Chief Coroner & coroners
Coroners are like judges. They are qualified lawyers appointed as judicial officers to look into unexpected, violent or suspicious deaths to find out what happened.
Coroners make comments or recommendations if something can be done to prevent similar deaths happening again. Coroners don’t hold trials. They don’t blame people or punish them.
Chief Coroner Judge Anna Tutton
Chief Coroner Judge Anna Tutton was appointed to the role in November 2022.
Deputy Chief Coroner Brigitte Windley
Deputy Chief Coroner Brigitte Windley was appointed to the role in July 2023.
Appointment of coroners
To be appointed as a coroner, a person must have held a practising certificate as a barrister and solicitor for at least 5 years.
Coroners are appointed under section 103 of the Coroners Act 2006. Other relevant provisions are in sections 104 to 114. The Governor-General makes the appointments on the advice of the Attorney General after consultation with the Minister of Justice.
There is a statutory cap of the equivalent of 22 permanent full-time coroners.
As vacancies come up, we will usually advertise a request for expressions of interest in relevant newspapers and legal publications.
We usually ask applicants to name at least 3 nominated referees who can vouch for the applicant’s character and the accuracy of the information they’ve supplied.
Applicants need to make a statutory declaration confirming they have no criminal convictions, disciplinary actions or unresolved complaints, and that they’re financially secure with no bankruptcy or related issues, and no other matter which might affect their credibility in office.
The key criteria at a practical level includes:
- an ability to self manage a busy workload under sustained pressure
- a demonstrated ability to write timely quality findings based on evidence
- a sound cultural awareness of the dynamics of modern New Zealand society.
There is no specific age criteria, but in general, people in good health in their 40s or 50s tend to be the main group from whom coroners are selected.
Ask for a coroner to be withdrawn from a case
Applications can be made to withdraw (recuse) a coroner or the Chief Coroner from a particular inquiry. An application in writing should be sent to the Office of the Chief Coroner setting out fully the grounds for the application.
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