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1998-157), or > > > > > (b) for whom the Secretary of the Department of Family and Community Services or a designated agency has the care responsibility under section 49 of the [Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1998-157), or > > > > > (c) who is a protected person within the meaning of section 135A of the [Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1998-157), or > > > > > (d) who is the subject of an out-of-home care arrangement under the [Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1998-157) or the [Children’s Guardian Act 2019](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2019-025), or > > > > > (d1) who is in specialised substitute residential care within the meaning of the [Children’s Guardian Act 2019](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2019-025), or > > > > > (e) who is the subject of a sole parental responsibility order under section 149 of the [Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1998-157), or > > > > > (f) who is otherwise in the care of a service provider. > > > > parental responsibility, in relation to a child or young person, means all the duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that, by law, parents have in relation to their children. > > > > person in the relevant group—see section 24A. > > > > service provider has the same meaning as it has in the [Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1993-002). > > > > specialist disability accommodation means premises— > > > > > (a) enrolled under the [National Disability Insurance Scheme (Specialist Disability Accommodation) Rules 2020](http://www.legislation.gov.au/) of the Commonwealth, section 26, and > > > > > (b) that is, or is a type of premises, prescribed by the regulations to be specialist disability accommodation, and > > > > > (c) that is not, or is not a type of premises, prescribed by the regulations to not be specialist disability accommodation. > > **s 24:** Am 2009 No 41, Sch 3.4 \[1\]; 2012 No 74, Sch 3.4 \[1\]–\[3\]; 2014 No 41, Sch 5.4 \[1\] \[2\]; 2015 No 58, Sch 3.26 \[2\]; 2019 No 7, Sch 1.2 \[1\] \[2\]; 2019 No 25, Sch 5.14\[2\]; 2022 No 33, Sch 2.3; 2022 No 35, Sch 2.3\[1\]–\[3\].