A coronial inquest is a public court hearing examining the cause and circumstances of a person's death. The Coroner may require individuals, businesses and government agencies to give evidence or produce documents.
Our expertise in inquests and coronial investigations includes (but is not limited to)
- Coronial inquests
- Deaths in custody
- Workplace and institutional inquiries
- Representation for families and agencies
We represent individuals, families and organisations involved in coronial investigations and inquests. We help families seeking answers, and also represent professionals or agencies under scrutiny, ensuring your evidence is properly presented, protecting against self-incrimination, and ensuring procedural fairness throughout.
An inquest is not a trial
The Coroner is not determining guilt and cannot convict anyone. The purpose is to establish what happened and why, and to make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths.
But the process is not consequence-free, and it is a mistake to treat it as though it were.
Findings can be critical of individuals and organisations by name. Evidence given at an inquest can inform later criminal or civil proceedings. The hearings are public and reported. And for anyone whose professional conduct is under examination, the reputational stakes are substantial regardless of what the Coroner ultimately finds.
Why inquests matter so much in the Territory
The Northern Territory holds proportionally more inquests than anywhere else in Australia, and coronial findings here have repeatedly driven significant public debate, particularly in relation to deaths in custody, deaths in remote communities, and deaths involving government agencies.
An NT inquest is frequently a matter of substantial public and media interest. That is an additional dimension that participants need to be prepared for, and it is one we can help you navigate.
If you are a family member
Families are at the centre of an inquest and frequently feel furthest from it.
The process is long. It usually begins with a police investigation on the Coroner's behalf and can take a year or more to reach a hearing. During that time families are often given very little information.
Being represented means someone is reading the brief, asking for material that has not been provided, putting questions to witnesses that matter to you, and making submissions about the findings and recommendations you want the Coroner to make.
It also means someone else carries the procedural weight at a time when you should not have to.
If you are a witness or your conduct is being examined
If you have been asked to provide a statement or produce documents, get advice before you respond. What you provide becomes evidence, and it can be used in other proceedings.
If there is any prospect that your conduct will be the subject of adverse comment, you should be represented. There are protections available and rules about how adverse findings can be made, including a requirement that you be given the opportunity to respond, but those protections are only useful if someone invokes them on your behalf.
If you are an organisation
Businesses and government agencies frequently have obligations to produce documents and provide witnesses, and often face potential criticism of their systems, training or supervision.
We assist with responding to requests for documents, preparing witnesses, coordinating evidence and making submissions.
What we do
We represent individuals, families and organisations throughout coronial investigations and inquests, prepare witnesses, assist with documentary evidence, and provide clear written and oral submissions to the Coroner.
We approach this work knowing that for a family, an inquest is not a legal process. It is the last formal account anyone will give of how someone they loved died.