Forensic pathologists

Our forensic pathologists identify causes of death and reconstruct circumstances. These highly specialised positions have specific requirements to practice.

As a forensic pathologist at Forensic and Scientific Services (FSS) you'll focus on medico-legal investigations of sudden or unexpected death. You'll also identify causes of death and reconstructing the circumstances they occurred in.

A major part of the role involves performing autopsy investigations. You may also visit crime scenes and accidents, provide expert evidence, and testify in courts.

Qualification and registration requirements

To practice as a forensic pathologist in Queensland you must be a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA). You must also have a qualification as a medical practitioner .

If you're a current registrar or trainee we may consider you for a forensic pathology position if you're expecting to get either a:

• RCPA Fellowship
• post fellowship Diploma of Forensic Pathology.

If you're an intern and want to become a forensic pathologist, you'll need to:

• train as a specialist in pathology
• undertake 5 years specialist training in a registrar position to become a Fellow of RCPA.

Read about our Pathology training programs.

Opportunities

We advertise our forensic pathologist vacancies on SmartJobs and Seek. While we employ forensic pathologists, we don't employ coroners, the Department of Justice and Attorney-General employs them.

What duties you'll undertake

Working in an FSS role, you'll perform coronial autopsies, prepare reports for the Coroner and testify in court.

You'll also:

• attend death scenes to contribute to the investigation of the death
• aid in the identification and preservation and transportation of deceased persons and human remains
• actively participate in the coronial death investigation team with the State Coroner, police and other specialist agencies
• collaborate with other forensic units, for example Forensic Toxicology.

You'll also participate in on-call and duty rosters, supervise and train registrars and other forensic pathology trainees and participating in continuing education and research activities.

In addition, you'll:

• adhere to defined service quality standards, health and safety policies and procedures
• undertake clinical audits and quality assurance to review and evaluate test results
• contribute to the maintenance and development of autopsy and forensic technical procedures.

More information

You can find out about forensic pathology on the RCPA website.