Payments for medical reports requested under section 40 of the Coroners Act 2006

Payments for completing medical reports requested by a coroner under section 40 of the Coroners Act 2006 (s 40 reports) are to come into affect from 1 July.

The Coroners (Doctors Fees) Regulations 2022, due to come into force on 1 July, have the following key features: 

• fee rate – the fee payable is at a rate of $200 + GST per hour
• fee model – fees will be paid at an hourly rate, calculated on a pro rata basis rounded up to the nearest minute, up to a cap of four hours
• eligibility – payments will be made to doctors in private practice only. This excludes doctors employed by district health boards and other doctors already paid by a public service agency to write s 40 reports as part of their duties.

Operational information about Section 40 reports is now publicly available on the Coronial Services website.