All deaths in Victoria are registered with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Usually, death registration is done by the funeral director. A medical practitioner is responsible for recording the Medical Certificate relating to cause of death. The CVDL obtains Victorian Deaths Index (VDI) data from the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages under a Memorandum of Understanding.

The available data items include: Date of birth of deceased, date of death, age at death, cause of death, sex of deceased, number of siblings, marital status at death, number and age of children, last residence of deceased. Note that the cause of death data is not coded to ICD-10, and where this is required for the research purposes, the National Cause of Death Unit Record File is the preferred source.

The Register includes all deaths that occur in Victoria. The following deaths are registered in Victoria:

- deaths in the state of Victoria (all);
- deaths where a court directs registration of the death in Victoria (all);
- deaths on aircraft/ships en route to Victoria (may be refused registration if registrable under other laws);
- perinatal deaths (ie where the child has breathed without assistance prior to death);
- deaths overseas where the deceased either was a Victorian resident and/or owned property in Victoria (voluntary).

The following deaths are NOT registered in Victoria:
- stillbirths (ie where the child did not breathe without assistance prior to death);
- deaths in Victorians which occur elsewhere in Australia. Stillbirths or deaths in utero that occur after 20 weeks gestation or at greater than 400 grams are recorded in the Births and Deaths Register

Up to 6 week lag

Administrative. The Victorian Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages keep a permanent record of all deaths that occur in Victoria.

Victorian state data

The Victorian Death Index is established under the authority of Births, Death and Marriages Registration Act 1996 and the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Regulation 2019.

Other relevant legislation that govern or inform the Registry's operation include: Privacy & Data Protection Act 2014 (VIC)