What is an Interested Party at a Coronial Inquest

If someone who is close to you has died under such circumstances that it will be examined at a coronial inquest or you are an organization, employer or individual who may be implicated in how that death occurred, then in that case to be able to actively participate in the inquest rather than simply watching it from the sidelines can matter enormously.  

Whether police or other agencies are moving towards attributing blame in a particular direction, to be able to put your perspective properly before the coroner is often extremely crucial. But the level of participation is not automatic. You have to be recognised as an interested party to appear and be heard at an inquest.  

The Legal Basis for Interested Party Status  

Under section 56 of the Coroners Act 2008 (Vic), a coroner may grant a person leave to appear as an interested party at an inquest if it is satisfied on two fronts: 

• That the person has a sufficient interest in the inquest 

• That it is appropriate for that person to be an interested party 

Both limbs of this test need to be met, meeting one without the other is not enough. 

Also, this decision rests entirely with the coroner. There is no automatic entitlement to interested party status simply by the virtue of a relationship with the deceased or involvement in the circumstances surrounding the death. It must be actively sought and granted. Simply stated, it means that completing an application for leave to appear as an interested party and submitting it directly to the Coroners Court, rather than assuming your connection to the matter will be recognised on its own.  

What counts as “Sufficient Interest”? 

“Sufficient Interest” has not been defined in the Act itself, which gives coroners flexibility in how they apply it. In practice, several categories of relationship or connection are commonly recognised as satisfying this requirement, including: 

1. A person closely related to the deceased; 
2. The employer of a person who died in the course of their employment; 
3. Anyone who may have caused or contributed to the death; and 
4. Anyone who might reasonably anticipate the coroner making a finding adverse to their interests.  

This list is not exhaustive, coroners retain discretion to recognise sufficient interest in other circumstances too, provided the connection is genuine rather than trivial or contrived.  

What Makes Participation “Appropriate”? 

The second limb of the test is appropriateness and similarly has not been defined in the Act and is usually assessed on a case-by-case basis. Relevant considerations include whether the person has competent legal representation and what role they are seeking to play in the inquest. A coroner weighing this question is essentially asking whether allowing this particular person to participate, in a particular way will genuinely assist in the inquest process, rather than complicate or derail it.  

What Interested Party Status Actually Allows You to Do 

Being recognised as an interested party carries real, practical rights. An interested party can do the following things: 

1. Access the inquest brief prepared by police, this is a critical resource for understanding and potentially anticipating whether criminal charges might follow later or not; 
2. Appear at the inquest and be represented by a lawyer, including having that lawyer examine or cross-examine witnesses and make submissions on the interested party’s behalf; 
3. Make submissions to the coroner about who should be called as a witness, while the final decision on which witnesses are called remains the coroner’s, an interested party’s submissions on this point can genuinely shape the scope of the inquest; 
4. Be notified when the coroner is ready to deliver findings, so that the process doesn’t conclude without proper notice to those who have been actively involved; and  
5. Receive the same legal protection as a party to proceedings in the Supreme Court while participating in the inquest.  

Access to the police brief in particular is often one of the most valuable practicable benefits of interested party status. For a person or organization concerned about potential future criminal exposure arising from the same circumstances, seeing the evidence police have already gathered can be genuinely important in understanding where the investigation is heading towards. 

Appeal Rights 

An interested party may appeal a coroner’s findings on a death or fire, following an inquest, to the Trial Division of the Supreme Court under section 83 of the Act. This right is not unlimited, though, and it is important to understand its real scope. Under section 87, an appeal under this Part must be brought on a question of law, meaning it is not an opportunity to simply re-argue the facts or challenge a coroner’s assessment of the evidence because you disagree with it.  

As the Supreme Court confirmed in Spencer v Coroners Court of Victoria (2024) VSC 757, an appellant has to establish that the coroner misapplied the law, not merely that they would have reached a different conclusion on the same evidence. That being said, “question of law” is given a specific extended meaning here, it also includes a finding that is so contrary to the evidence and the weight of the evidence that no reasonable coroner could have made it.  

Why Getting This Right Matters 

Since interested party status has to be actively sought and it is not automatically granted, also because it opens up meaningful rights like access to evidence, the ability to test witnesses and a voice in shaping the inquest itself, anyone who has a genuine stake in how an inquest unfolds should turn their mind to this question early. Waiting until later in the process to seek recognition can mean missing opportunities to shape witness lists and review evidence or otherwise influence how the inquest proceeds.

If you are interested in learning more about coronial, read on:

• Coronial Inquests and the Coroner’s Court
• The purpose of the coronial inquest at the Coroner’s Court
• Answering questions at a Coronial Hearing