AGY-4602 | Division of Forensic Medicine [Department of Health]

Full description

The Division of Forensic Medicine was established in November 1961 as a specialist Division within the Department of Public Health. The Division had previously been the Government Medical Officers Branch, a general purpose branch. (1)

The Division moved into premises on Parramatta Road opposite Sydney University in 1971. In addition to the functions of the former Government Medical Officers Branch, the Division of Forensic Medicine also undertook work in forensic histology and forensic haematology, which had previously been conducted largely by the Microbiological Laboratories. (2)

In 1971, the Division of Forensic Medicine was responsible for the following functions in the areas of Forensic Pathology and Forensic Biology:

A) Forensic Pathology:
i) performed autopsies upon all bodies coming under the jurisdiction of the City Coroner;
ii) worked in close co-operation with the metropolitan police force and was available to visit scenes of crime when requested;
iii) undertakes the medical investigation of aircraft fatalities within a thirty-mile radius of Sydney on behalf of the Department of Civil Aviation and the Royal Australian Air Force;
iv) undertook post-graduate training and demonstrations in forensic matters to interested medical practitioners;
v) providing advice and assistance to country coroners and medical practitioners throughout the state.

B) Forensic Biology:
i) provides biological services in the investigation of crime by the examination of material submitted by the New South Wales Police Force throughout the State, and by the Police Forces of the Australian Capital Territory, Territories of Papua New Guinea, and from the Australian Armed Forces. (3)

The Division of Forensic Medicine previously undertook the examination of criminal assault for the Police Department but this function was transferred in 1970 to the Police medical officer. (4) In 1971, the Division of Forensic Medicine was one of the Scientific Services’ units of the Department of Public Health. (5) The Division was headed by a Director and consisted of professional and laboratory staff, morgue assistants and office staff. (6)

On 24 August 1971, the Division of Forensic Medicine moved into new premises at 42-50 Parramatta Road, Glebe, sharing the building with the coroner’s courts. (7) In 1973, the Division of Forensic Medicine was part of the Bureau of Environmental and Special Health Services. (8)

Female Assistants in Forensic Medicine were appointed for the first time in January 1979. The Division of Forensic Medicine’s Forensic Biology Laboratory was to undertake a new service from 1 July 1979 concerned with disputed paternity blood grouping under the Children (Equality of Status) Act 1976. (9)

In the 1989-90 financial year, the Division of Forensic Medicine worked closely with the State Emergency Service and NSW Police to handle five mass-casualty disasters. During the year, the Division developed closer ties with teaching hospitals, government laboratories and educational institutions. The Division also employed two new counsellors for grieving relatives. (10)

By 1991, the Division of Forensic Medicine ceased operating as the Division of Forensic Medicine and became the Institute of Forensic Medicine. (11) 

Endnotes
1. Annual Report of the Director-General of Public Health, 1961, p.25; Cummins, C.J. A History of Medical Administration in NSW 1788-1973, 2nd edn, NSW Department of Health, 2003, pp.96 and 170.
2. ibid., p170.
3. Annual Report of the Director General of Public Health for 1971, pp.230-231, in Parliamentary Papers 1972-73, vol.4.
4. loc. cit.
5. Annual Report of the Director General of Public Health for 1971, p.4, in Parliamentary Papers 1972-73, vol.4.
6. Annual Report of the Director General of Public Health for 1971, p.230, in the Parliamentary Papers 1972-73, vol.4.
7. Annual Report of the Director General of Public Health for 1971, p.230, in the Parliamentary Papers 1972-73, vol.4.
8. Report of the Health Commission of NSW for the year ended 30 June 1973, p.91, in NSW Parliamentary Papers1973-74, vol.2, p.153.
9. Annual Report of the Health Commission of NSW for the year ended June 1979, p26, in the Parliamentary Papers 1979-80, vol.5.
10. Annual Report of the NSW Department of Health, 1989-1990, p.25.
11. Central Sydney Area Health Service Annual Report, 1995/1996, p.19; Central Sydney Area Health Service, Annual Report, 1996/1997, p.24; Independent Commission against Corruption Website http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/files/html/pub2_49i.htm#P227_27278 Report on the Investigation into the Glebe Morgue, 1998, Chapter 1 – Summary (cited 13 August 2008).