Forensic Document Services Pty Ltd was founded in response to Paul Westwood’s view that there was a need for forensic document examination services to be available more broadly than just in the government sector. Paul, a former Director of the Document Examination Sections of the Commonwealth Police, Australian Federal Police and the Australian Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, opened the first laboratory of Forensic Document Services Pty Ltd in Canberra in 1984.
FDS undertakes forensic examinations to establish the validity of documents and to identify evidence of tampering or handling of documents and other items. They pride themselves on their long standing professional reputation, their independence and impartiality.
Their three key capabilities are: forensic document examination, forensic handwriting examination (which includes signatures), and fingerprint detection and analysis.
Their work is often used as evidence in court so they ensure appropriate forensic standards and quality assurance are met and that chain of custody is maintained. They are often Court appointed as experts and engaged jointly by multiple parties in matters
Their clients are usually:
FDS provides services throughout Australia and internationally, particularly in Asia, and has some forensic instrumentation in Singapore and Hong Kong for those instances where the items cannot be sent to the full service laboratories in Australia.
FDS also conducts one and two day practical and theoretical workshops for certain clients, providing an in-depth appreciation of the work of forensic document examiners and touching on fingerprint detection and analysis, as well as tailored workshops designed to the requirements of the client. They have been running workshops of this nature for approximately 20 years.
