About

Aims

The Academy’s formal aims and objectives include the following:

  • To encourage the study, improve the practice and advance the knowledge of forensic sciences, and to establish and maintain a research body for this purpose;
  • To hold meetings and to publish such materials as is calculated to further the objects of the Academy; and
  • Generally to do all such things as may be calculated to widen, improve and develop the education and knowledge both of these actively concerned in the pursuits of the forensic sciences and of the public.

Activities

The activities of the Academy include:

  • The conduct of regular scientific meetings at which the members of the Academy are addressed by other members or by invited experts upon topics relevant to the forensic sciences;
  • The convening of national and international conferences to which are invited overseas experts on aspects of the forensic sciences and upon whose contributions commentaries are offered by members of the Academy and other Australian experts;
  • The conduct of the business of the Council of the Academy which is empowered to admit new members;
  • Liaison with other professional bodies including Medico-Legal Societies established in Australia;
  • Occasional presentation of submissions to governments and governmental bodies on questions relevant to the forensic sciences;
  • The publication of the Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences, the first edition of which was published in September 1968; and
  • The regular award of scholarships and grants to promote study in matters relevant to the forensic sciences.

In the past, topics at Academy plenary lectures have included:

  • CCTV Images as Evidence.
  • The Shipman Murder case.
  • How Judges Make Decisions.
  • The Forensic Response to the Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria.
  • A New Era in Crime Scene Investigation.
  • Current Issues in the Assessment & Treatment of Paedophiles.
  • Counter Terrorism in NSW.
  • Suspect Identities: US Response to Fingerprint Identification Evidence.
  • The Witness was a Fly.
  • Reflections of a (Re)tired DPP.