See also
Death of a child
Additional notes: Coronial report
Additional notes: Completing a death certificate
Resources
Local guidelines and policies
RCH Clinical Guidelines (Nursing) : Death of a Child (rch.org.au)
Coroner’s Court
Coroners Court of Victoria: detailed information for medical practitioners and families
Health professionals information guide
How to report a death
Reportable deaths
Reviewable deaths
Completing a death certificate
Victorian Registry of Births, Death and Marriages (BDM)
Registration
Login
Help with cause of death
Find your Ahpra details
Cremation
Autopsy
Better Health Vic: Autopsy
Coroner’s court: Forensic process information
Tissue / Organ donation
DonateLife Victoria: On-call Donation Specialist Coordinator. 1300 DLV VIC (1300 358 842)
Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria 03 9684 4444
Corneal Donation
Tissue donation (RCH)
Bereavement
Palliative Care Victoria
RCH Bereavement
Additional notes
This information must be used in conjunction with the main guideline for Death of a child which provides a more detailed overview of all the procedures involved
Coronial report
Coronial vs non-coronial
This flowchart outlines the steps involved when considering whether a death needs to be reported to or reviewed by the coroner in Victoria
*If in doubt about whether a death is reportable or reviewable, call the coroner’s office to discuss the case
Other resources:
Death of a child, Coronial vs non-coronial
Medical deposition
A medical deposition is an online form that is required for deaths that are being reported to or reviewed by the Coroner in the state of Victoria
You will need the following information to complete this document:
- Identification details of the deceased
- Identification details of the certifying doctor
- Where the death occurred
- Admission diagnosis
- Medical details
- Possible causes of death
Completing a death certificate
Do NOT complete a death certificate if the death is reportable to the coroner
Victorian Death Certificates should now be completed online through the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM)
- Paper or individual electronic forms may be obtained from the registry and can be used if the online system is unavailable.
Registration
- Registration is required to complete death certificates
- It can take some days for the account to be activated
- If a clinician is not already registered at the time of death, then it is likely that another doctor who knows the patient and cause of death will need to complete the death certificate
- Register here:
Medical practitioners | Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria, you will need scanned identification documents (ie driver’s licence, passport) and
your AHPRA number
Completing a death certificate online
Login at
https://partners.rio.bdm.vic.gov.au/login
Do NOT complete a death certificate for a Coroner’s Case
Information required for completion of certificate:
- Epidemiological information about the child and your relationship to them
- Cause of death
- State the medical condition or injury that lead to the child’s death
- State any additional factors leading to the child’s death
- DO NOT state the means of death, ie respiratory failure/cardiac arrest
- Parents’ names
- Sibling information* (include legally adopted siblings and half-siblings)
- Full name
- Date of birth / death
- Place of birth / death
* include information if available
- Funeral director information (if available)
- Name of funeral company
- Name of contact person (funeral director)
- Address of funeral company
- Phone number of funeral company
The online death certificate does not require a signature, it is electronically signed on submission
Additional information for completing death certificates and the online service:
Help with cause of death, Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria
Print out two copies once the certificate has been submitted electronically
- One copy for EMR
- One copy for funeral directors
A printed copy of the death certificate may be offered to the family, but this is not a legal document. BDM will send the verified legal death certificate to the family when it has been processed (this often takes months)