Coroners Court of Victoria

Coroners Court of Victoria
Established1 November 2009 (2009-11-01)
JurisdictionVictoria, Australia
  • (cause of death of a person
  • causes of fires)
LocationMelbourne
Composition methodExecutive selection
Authorised byGovernor of Victoria
Type of tribunalInquisitorial
Websitecoronerscourt.vic.gov.au
State Coroner
CurrentlyJudge Liberty Sanger OAM
Since2025

The Coroners Court of Victoria is an inquisitorial court located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[1] Its role involves the investigation of reportable deaths and fires that have occurred within the state of Victoria for the purpose of promoting public health and safety.[1] "Coroners Court" is the generic name given to the statutory authority that conducts proceedings in which a Coroner holds an inquest in Victoria.

The State Coroner, since September 2025, is Judge Liberty Sanger OAM, who succeeded Judge John Cain.[2]

Jurisdiction

Coroners have jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause of death of a person. When a serious criminal offence has been disclosed during the course of an inquest, the Coroner may adjourn the proceedings until the criminal proceedings are concluded.

Coroners may also hold inquests concerning the cause of any fire in Victoria, unlike their English counterparts.

Generally there are no appeals from the decision of a coroner, although there is provision for the Supreme Court of Victoria to order an inquest or to grant prerogative relief in respect of the proceedings.

The State Coroner may also in some circumstances order the re-opening of an inquest.

History

The office of coroner in Victoria derives from the legal framework inherited from the United Kingdom. The first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip, was a coroner by virtue of his commission as governor.[3] The governor's commission entitled him to appoint coroners for the Colony of New South Wales, and this was most likely to have been to justices of the peace. Until the District of Port Phillip became the Colony of Victoria and separated from New South Wales in 1851, coroners would have been appointed under the authority of the New South Wales law.

The first coroner of Melbourne and the county of Bourke was Dr William Byam Wilmot MD. He was appointed in 1841 by the then Superintendent of Port Phillip, but later Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Victoria, Charles La Trobe. The second city coroner, appointed in 1857, was Dr Richard Youl MD, while the third city coroner, appointed at the death of Youl in 1897, was Mr Samuel Curtis Candler.

Following reviews of coronial services in the 1970s and the proclamation of the Coroners Act 1985, the State Coroner's Office was established in 1986.[4] The first temporary morgue in Melbourne was erected on the corner of Flinders Street and Swanston Street in 1871, while the first permanent coroner's courthouse was constructed alongside the Yarra River in 1888.[5] The courthouse building was demolished in 1959. The Coroners Court of Victoria, as it is today, was established on 1 November 2009.[6] It is located in the State Coronial Services Centre alongside the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria.

Structure and jurisdiction

The Governor of Victoria may appoint a State Coroner for Victoria.[7] The State Coroner has the function to oversee and co-ordinate coronial services in Victoria, ensure that all deaths, suspected deaths and fires concerning which a coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest are properly investigated, ensuring that an inquest is held whenever it is required, and to issue guidelines to coroners to assist them in the exercise or performance of their functions.

The Governor may also appoint Deputy State Coroners. Deputy State Coroners may exercise any of the functions of the State Coroner delegated by the State Coroner to them. Both must be either a County Court of Victoria judge, a magistrate, or a lawyer.

The Governor may also appoint Coroners. The Governor may also appoint a magistrate as a coroner. Unlike in other Australian states, all magistrates in Victoria do not automatically become coroners by virtue of their appointment as a magistrate.[8]

State Coroners

The following individuals have been appointed to serve as State Coroners, or precedent titles:

OrderNameTitleTerm beganTerm endedTime in officeNotes
M1Dr William WilmotMelbourne City Coroner1841185715–16 years[9]
M2Dr Richard Youl1857189739–40 years
M3Dr Samuel Curtis Candler1897190810–11 years
M4Dr Robert Hodgson Cole1908192314–15 years
M5Daniel Berriman192319273–4 years
M6David Grant192719357–8 years
M7Arthur Tingate193619458–9 years
M8Herbert Wade194719470 years
M9James Burke194719557–8 years
(M8)Herbert Wade195619570–1 years
M10James Duggan195619581–2 years
M11Harry William Pascoe1958197920–21 years
M12Kevin Mason197919822–3 years
M13Anthony Ellis198319862–3 years
M14Harold (Hal.) Hallenstein1986June 19867–8 years
1State Coroner of
Victoria		June 1986August 1994[10]
2Graeme JohnstoneAugust 199429 November 200712–13 years[11]
3Jennifer Coate29 November 200730 October 20124 years, 336 days[12][13]
4Ian Gray29 November 201216 December 20153 years, 17 days[14][15]
5Sara Hinchey17 December 20151 December 20193 years, 349 days[16][17]
6John Cain2 December 201931 August 20255 years, 272 days[18]
7Liberty Sanger OAM29 September 2025incumbent334 days[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Coroners Act 2008 (Vic), Part 1, S. 1.
  2. 1 2 Allan, Jacinta (18 August 2025). "New State Coroner Appointed" (Press release). Government of Victoria. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Coroners and Morgue". Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  4. ↑ "State Coroner's Office". Public Record Office Victoria. Victorian Government. n.d. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Trabsky, Marc (2015). "The Custodian of Memories: Coroner Architecture in Nineteenth-Century Melbourne". Griffith Law Review. 24 (2): 199–220. doi:10.1080/10383441.2015.1051209. S2CID 146280711.
  6. ↑ "Legislation | Coroners Court of Victoria". www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  7. ↑ Coroners Act 1985, Part 2, S. 6(1).
  8. ↑ Coroners Act 1985, Part 2, S. 8.
  9. ↑ Cooke, Simon (July 2008). "Coroners". eMelbourne.net.au. School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  10. ↑ McDonald, Jacqui (9 August 1994). "Coroner's departure no surprise to enemies" (Abstract). The Age. p. 4. Retrieved 5 May 2026 – via Gale.com.
  11. ↑ Kumar, Robert; Spooner, Heather; Alsop, Clive (20 December 2012). "Coroner strove to save lives". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "'Thoughtful' judge to be state coroner". The Age. 27 November 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  13. ↑ "New Victorian coroner a Monash graduate". Monash Memo. 12 December 2007. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008.
  14. ↑ Levy, Megan (2 October 2012). "Ian Gray appointed new State Coroner". The Age. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  15. ↑ Thompson, Angus; Doherty, Elissa (16 December 2015). "Retiring Coroner Ian Gray says Victorian Coroners Court should be more transparent". Herald Sun. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "About Judge Sara Hinchey". trufflehound.com.au. 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Victoria's chief coroner Sara Hinchey quits after being cleared of taking alcohol from workplace". ABC News. Australia. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  18. ↑ Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria, Department of Justice and Community Safety. "Coronial Council of Victoria". www.justice.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
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