The Coroners Court of Victoria is an inquisitorial court located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Coroners Act 2008 (Vic), Part 1, S. 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. "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 , who succeeded Judge John Cain.
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. 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. 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. The courthouse building was demolished in 1959. The Coroners Court of Victoria, as it is today, was established on 1 November 2009. 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.Coroners Act 1985, Part 2, S. 6(1). 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.Coroners Act 1985, Part 2, S. 8.
State Coroners The following individuals have been appointed to serve as State Coroners, or precedent titles:
Order Name Title Term began Term ended Time in office Notes Melbourne City Coroner 1841 1857 years Dr Richard Youl 1857 1897 years Dr Samuel Curtis Candler 1897 1908 years Dr Robert Hodgson Cole 1908 1923 years Daniel Berriman 1923 1927 years David Grant 1927 1935 years Arthur Tingate 1936 1945 years Herbert Wade 1947 1947 years James Burke 1947 1955 years () Herbert Wade 1956 1957 years James Duggan 1956 1958 years Harry William Pascoe 1958 1979 years Kevin Mason 1979 1982 years Anthony Ellis 1983 1986 years Harold (Hal.) Hallenstein 1986 June 1986 years State Coroner ofVictoria June 1986 August 1994 Graeme Johnstone August 1994 years Jennifer Coate Ian Gray Sara Hinchey John Cain Liberty Sanger incumbent
See also List of coroners courts in Australia
References
External links Official Coroners Court of Victoria website
Coroners Act 2008 (Vic)