In 2002 the South Australian Coroner made recommendations from Inquests into deaths from petrol sniffing on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. In 2005 the South Australian Coroner made additional recommendations following inquests into a number of further deaths involving petrol sniffing on the Lands, noting the lack of ‘prompt, forthright, properly planned, properly funded action’ by government on his 2002 recommendations. A series of amendments to the APY Land Rights Act (1981) followed. This paper explores links between the Coronial Inquests into petrol sniffing and subsequent amendments to the APY Land Rights legislation. The paper provides the basis for a critical policy analysis of the relevance of these legislative amendments to issues of government service provision raised by the Coroner.