Forensic services in Australia

Australia is comparable in size to the United States without Alaska, but two-thirds of the continent is desert or semidesert. The population of approximately 15 million is largely centered around major cities near the coastline. There is a federal system of government, and independent forensic services are based in the capital cities of each of the six states and two territories. The need to service both the densely populated urban areas as well as sparsely populated outback regions has created logistic problems. The forensic services in each state and territory have evolved independently and have resulted in a diversity of organizational forms. The organization of forensic services in Australia is described and contact addresses are provided.