Our experts' activities
March 2023
John McGinn contributed his knowledge and expertise as a panellist to the discussion on FDE: Challenges for the Future at the world-wide FDE Linked virtual forum held over 24 hours from 31 March 2023. In addition, a presentation on Expert Witness Protocols and Reporting (A perspective from Australia) was delivered to the audience which number around 600 practitioners and interested parties from 61 different countries. A fantastic and insightful event.
November 2022
Our experts were pleased to deliver a session on the management and assessment of electronically submitted applications to staff in the university sector. The session, and associated discussions, was designed to provide practical concepts contributing to both fraud mitigation strategies and policy direction.
November 2022
Through the early part of November, two Document Assessment in the Workplace A Practical Approach workshops have been delivered to WA government agencies. These courses are designed to work through strategies around managing the submission of documents, developing a consistent approach and building skills and confidence in staff to deal with the documents they are exposed to during the application process.
For more information about the course we deliver, visit our Training Workshops page.
September 2022
A pleasure to deliver an Overview of Forensic Document Examination awareness session to undergraduate students from Murdoch University. As always, the opportunity to spend time with students is always highly enjoyable, and this session was no different with considerable interest shown, and challenging questions asked!
August 2022
Our Assessment of Electronically Submitted Documents workshop was delivered this month. We are again saw the attendance and participation of staff from a number of organisations responsible for processing skilled migrant applications on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, as well as various others with a requirement to evaluate documents in the workplace.
May 2022
Our John McGinn is honoured to have been awarded Life membership to the Australasian Society of Forensic Document Examiners Inc. (ASFDE Inc.) in recognition of his ongoing commitment to the development and modernisation of the Society.
The ASFDE Inc. has for decades provided a significant forum allowing for interaction by practitioners across Australia and New Zealand, both government and private, and is now expanding to include the valued input of international colleagues.
Modernisation of the Society required the commitment of many willing people, and it continues to evolve.
October 2021
As president of the ANZFSS (WA Branch), John McGinn has been heavily involved in the development of he Forensic Science Forum which was held on Friday 1 October 2021. A tremendous day of high quality oral and poster presentations, as well as a fantastic networking opportunity for our members.
Document Examination Solutions was proud to be a sponsor to this event.
September 2021
A pleasure to present an Overview of Forensic Document Examination to students completing the Murdoch University Bodies of Evidence (BIO315) unit. As always, great participation from the assembled group.
August 2021
Whilst delivering our Assessment of Electronically Submitted Documents this month, we had the privilege of spending three virtual days with participants from a number of organisations responsible for processing skilled migrant applications on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs.
Each attendee showed a clear commitment to the role they play, and fully embraced the information and concepts we discussed. Further of these courses are to be delivered in the near future.
July 2021
In addition to his continued involvement in Australia New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS) activities through his role as WA Branch President, our John McGinn has this month been recognised as a Professional Member (PM) of the Society.
June 2021
Following a recent equipment upgrade, we are pleased to support the ongoing development of students in the Curtin University Faculty of Science and Engineering through the donation of our Video Spectral Comparator (VSC5000). We hope this equipment provides opportunities to strengthen the knowledge and application of forensic science principles not only in the discipline of document examination, but in forensic science more broadly.
February 2021
Document Examinations Solutions continues to work with Forensic Foundations in the review and reporting of proficiency testing results. Multiple further tests are planned for 2021, so stay tuned.
The Forensic Foundations program received accreditation for their end-to-end proficiency test program, including in the area of document examination. Visit the Forensic Foundations website at www.forensicfoundations.com.au for more details, or to download a brochure.
August 2020
Thank you to the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE) for their excellent meeting, delivered virtually for the first time. Our ability to attend this meeting, having access to the content and workshops, has been well worthwhile. For more details about the ASQDE, visit the website at http://www.asqde.org/.
August 2020
2020 has been difficult for reasons that do not need to be explained; we are all adapting to some change. Document Examination Solutions continues to offer a full and comprehensive service, although we are limiting our face-to-face interactions to those occasions where they are absolutely necessary.
July 2020
To maintain our capabilities, Document Examination Solutions have upgraded their specialist equipment with the purchase of a Foster and Freeman VSC6000. We look forward to the value of this equipment being realised through our examinations.
July 2020
Document Examinations Solutions continues to work with Forensic Foundations in developing document examination proficiency tests, with the 2020 test about to be released. Good luck to those participating.
The Forensic Foundations program has recently received accreditation for their end-to-end proficiency test program, including document examination. Visit the Forensic Foundations website at www.forensicfoundations.com.au for more details, or to download a brochure.
November 2019
Our team attended the AGM of the Australia New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS) WA Branch. John McGinn is now President of the Branch for 2019 and will be looking forward to working with the newly-elected committee, and the broader membership, to develop relationships, skills and awareness in relation to the diverse range of work undertaken by the forensic community.
October 2019
Tonya Trubshoe has been contracted by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime to provide subject matter expertise and develop content for programs under construction. Contact Tonya at tonya@docexamsolutions.com.au for more details of her work with the UN.
May 2019
Working with Forensic Foundations, Document Examination Solutions have provided document examination subject matter expertise to the development, delivery and assessment of accredited proficiency tests. With the 2018 program almost complete, we look forward to a further challenge in 2019.
