News

VIC Branch News

A quick update about all things Victoria branch over the first half of the year. We started the year strong with two seminars from the Ballistics discipline with Angus Newton’s ‘Forensic Insights into the Christchurch Shooting’ and Sergeant Gerrard Dutton’s ‘Murder, Mayhem and Mirth’ at the Victoria Police Museum. There has been an extended period between the last and next event, the committee has been spending a lot of time planning. We are also always on the lookout for speakers too, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have something you would like to present, suggest an idea or provide a lead our way. You only need to provide the lead and the committee will do the rest!

Upcoming Events:

• 25th July 2024 – Dr Lyndall Smythe – The Dental Detective – VIFM (details and booking in your email)
• September/October 2024 – Victoria Branch AGM – Dr Adam Crawley, Racing Analytical – Venue TBA
• 21st November 2024 – National AGM – Mini Symposia – RACV Club, Melbourne.

National AGM:

A request for abstracts for the National AGM will go out in the near future for students and early career practitioners to be provided with the opportunity to present short symposia format presentations. The committee has been busy with planning activities for the upcoming events, the national AGM and of course Melbourne 2025. Efforts have been put into automating the various scholarship forms offered by the branch to a simple online form that offers a streamlined application for both members inputting their applications and the committee reviewing them.

Local Committee Update:

Joel Smith has resigned from the local committee; I want to thank Joel for his input into the committee over the years and wish Joel all the best for future. If anyone has a desire to jump on board please get in touch.

Executive Committee Update:

As of this AGM, President Elect Alison Sears will become President of the society and Professor James Curran will become the Immediate Past President, this also means Professor Adrian Linacre will step down as Immediate Past President. There will also be a call for nominations for most of the executive positions since this is the second year of their tenure.

ANZFSS Melbourne 2025 Update:

Given a later start to planning, the organising committee has really been working tirelessly to keep the planning on track. I want to thank all those involved, given all these activities occur on top of their full-time jobs, family and other commitments. A venue and local organiser were procured and the website along with the sponsorship prospectus is now live, this has kicked off many conversations around sponsorship opportunities. The committee is looking to finalise these talks so that registration fees can be released early in the new financial year. Holding a conference in Melbourne is expensive, so the organising committee is working to minimise costs whilst still providing the same fantastic experience accustomed with an ANZFSS conference. The committee is now also working on the scientific and social programming. Further details and timelines can be found on the conference website https://anzfss2025.com/ , if members have any ideas for the conference, program or questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch via the conference contact links. I also encourage members to chat with your suppliers and partners about the conference and the opportunity it provides them for exposure to the whole forensic community and direct them to the partnership opportunities available through the conference website or Victoria Branch email.

Scholarships:

Applications for the Bryan Found Scholarship and the David Grace Scholarship will go live in the second half of the year, further details about the awards can be found on the ANZFSS website. Symposium Scholarships will go live through the ANZFSS executive and be passed down to the branches after national scholarships.

Membership Renewals:

It is that time of year again and membership renewals need to be processed. I encourage you all to login to your account and check your membership renewal status as majority end at the end of the financial year and you will only be on the mailing list for a short period after.