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Disclaimer / Limitations
This country’s legal measures were reviewed by our legal staff in consultation with in-country lawyers and/or CRVS legal experts. All efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the legal analysis, however, if you consider there to be any discrepancies or if there have been changes in the law of the country since our staff last updated the legal analysis, we welcome any additional information or insights. Please contact us via this form.
Cause of Death
Papua New Guinea
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Papua New Guinea
Cause of Death
Medical Certification
Medical Certification
Compulsory Certification
Does the law require a cause of death (CoD) to register a death?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Ideally, every death will have a cause of death (COD) medically certified by a trained physician. However, in circumstances where a medically certified cause of death (MCCD) is not available, the death should be registered without COD information. Cause of death should never be determined by a non-medical professional.
In some countries, an MCCD is a precondition for registering a death. In countries where there are not sufficient health professionals adequately trained in completing a MCCD, and in countries where many deaths occur at home, this can lead to low death registration rates. Policymakers should carefully consider whether an MCCD or COD is required to register a death, or if evidence of the fact of death alone may be submitted to the registrar.
Under Section 58 of the Civil and Identity Registration Act, where a death occurs in Papua New Guinea and in a health facility or where remains were brought to a health facility, or where the deceased was medically attended within three months of the death, the head of the health facility or medical attendant is required to issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) and transmit it to the Registrar General.
The Registrar General is required by Section 59 to record the cause of death in the death register, on receipt of the MCCD. If the cause of death is not determined, the Registrar-General must record that fact in the Register as part of the information about the death.
In terms of Section 58(7)-(8) of the Civil and Identity Registration Act, if no MCCD has been provided, the Registrar-General must register the death without an MCCD or follow any directions in the regulations (not yet issued as of January 2026) regarding determination of cause of death. The absence of cause of death information does not prevent registration of death.
Where a death is referred to a coroner for investigation, the coroner must provide the MCCD to the Registrar-General. Under Section 14 of the Coroners Act, the coroner may direct a medical practitioner to make a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person to determine the cause of death. In terms of Section 8(2) of the Coroners Act, when a coroner is satisfied that a medical practitioner knows the immediate cause of death, whether as the result of a post-mortem examination or otherwise, he may consent to that medical practitioner forwarding a medical certificate or post-mortem certificate of the cause of death to the Registrar-General.
Does the law clearly state who is responsible for medically certifying cause of death, for natural deaths occurring in a health facility?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The law should state what person is responsible for certifying cause of death. The certifier may vary, based on the circumstances of the death. For natural deaths that occur in health facilities, the head of the health facility should be required by law to ensure a death is medically certified. Ideally, the certifier of the cause of death should be the physician or surgeon who attended the decedent during their terminal illness, although in countries that lack a sufficient number of medical doctors to staff health facilities, a nurse or other health professional may be trained to certify cause of death.
Where a death occurred in a health facility or where the remains were brought to a health facility, the head of the health facility must provide a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) to the Registrar-General.
Does the law designate a certifier of cause of death, for natural deaths occurring under medical supervision but outside a health facility?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For a home-based death due to natural causes, a certifier may include a doctor, nurse, or other trained health professional who attended the deceased during that person’s illness.
If a death takes place outside a health facility and the deceased was attended to by a medical attendant within three months prior to death, the medical attendant must provide an MCCD to the Registrar-General.
Does the law clearly state who is responsible for medically certifying cause of death when deaths are unnatural or suspicious, or otherwise referred to the MLDI authority?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Deaths due to unnatural causes (such as accident, self-harm or violence); man-made or natural disasters; suspicious causes, or where CoD cannot be determined by the attending physician should be referred to the Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) authority for medical certification of cause of death. The certifier of cause of death should be the forensic physician working with the MLDI authority who conducted the post-mortem examination on the deceased.
Where a death is referred to the coroner for investigation, Section 58(3)-(4) of the Civil and Identity Registration Act requires the coroner to provide the MCCD to the Registrar-General.
Under Section 14 of the Coroners Act, the coroner may direct a medical practitioner to make a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person to determine the cause of death. In terms of section 8(2) of the Coroners Act, when a coroner is satisfied that a medical practitioner knows the immediate cause of death, whether as the result of a post-mortem examination or otherwise, he may consent to that medical practitioner forwarding a medical certificate or post-mortem certificate of the cause of death to the Registrar-General.
Does the law provide a form to certify cause of death? If yes, does the form accord with WHO Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Form?
Yes the law provides a form for certifying cause of death that does not accord with WHO Standard MCCD Form
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The WHO international form of Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (WHO MCCD) is the recommended form for recording information regarding cause of death for certification of all deaths, including stillbirths and unnatural or suspicious deaths. There may be modifications to the form including addition of biographical information of the deceased in an administrative section. Countries may also modify the Manner of Death section in Frame B as appropriate for their context; however, the form should always include Frame B, including a manner of death section.
The regulations and forms in force as of January 2026 are contained in the Civil Registration Regulation 1967 issued under the Civil Registration Act 1963, which has been repealed by the Civil and Identity Registration Act 2024. These regulations remain in force insofar as they are consistent with the new legislation until new regulations are enacted. They contain a form for medical certification of cause of death (Form 16 – “Medical Certificate of Death”). This form requires the following cause of death information: (1) Approximate interval between onset and death (2) Disease or condition directly leading to death (3) Antecedent Causes (4) Morbid conditions (if any) giving rise to the above cause, stating the underlying condition last and (5) Other significant conditions contributing to the death, but not related to the disease or condition causing it. It does not require the manner of death to be stated. This form thus does not accord with WHO standard MCCD form.
In practice, it is reported that the WHO standard MCCD form has been introduced into all hospitals in Papua New Guinea. After this form is completed, it is transferred to the National Department of Health for Coding in accordance with the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD).
Is the same form used for all types of deaths, including natural deaths and deaths referred to MLDI?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
It is recommended practice to use the same MCCD form which should be WHO MCCD compliant) for all types of deaths, including natural and unnatural deaths (and fetal deaths).
The regulations and forms in force as of January 2026 are contained in the Civil Registration Regulation 1967 issued under the Civil Registration Act 1963, which has been repealed by the Civil and Identity Registration Act 2024. These regulations remain in force insofar as they are consistent with the new legislation until new regulations are enacted. They contain a single form for medical certification of cause of death (Form 16 – “Medical Certificate of Death”).
