The half-brother of Gore toddler Lachie Jones has engaged a lawyer at the eleventh-hour, delaying the delivery of inquest findings into the boy's death

Police found the three-year-old drowned in an oxidation pond near his home in 2019, but his father's always believed he was murdered.

Coroner Alexander Ho was expected to deliver his findings in Invercargill on Friday, but has abandoned the date.

Ho says the delay relates to police announcing further investigative work regarding an allegation made during the inquest, against the toddler's half-brother Jonathan Scott.

Scott's appointed a lawyer, and requested an extension.