Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street DX SX10088 | Wellington T 04 918 8800 | F 04 918 8820 www.justice.govt.nz
27/06/2022
Maura Thompson Chief Executive General Practice New Zealand Email: admin@gpnz.org.nz
Tēnā koe Ms Thompson Medical reports requested under section 40 of the Coroners Act 2006 I am writing to update you on the Ministry of Justice’s (the Ministry’s) work to implement payments to doctors for completing medical reports requested by a coroner under section 40 of the Coroners Act 2006 (s 40 reports). As you will be aware from the Ministry’s letter to you of 24 May 2022, the Coroners (Doctors Fees) Regulations 2022 (the Regulations) are due to come into force on 1 July 2022. The Regulations 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 (DHBs) and other doctors already paid by a public service agency to write s 40 reports as part of their duties. I can confirm that operational information about s 40 reports is now publicly available on the Coronial Services website here https://coronialservices.justice.govt.nz/section-40-coroners-act2006-payments/ Payment for providing a s 40 report is available for reports requested by a coroner on or after 1 July 2022. Please let me know if you require any further information. Nāku noa, nā
Jacquelyn Shannon Group Manager, Courts and Tribunals, Regional Service Delivery