Grieving families will get more support as part of a suite of reforms to the coronial process in NSW.
Coroners will have new powers to appoint an appropriate person to represent families during the corneal process, as part of reforms that have passed through the NSW parliament.
The reform gives corners more flexibility and discretion to appoint a ‘senior next of kin’, which was once only limited to a small group of potential people related to the deceased, an executor or legal representatives.
The changes follow recommendations from the Statutory Review of the Coroners Act 2009, as well as advocacy from Kylie Bailey and Nicole Barry, whose personal experiences moved them to petition for the option to allow an alternative statutory appointee where a default person is deemed inappropriate.