Fatal facts

Only cases where coronial recommendations have been made and with a Coroner closed date in the NCIS within the relevant period are included in Fatal facts. Fatal facts contains cases closed by an Australian coroner from 2013. 

Fatal facts is based on information available in the NCIS at the time of reporting. Fatal facts is distinct from the secure NCIS database which requires authorisation to access. Fatal facts contents are publicly available through the tool and do not require a user login. Not all cases in the NCIS have a corresponding Fatal facts summary. 

Fatal facts case summaries are produced by the NCIS Unit. Best efforts have been made to accurately summarise the circumstances, findings and recommendations made by the coroner in each case. Despite this, it should be noted that they are not exact replications of coronial findings. 

Cases included in Fatal facts have received coronial approval from the relevant State or Chief Coroner for publication. 

New Zealand coronial recommendations (External link) are published by Coronial Services of New Zealand and are not included in Fatal facts. 

What changes have been made as part of the Fatal facts upgrade? 

Upgrades were made in December 2022 to improve the tool’s functionality and user experience. See system updates for further information. 

Why can’t I see the upgrades to Fatal facts? 

Cached items may be impacting your browser. Ensure you have cleared your browser history and cache, and refresh the page. 

Why can’t I see Fatal facts editions on the webpage? 

Up until March 2022, we published consolidated quarterly editions of Fatal facts summaries as a PDF report due to searching limitations in the tool. The December 2022 upgrade delivered additional search functionality to allow users to search by edition period. As a result, consolidated quarterly PDF reports are no longer produced. 

How do I search Fatal facts? 

See our how-to guide for instructions on searching Fatal facts above. 

How do I download case summaries from Fatal facts? 

Click the Case summary PDF icon to view the summary. Select Print and choose the print to PDF function in printer settings. 

Why can’t I find the case I’m looking for? 

Only cases where coronial recommendations have been made and with a Coroner closed date in the NCIS within the relevant period are included in Fatal facts. Fatal facts contains cases closed by an Australian coroner from 2013. 

Cases are added to the tool regularly by the NCIS Unit. Cases of interest may become available in future editions. See Scope and limitations for further information. 

Can I obtain more information about a case? 

Authorised NCIS users may access further case details by selecting the Access case link in the Fatal facts results screen or using the Jump to function in NCIS to look up the NCIS number. Case availability is dependent upon user access levels. 

No further case details are available to other Fatal facts users.