The Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety has introduced new requirements for providers of daily independent living supports to report deaths of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) residents to the Victorian Coroners Court or Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine where they have reasonable grounds to believe that the death has not already been reported.  

The new Coroners Amendment Regulations 2022 [PDF] require all deaths of SDA participants residing in SDA-enrolled dwellings to be reported, including where the person has died of natural causes. There is a sanction of 20 penalty units for non-compliance with the reporting obligation.  

Upon notification of the death, the Court will take possession of the body of the deceased participant for investigative purposes.  

Providers can report a death by contacting the Coronial Admissions and Enquiries (CA&E) team from the Coroners Court on 1300 309 519. CA&E are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

The regulations are designed to ensure that the deaths of certain people with disability that were reportable to the Coroners Court of Victoria prior to the NDIS are once again reportable.  

NDS provided feedback on drafts of these regulations based on consultation with the sector. We have consistently raised concerns about the potential negative impact on grieving families and other tenants, the administrative burden associated with reporting, and the duplicative nature of the requirements where reports are already made to the NDIS Commission. 

NDS is pleased that the Department of Justice and Community Safety has committed to developing an information sharing arrangement between the NDIS Commission, NDIA and the Coroners Court with the aim of significantly reducing the reporting burden of these regulations for support providers.