title: The coronial system in Queensland: the effects of new legislation on decision-making.
abstract: The purpose of this article is to detail research completed in 2007 which investigated the way in which coroners made decisions in a death investigation, with a particular focus on their autopsy decision-making. The data were gathered during the first year of operation of a new Coroners Act in Queensland, Australia, which required a greater amount of information to be gathered at the scene by police, and this included a thorough investigation of the circumstances of the death, including statements from witnesses, friends and family, as well as evidence-gathering at the scene. This article addresses the outcomes of that increased information on coronial decision-making in three ways: first, whether or not the greater amount of information offered to coroners enabled them to be less reliant on full internal autopsies to establish cause of death; secondly whether certain factors were more influential in decision-making; and thirdly, whether the information gathered at the scene negates the need for full internal autopsies in many situations, irrespective of the decision-making by coroners.
authors.affiliation: School of Justice, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology. b.carpenter@qut.edu.au
authors.forename: Belinda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: Glenda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Adkins
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Naylor
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tait
authors.forename: Nelufa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Begum
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy; D003334:Coroners and Medical Examiners / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000458:organization & administration; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D011793:Queensland