Forensic document examination: where to from here?

In late 2022, the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency National Institute of Forensic Science (ANZPAA NIFS) Document Specialist Advisory Group (DocSAG) began a capability mapping project with the broad aim to consider, in the Australian and New Zealand context, forensic document examination: where are we now, and where to from here? Our capability mapping project is based largely on the approach used for the 2022 Forensic Capability Mapping – Firearm Examination Project, led by ANZPAA NIFS. A survey was developed and disseminated to capture information addressing key topics: current and emerging risks, improvement areas, current and future capability, and business continuity. This paper outlines the project process and summarizes key findings of the first round of data collection.