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Annual Report 2007-08 VICTORIAN INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC MEDICINE VICTORIAN INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC MEDICINE ANNUAL REPORT 2007-08 CELEBRATING 20 YEARS AT THE CORONIAL SERVICES CENTRE VIFM PEOPLE ANNUAL REPORT 2007-08 Poster Design: Caroline Rosenberg, VIFM PEOPLE_20_Years.indd 1 28/7/08 4:06:54 PM CONTENTS Vision, Mission, Values 1 Financial Statements Who we are 2 Operating Statement 49 Chairperson’s Report 4 Balance Sheet 50 Director’s Report 5 Statement of Changes in Equity 51 Corporate governance 7 Cash Flow Statement 52 Council and Committee Members 8 Notes to the Financial Statements 53 Organisational Structure 12 Accountable Officer’s Declaration 78 Diversity reporting 15 Disclosure Index 79 Operational Reporting to Government, Auditor’s Report 81 Budget Paper 3 16 Appendices Financial Performance 17 Appendix A. Publications 83 Disclosure of major contracts 18 Appensix B. Conference Abstracts 85 Operational Reporting 19 Appendix C. Presentations 87 Section 64(2) (a) 19 Appendix D. Research 89 Section 64(2)(b) 24 Appendix E. Committees 91 Section 64(2)(c) 25 Appendix F. Staff Listing 93 Section 64(2)(d) 26 Section 64(2)(e) 28 Section 64(2)(f) 30 Section 64(2)(g) 32 Section 64(2)(h) 33 Section 64(2)(i) 34 Section 66(3) 35 Service Improvements 36 Human Resource Management 40 Occupational Health & Environment Safety 45 Social Club and Green Team 46 Statuatory Reporting 47 Risk Management Attestation 48 REPORT OF OperationS AccountAble officer’s declArAtion In accordance with Financial Management Act 1994, I am pleased to present the Report of Operations for the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine for the year ending 30 June 2008. VISION, MISSION, VALUES OUR VISION OUR CORE VALUES We will be recognised for excellence in Respect what we do. We respect all people, our history, our calling and the law. OUR MISSION Openness Underpinned by ethical principles our purpose is to: We are open-minded. Open to each other, and open to knowledge and • Provide independent forensic medical learning. services to the Victorian public and justice system, Service • Contribute more broadly to the health We provide services for the community, and safety of communities in Australia which are dedicated, responsive and and overseas, client focused. • Increase knowledge through teaching Integrity and research, and We will be beyond reproach. We • Enable the provision of high quality commit to truth, confidentiality, human tissue grafts for transplantation. impartiality and accountability. We commit to systems that are secure, OUR PEOPLE AND CAPABILITY reliable, accurate, valid and safe. Our greatest and most valued asset Innovation is our highly skilled and committed We are creative and curious. We are workforce. Delivering on the not afraid to do things differently. We expectations of this strategic plan is fully will continue our search for knowledge dependent on the contribution of each and truth. individual member of our staff. VIFM has a diverse workforce. We currently employ around 70 staff. Positioning VIFM to meet the challenge of attracting and retaining a skilled workforce in today’s competitive market requires us to be innovative. We must attract, develop and retain employees of the highest quality and provide a working and learning environment that will enable employees to maximise their contribution to the achievement of VIFM’s goals. VIFM recognises the importance of the contribution of the Institute’s people and the consequent obligation to provide a safe, supportive and stimulating work environment for all its employees which values, recognises and rewards effort appropriately. Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine Annual Report WHO WE ARE The Victorian Institute of Forensic the Council to assist in the proper • To provide reports to coroners about Medicine (“Institute”) is a body functioning of the Institute; the medical causes of deaths and the corporate established under Part 9 findings and results of investigations • To conduct research in the fields of of the Victorian Coroners Act 1985 and examinations; forensic pathology, forensic science, operating under the auspices of the clinical forensic medicine and Section 66 () Department of Justice and reporting to associated fields as approved by the Parliament through the Attorney-General. • The Institute also has a function Council; We are also the Department of Forensic to ensure the provision of clinical Medicine at Monash University, with • To provide, promote and assist in the forensic medical services to our Director, Professor Stephen Cordner, provision of clinical forensic medicine the police force of Victoria and holding the Chair of Forensic Medicine. and related services to the police government bodies in accordance force