Coroner blames increased complexity for drop in number of inquests
The number of inquests in Queensland has plunged over the past decade, with the stateās coroner blaming resources shortages and increased complexity of cases for the result.
State Coroner Terry Ryan said the courtās case backlog has increased over the past financial year to 14.8 per cent, with more than half the number awaiting criminal proceedings or being the subject of an inquest.
Ryan said the Covid-19 pandemic had also affected the work of the court, with a jump in the number of health care-related deaths or deaths where doctors were not in a position to issue a death certificate.
āAny consideration of the backlog must take into account that the number of deaths reported to the court has continued to increase,ā he wrote in the courtās annual report, tabled in state parliament.
āThe number of deaths reported in 2021-22 (6044) was 27 per cent higher than in 2012-13 (4762).ā
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āHowever, the number of judicial officers allocated to the court has not increased at the same rate. The number of full-time coroners has not increased since the appointment of the Central Coroner in August 2012.ā
His report follows a damning report into the failures of the stateās DNA laboratory which have case doubt over hundreds of rape and murder cases.
Ryan said the drop in the number of inquests āreflects the reduced capacity of coroners to undertake more detailed work as they respond to increasing numbers of complex casesā.
While he was grateful for the extra staff and resources the court did receive, he called for the introduction of of ābenchmarking exerciseā that would compare the demands being put on the Queensland Coroners Court with courts interstate.
This would help develop a āmore sustainable resourcing model for the courtā, he wrote.
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