• What is the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM)?
• Why do we collect personal information?
• What information is kept about your deceased relative and/or you?
• Your information is secure
• Accessing information held by the VIFM
• How to contact us
• Website

What is the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM)?

The VIFM is established under the Coroners Act 1985 and has a unique role to play in servicing Victoria's justice system.  Our main functions are to provide:

• forensic pathology services (the main service is performing autopsies to determine cause of death)
• clinical forensic medicine services
• related services (including teaching and research). 

The VIFM also incorporates the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria. 

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In carrying out our statutory duties, we handle personal information, including health information, about both deceased and living people:

• In the context of investigating deaths reported to the coroner;
• For use in civil and criminal court cases;
• In connection with undertaking DNA testing for private clients;
• In connection with approved research and teaching activities;
• In connection with tissue donation.

The Institute will not disclose personal information to third parties without the consent of the person concerned, unless required, authorised or permitted to do so by law or other regulation.  

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Depending on the reason for your involvement with the VIFM, we may have:

• name and contact details
• information collected by police about a death, injury or other incident
• medical or scientific information we produce or that we access from other doctors or agencies as part of investigating a death, injury or incident
• any additional information provided to us by you 

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At VIFM we handle personal information in an especially sensitive context and we are bound by strict confidentiality requirements.  All aspects of our work are privileged and subject to legal and medical confidentiality.  The confidentiality obligation extends to matters such as the identity of deceased persons whose deaths have been reported to the coroner, the nature and source of all material we receive for scientific analysis, and the nature and results of any testing conducted.  Access to personal information within the VIFM is confined to those with a legitimate need for the information in order to perform their duties.  Information is stored securely, both in paper records and electronically on our computer system.

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Information for coroner's investigations

The Coroners Act 1985 and regulations require records to be kept of all coronial investigations and describe how the records may be accessed.  These records will contain personal information about deceased persons and third parties such as family members or witnesses.  While an investigation or inquest is current, the information we hold at the VIFM is kept confidential, unless the coroner decides to grant access as part of the investigation.  It is important to know that once the investigation or inquest is completed, the coroner's record and file are open to public access unless the coroner orders otherwise. 

Other personal information

You have the right to access personal information which the Institute holds about you, subject to the requirements of the coronial system.  You can ask us to correct, update or amend information held about you.

If you believe we hold personal information about you or your deceased relative and you would like to access it, or you are seeking additional information about our information handling practices, please contact our Privacy Officer.

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If you have questions or complaints about the way we handle or use your personal information, or that of your deceased family member, please contact our Privacy Officer at

57-83 Kavanagh Street

Southbank 3006

Tel. 03 9684 4444

or via email at privacyofficer@vifm.org    

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You can access the Full Privacy Policy as a pdf document.

Further information about the Coroners Court and its privacy policy can be found at www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au