❓ Hon Adele Farina asks about the backlog of cases in the Coroner's Court, including waiting times, reasons for delays, and actions being taken to address the issue. The Attorney General provides data on open cases, waiting times, and efforts to reduce the backlog.
AnsweredQoN 4026Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) How many cases are currently with the Coroner's Court awaiting processing? (2) Of the cases with the Coroner's Court, how many have been waiting: (a) less than six months; (b) between six and twelve months; (c) between 12 and 18 months; (d) between 18 and 24 months; and (e) more than 24 months? (3) For cases waiting longer than 12 months: (a) how many are awaiting reports from external agencies; (b) in relation to (a), what is the longest case time and what is the reason for the delay in the external agency providing its report; (c) in relation to (a), what is the average report time for each of the following external agencies: (i) Western Australia Police; (ii) PathWest; (iii) ChemCentre; (iv) WorkSafe; and (v) individual medical practitioners; (d) how many are inquest cases; (e) how many are awaiting judicial review and determination; and (f) how many are suspected suicides? (4) What is being done to address the backlog of cases in the Coroner's Court?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
21 June 2016
Response time
77 days
(1) 2,184 open coronial cases State-wide.
(2) (a) 984 (b) 823 (c) 160 (d) 64 (e) 153
(3) (a) 302 (b) 2002 cold case (skeletal remains) pending DNA analysis. (c) (i) 6 weeks to 18 months (ii) 2 weeks to 18 months (iii) 2 weeks to 8 months (iv) Up to 3 years (v) 1 month to 18 months (d) 107 (e) 34 (f) 73
(4) Ongoing follow-up with external agencies regarding reports pending, in particular Western Australia Police. The State Coroner continues to concentrate on listing the oldest outstanding Inquest cases.
NOTE 1.The figures above represent the total number of all open coronial cases from 1 January 2000 to 31 March 2016. 2. The above data has been sourced from the National Coroner’s Information System.
(2) (a) 984 (b) 823 (c) 160 (d) 64 (e) 153
(3) (a) 302 (b) 2002 cold case (skeletal remains) pending DNA analysis. (c) (i) 6 weeks to 18 months (ii) 2 weeks to 18 months (iii) 2 weeks to 8 months (iv) Up to 3 years (v) 1 month to 18 months (d) 107 (e) 34 (f) 73
(4) Ongoing follow-up with external agencies regarding reports pending, in particular Western Australia Police. The State Coroner continues to concentrate on listing the oldest outstanding Inquest cases.
NOTE 1.The figures above represent the total number of all open coronial cases from 1 January 2000 to 31 March 2016. 2. The above data has been sourced from the National Coroner’s Information System.
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