DNA / Paternity Testing Services - Families

Our DNA Testing laboratory is part of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM).  We have been in existence since 1989  and have extensive experience in the field of forensic DNA technologies and DNA profiling.  We  provide a wide range of forensic medical and scientific services including Paternity Testing for the general public. 

Occasionally, families are asked to provide a DNA sample to help in the identification of a family member.  This will normally happen if the deceased is unable to be identified visually. 

DNA testing of a deceased family member may also be necessary to prove paternity in cases involving Transport Accident Commission claims, Births, Deaths and Marriages registrations and immigration matters. 

We are a small laboratory consisting of four staff members; a manager, a senior scientist and two scientists.  We also take in honours students and PhD students at various times. 

Our laboratory is fully accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), Australia.

You can download our Paternity Testing Application Forms here.

	DNA Paternity Testing		Who is the father? A DNA testing service to determine who the father is of a particular child. We do testing for the general public, child support cases, TAC cases, immigration matters and for any other situation that requires it.
	Sibling Testing		Are we siblings? A test to determine if two people have the same parents.
	Twins Testing		Are they/we identical twins? A test to determine the likelihood of twins being monozygotic (identical) or dizygotic (non-identical).
	Deceased Individuals		We can assist is obtaining samples from deceased individuals to be used in any of our testing services mentioned above.
	Pre-natal Paternity Testing		It is possible to obtain a sample from an unborn child for the purpose of paternity testing before the child is born.
	Identification of Human Remains		Our main role at the VIFM is the identification of bodies that come through the mortuary who can not be visually identified by their family.
	Immigration Matters		DNA testing for use in immigration matters can help to determine family relationships
	Ethical Issues		DNA paternity testing often creates ethical issues for those doing the testing. This page discusses some of those issues and our response to them.
	Contact Us		Contact details for the Molecular Biology Laboratory