State & territory specific · information, not advice. Reportable-death rules are set by each jurisdiction’s Coroners Act and change over time. This page orients you to the common circumstances; your legal obligation is governed by the Act in your state or territory and your own clinical judgement. Verified against the eight Coroners Acts and official coroner sources (2026).
Reportable deaths & the death certificate
Is this a death you can certify, or one you must report to the coroner? A clinician quick reference for Australia — covering the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) and when the coroner must be notified instead.
Sources: ABS Cause of Death Certification guide (latest release). Coroners Act 2009 (NSW) ss 6, 38; Coroners Act 2008 (Vic) ss 4, 10; Coroners Act 2003 (Qld) ss 8, 26; Coroners Act 1996 (WA) s 3; Coroners Act 2003 (SA) s 3; Coroners Act 1995 (Tas) s 3; Coroners Act 1997 (ACT) s 13; Coroners Act 1993 (NT). Official coroner sources linked above. Verified 2026. This page is a clinical reference aid — information, not legal, clinical or billing advice. Reporting obligations differ between jurisdictions and may change; your obligation is governed by the Act in your jurisdiction. Confirm with your coroner’s office and your medical defence organisation.
The rule, across every jurisdiction: you must not complete the MCCD if the death is reportable to the coroner. If the death is not reportable and you can form an opinion on the natural cause, you should complete the MCCD. If in doubt, do not certify — call the coroner’s office to discuss.
Three different things people call “the death certificate”
1. Verification of death (life extinct). Confirming that the person has died. Depending on the setting and jurisdiction this may be done by a registered nurse or paramedic, not only a doctor. It is not the same as stating the cause.
2. Certification of the cause of death (the MCCD). The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death completed by a doctor who can form an opinion on the cause. This is the document this page is about. It must not be completed for a reportable death.
3. The death certificate (the legal document). Issued by the state or territory Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages — based on the MCCD, or on the coroner’s findings. The doctor does not issue this; the registry does.
No Medicare item, no fee for the certificate. Completing the death certificate (MCCD) or a cremation certificate is not a Medicare-billable service — no benefit is payable for issuing the certificate (MBS Book, July 2026). It is completed as part of the doctor’s duty of care. A genuine attendance on the patient may still be billable in its own right, but the certificate itself is not.
How to complete the MCCD — structure & common errors
Part I is the causal sequence leading to death. Line (a) is the disease or condition directly leading to death; lines (b), (c) and (d) are antecedent causes, stating the underlying cause last. There is also a fifth line (e) in every state except Victoria. Record the approximate interval from onset to death for each.
Part II is for other significant conditions that contributed to death but were not part of the direct sequence in Part I.
Common errors that delay or bounce a certificate: using a mode of dying alone (e.g. “cardiac arrest”, “respiratory arrest”), or non-specific terms (“old age”, “organ failure”, “multiple injuries”) without an underlying cause; leaving the sequence out of order; or omitting the underlying condition. For deaths involving an injury or accident, state the circumstances — but remember those deaths are usually reportable and the MCCD should not be completed.
Source: ABS Cause of Death Certification guide (latest release). It covers MCCD completion only and does not determine coroner-reporting obligations.
Your jurisdiction — Coroners Act & official coroner contact
Two nuances worth noting: in Victoria and South Australia, a death from lawfully administered Voluntary Assisted Dying is not reportable. NSW has a limited exception allowing certification of an age-attributable accidental death in a person aged 72 or older (s 38(2)). Confirm with the coroner before relying on either.
When in doubt, confirm before you act. For any uncertainty — especially reportable, health-care-related, or “can I certify this?” situations — contact your state or territory coroner’s office (the binding authority) and your medical defence organisation (Avant, MDA National, MIPS, MIGA, etc.) before acting. Death certification carries real medico-legal weight, and the coroner’s staff would far rather take a call than receive a wrongly completed certificate.
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