The certificate of a medical officer is required to confirm that the person is dead and to determine the cause of death. The medical officer is preferably the person who had most recently been attending the person before death.
In New South Wales law, a person is considered to be dead if there is:
"(a) irreversible cessation of all function of the person's brain, or
(b) irreversible cessation of circulation of blood in the person's body."
In practical terms, this means that the heart has stopped beating for a prolonged period or in the case of a person on life support, brain death has occurred.
If the certifying doctor cannot determine a cause of death, if the death is suspicious, or in some other circumstances, the death must be referred to the Coroner. In this case the police must be notified, and they will organise transport of the body to the nearest forensic morgue.
Copyright © Australian Museum, 2008