of Victoria and government with agreements for services between The work of the Institute can be bodies; those bodies and the Institute. described as a cycle of three parts: • To promote, provide and assist in Section 66 (3) • Providing forensic medical & scientific under-graduate and post-graduate services and tissue banking; • The Institute also has a function to instruction in the field of clinical investigate, assess and instigate • Learning from this work, undertaking forensic medicine in Victoria; appropriate responses in respect of— research; and • To promote, provide and assist in the - The health or safety of a living • Teaching. teaching of and training in clinical sibling of a deceased child; and forensic medicine within medical, These roles are detailed in the legal, general health and other - The health of a parent of a objectives of the Institute in Part 9 of the education programs; and deceased child— where the Coroners Act 1985. death of that child constitutes a • To provide tissue banking facilities reviewable death. OUR LEGISLATION and services. Section 66 (4) We work in accordance with Section 66 of the Coroners Act 1985 predominantly two pieces of legislation: provides that the functions of the Institute The Institute also has a function to The Coroners Act 1985 and the Human are: remove, recieve, process, store and supply human tissue from deceased and Tissue Act 1982. Section 64() of the Section 66 () Coroners Act 1985 provides that the living persons. • To provide facilities and staff for the objects of the Institute are: In addition, The Human Tissue Act conduct of examinations in relation to 1982 regulates the donation of human • To provide, promote and assist in the deaths investigated under this Act; provision of forensic pathology and tissue by living persons and after death. related services in Victoria and, as • To conduct chemical, microscopic, It provides authority for post-mortem far as practicable, oversee and co- serological, toxicological and other examinations, prohibits the trading in ordinate those services in Victoria; examinations of tissue and fluids taken human tissue and gives a definition from deceased persons coming under of death. • To promote, provide and assist in the the jurisdiction of coroners in Victoria; post-graduate instruction and training of trainee specialist pathologists in the • To identify by radiological or OUR HISTORY field of forensic pathology in Victoria; odontological examination or other The Victorian Institute of Forensic means the remains of deceased Pathology (VIFP) was established as a • To promote, provide and assist in the persons whose deaths are being statutory authority in 987 to provide post-graduate instruction and training investigated under this Act; independent expertise and forensic of persons qualified in biological medical services to the justice system. A sciences in the field of toxicological • To conduct other appropriate history of national debate surrounding and forensic science in Victoria; investigations or examinations in relation to the cause of death of any compromised evidence in coronial and • To provide training facilities for person; forensic cases and the absolute need for doctors, medical undergraduates independence and high quality forensic and such other persons as may • To properly document and record scientific evidence were at the forefront be considered appropriate by findings and results of investigations of its establishment. The VIFP role and examinations; Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine Annual Report and function was therefore enshrined specialist medical, scientific, technical, in legislation as a policy response research and administrative fields. to address the substandard forensic Positioning the Institute to meet the services, mortuary and autopsy facilities challenge of attracting, developing and that existed at the time. retaining a skilled workforce in today’s To provide credible evidence and competitive market requires us to be independent expert opinion through innovative. We must provide a working academic interaction, teaching and environment that will enable employees research, it was important to establish to maximise their contribution to the the VIFP as a dual entity with Monash achievement of the Institute’s goals. University. The cycle of service, teaching The Institute recognises the importance and research is what underpins our of the contribution of the Institute’s ability to continue to make contributions people and the consequent obligation to justice, the community and the to provide a safe, supportive and families we serve. stimulating work environment for all its In 995 the Institute amalgamated with employees which values, recognises the professional discipline of Clinical and rewards effort appropriately. Forensic
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