Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (1985 - )

Summary

The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) is a statutory body under the Government of Victoria, established under the Coroners Act of 1985 and in succession to the Coronial services Centre (which comprised the coroner's court and the Victorian Institute of Forensic Pathology). VIFM's statutory objects and functions are set out in the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine Act of 1985. This Act also established the Chair of Forensic Medicine at Monash University. In 1989 the Donor Tissue Bank Victoria was instituted as part of the Institute. Objects of the Institute relate to the provision of forensic pathology and related services in Victoria, including reports and expert advice to courts, Victoria Police, legal and medical practitioners, and public and private agencies; the medico-legal examination of victims of crime and alleged perpetrators; services in the investigation of a death reported to the coroner; management of the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria, including the provision of safe tissue to Australian surgeons for transplantation; conducting research in the fields of forensic pathology, medicine and science; and undergraduate and postgraduate training in forensic pathology. The Institute operates under a Council comprising the Institution's Director, medical and forensic experts, the State Coroner, and nominees from relevant Government departments and those of the Chief Justice, the University of Melbourne and Monash University.

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