Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (SMR010509)
What Is It?
The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (SMR010509) is the NSW form used by a medical practitioner to notify the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages of a person’s death and its cause.
It is the medical practitioner’s certification of the cause of death. It is different from the Verification of Death, which records the clinical assessment that establishes that the person has died.
Who Completes It?
Only a medical practitioner can complete the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.
The medical practitioner responsible for the person’s medical care immediately before death, or who examines the body after death, must notify the Registrar within 48 hours of the death, provided the cause of death can be determined.
If the cause cannot be established, or the death is otherwise reportable to the Coroner, the medical practitioner must not complete the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and the matter must be referred to the Coroner.
What Happens Next?
The medical certificate provides the medical information needed for registration of the death. It is not the same as the death certificate that a family later obtains from NSW Births, Deaths & Marriages.
The NSW Health policy identifies SMR010509 as the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death form used within NSW public health organisations.