Plenary Lectures
2012
Challenges of Forensic Evidence: Observations from a New DPP
John Champion SC – Director of Public Prosecutions
Commentary by Karl Kent OAM – Director Forensic Services, Victorian Police
2015
A Kings Bones Under a Carpark? Evaluating the Genetic and other Evidence
Professor David Balding, Schools of BioSciences and Mathematics & Statistics University of Melbourne
Current Issues in Forensic Medicine
Noel Woodford Director, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine
Science and Medicine in the Courtroom; A Defence Barrister’s Perspective
Robert Richter QC
Reflections on Law and Forensic Science
The Hon. Frank Vincent AO QC
2016
The Motherisk review: Outcomes of a review of a Canadian laboratory that led to miscarriages of justice.
Olaf Drummer, Deputy Director (Academic Programs), Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine
Findings of the Expert Evidence and Criminal Jury Trials Project. Dr Jacqueline Horan
Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Law School
Plenary Presentation
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton
Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative (BoHII) at RMIT
Mr John Walsh, Ms Vanessa Tipping and Dr Michelle Ruyters
2017
Youth Crime and Violence
Prof. James Ogloff
The Pathology of Torture
Prof. Michael Pollanen
Preventing Miscarriages of Justice: the Reliability of Forensic Evidence and the Role of the Trial Judge as Gatekeeper
The Hon. Justice Chris Maxwell AC, President, Victorian Court of Appeal
The causation in asbestos cases
Neill Murdoch QC
2018
Error Management Issues and Activities in Australia and New Zealand and the Role of the National Institute of Forensic Science
Dr Linzi Wilson-Wilde
Indistinct covert recordings: Reforms needed to ensure fairness in their use as evidence in criminal courts
Dr Helen Fraser
Pleasant Island – Criminal Charges arising from the destruction of the Regional Processing Centre on Nauru in 2013
Darren Bracken, coroner of the Coroners Court of Victoria and President of the Medico-Legal Society of Victoria,
The new era in forensic DNA analysis: DNA Intelligence
Dr Runa Daniel and Nathan Scudder
2019
The transnational exchange of DNA profiles in Europe as a model for other countries
Dr Jan De Kinder, Chief of the Office of the Chief Forensic Scientist, Victoria Police
Technology in Criminal Trials
John Cain, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions, Angela Rankin, Deputy Solicitor for Public Prosecutions, Lara Soulio, Audio Visual Officer, Office of Public Prosecutions
How should forensic science opinions be presented? The empirical evidence for communication and comprehension of scientific evidence.
Dr. Kaye Ballantyne, Senior Research & Development Officer within the Office of the Chief Forensic Scientist at Victoria Police Forensic Services Department
Summit: In Australia the jury decides: assessing the reliability and validity of expert evidence
The keeper of the keys – The Post Sentence Authority
Michele Williams QC, Chair of the Victorian Post Sentence Authority
2020
Living with COVID-19: The new normal (a Medico-Legal Society webinar with the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences
Prof. Stephen Kent and Peter Doherty, Institute for Infection and Immunity, Prof. Brett Sutton, Chief Health Officer of Victoria, Prof. Felicity Gerry QC, Victorian Bar and Deakin University, Chaired by Dr Antonio Grossi
Outcomes of the Summit: In Australia the jury decides: assessing the reliability and validity of expert evidence (video and live Q&A)
The Hon. John Champion, Chair Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences (Victorian Chapter), Dean Catoggio, Peter Chadwick QC, Prof. Stephen Cordner, Dr Rebecca Kogios, Michele Williams QC, Prof. Noel Woodford, Eva Bruenisholz, Anna Davey
Plenary Presentation
Judge John Cain, State Coroner for Victoria
2021
Consideration when scientists speak to the courts: improving communications between scientists and courts
Prof Christophe Champod, Forensic School, Lausanne University, Switzerland and Dr Kristy Martire, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, University of New South Wales.
Forensic evidence in Victoria – observations on a decade of positive developments
The Hon John R Champion SC
2022
Issues and Developments in the Investigation of Missing Persons and Unidentified Human Remains: An Update from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM)
Dr Dadna Hartman, Dr Soren Blau,
The Sexual Harm Epidemic: What Are The Law Reform Options?
The Honourable Anthony M. North QC
2024
The Impact of Drugs in Road Trauma – The Role of Forensic Toxicology
Adj Assoc Professor Dimitri Gerostamoulos, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University. Head of Forensic Science & Chief Toxicologist at the VIFM.