Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (1985 - )

For the first decade of its existence, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) was known as the Victorian Institute of Forensic Pathology (VIFP).

It was created by the Coroners Act 1985 and was the Monash University Department of Forensic Medicine. It started operating as an institute in 1988 following its formal affiliation with the University of Melbourne on 1 January and the opening of the Coronial Service Centre in Kavanagh St near Southbank on July 26 the same year.

The system of coronial services established in Victoria in the mid-1980s was a radical departure from the previous fragmented system. It provided a model of innovation and efficiency, bringing together various parties involved in forensic medicine in Victoria.

It aimed to promote the teaching and supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate students and encourage research by them and collaborative research with university staff.

Events

1988	Opening of the Coronial Services Centre incorporating a molecular haematology laboratory, the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria and a 24 hour forensic odontology service.
1988	Formal affiliation of the VIFP with the University of Melbourne.
1989	Institute assumed responsibility for coronial toxicology in Victoria and established a library.
1990	VIFP hosted International Forensic Pathology Symposium in conjunction with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and the World Association of Societies of Pathology.
1990	"Elements of Forensic Medicine" course established.
1991	Establishment of a 24 hour forensic anthropology service.
1992	A new protocol developed to ensure a scientific officer attends all sudden infant death (SIDS) scenes within a three hour radius of Melbourne.
1992	Consultative Committee on Road Traffic Fatalities established to evaluate the emergency and clinical management of Victorian road traffic fatalities.
1995	Launch of skin banking.
1995	Amendments to the Coroners Act 1985 sees a change of name to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine plus responsibility for provision of clinical forensic medicine services to Victoria Police and the Department of Human Services.
1996	Satellite bone banking program commenced at the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria, part of the VIFM.
1996	Monash University National Centre for Coronial Information (MUNCCI) formed to develop and manage the National Coroners Information System, the world's first national database of coronial information.
1998	VIFM Quality Strategy developed, incorporating the Australian Quality Council Business Excellence Framework into the quality management system.
1998	Graduate Diploma in Forensic Medicine program established, the first program of its kind in Australasia and the second in the world. The program was fully subscribed in its first year, atracting students from Australia and Indonesia.
2001	VIFM hosted the 7th triennial INPALMS Congress. The Indo Pacific Congress on Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences is a multi-disciplinary conference that brings together practitioners from the police, medicine, science and the law.

Affiliate

• Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne (1991 - )