September 2018
Having been contracted by the Australian government (the Department of Home Affairs), Document Examination Solutions successfully developed and delivered the ASEAN Australia Advanced Document Examination Workshop to participants of ASEAN member states from 17 - 21 September 2018. This interactive workshop critically addressed the role of document examination in the border control context, and the development of training strategies.
Outcomes of the workshop have the potential to drive further activities.
September 2018
Tonya Trubshoe delivered a presentation on the topic UNODC Forensic Science Programme - Security Documents Examination to the Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Symposium.
Congratulations to Tonya, who was awarded the best oral presentation within the Education and Training stream of the overall programme for her delivery.
September 2018
The Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society Symposium will be held in Perth Western Australia from 9 - 13 September 2018. Tonya Trubshoe coordinated the document examination stream, with John McGinn chairing a portion of the programme.
For more details of the symposium, click here.
August 2018
In a busy month, arrangements have been finalised for Tonya Trubshoe to travel to Vienna Austria to meet with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to discuss document examination skill, training development and proficiency testing strategies.
August 2018
Document Examination Solutions have been contracted by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs to develop and deliver a multi-lateral workshop exploring document examination and training development strategies in a border environment. The workshop is to be delivered later in 2018. More to come.
May 2018
In his final year as President of the ASFDE Inc., John McGinn has chaired the 2018 technical meeting at the AFP premises in Canberra. The meeting was attended by a significant number of Australian government and private document examiners. Over four days, workshops on ink and paper examination, the examination of Chinese signatures, the casework application of WACOM digital signature capture technology and Human Factors in Handwriting Examinations were delivered by national and international presenters from the UK, Singapore and USA. A number of member presentations and plenary lectures were also received. It was an excellent and worthwhile program.
For more details of the ASFDE Inc., visit the website at www.asfdeinc.org.
April 2018
Listen to our John McGinn (in his capacity as President of the Australasian Society of Forensic Document Examiners Inc.) speaking with Sarah McDonald at ABC Nightlife. The topic: From scrolls to emails: The art of letter writing.
September 2017
Our thanks to Estrin Saul Lawyers for their invitation to provide a presentation on document examination to the Migration Institute Australia CPD seminar in Perth on 12 September 2017. For more details, or should you benefit from an awareness session on our discipline of forensic science, please contact us.
August 2017
Our Tonya Trubshoe has accepted an invitation from the Organising committee to be a member of the Scientific Subcommittee and act as the chair for the Document Examination stream of the Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society 24th Symposium on the Forensic Sciences, to be held in Perth, 9-13th September 2018.
For more details on the Symposium, click here.
August 2017
The month has started with an intensive three day program of training to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) in Canberra. The interactive program focussed on the assessment of electronically submitted documents.
It was excellent to work with an enthusiastic management and assessment team, committed to applying effective practices.
To discuss our programs relating to the assessment of electronically submitted documents, contact us on (08) 9313 4559.
June 2017
Rounding off a busy month, our experts have delivered a series of one day workshops to WA Government Department of Transport team leaders and managers. These workshops discussed identity document fraud, workplace structures and mitigation strategies.
For more information about the course we deliver, visit our training pages or contact us on (08) 9313 4559.
May 2017
John McGinn attended the Australasian Society of Forensic Document Examiners Incorporated (ASFDE Inc) meeting and AGM, held in Melbourne Australia between 23 - 25 May. ASFDE Inc. has membership from all Australian government agencies and the majority of private laboratories. Two international workshops were delivered, as well as a day of member presentations across a range of topics. These workshops provide an excellent opportunity for document examiners to meet and discuss issues in the profession both locally and internationally.
John is currently President of the Society and has worked with the committee to once again provide a meaningful workshop in support of the membership needs.
Visit the ASFDE Inc website (asfdeinc.org) for more details of the Society and the events held.
April 2017
Our expert team delivered the second of a series of advanced workshops titled Document Examination Report Writing and Court Testimony with document examination specialists from the Immigration Department of Malaysia.
The workshop was organised by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and delivered at the Shangri-La Hotel in Putrajaya Malaysia between 25 - 29 April 2017.
Once again we enjoyed a fantastic and challenging week of work with a committed group of officers.
Please contact us for more details on this course content, or any of our training products whether locally, nationally or internationally.
March 2017
Thank you to the Department of Commerce for providing a great training venue and enthusiastic audience for an awareness session on the use and requirements for document examination during investigations.
February 2017
Our expert team is looking forward to travelling to Malaysia to deliver an advanced workshop to Document Examination specialists from the Immigration Department of Malaysia.
The workshop will be delivered in Kuala Lumpur between 20 - 24 February 2017.
If you have interest in a technical document examination training course, or require assistance in the development of your document examination management capabilities, please contact us for a confidential discussion.
December 2016
Thank you to the School Curriculum Standards Authority (SCSA) for inviting us to deliver an awareness session at their annual planning day. It is always enjoyable as a presenter to be talking with people keenly interested in the topic.
November 2016
Tonya and John will be away from the office between Wednesday 2 November - Friday 4 November inclusive. We will respond to enquiries on our return.
September 2016
Georgina Sauzier (Department of Chemistry Curtin University) will this week be delivering a presentation at the ANZFSS Symposium in Auckland titled:
In situ studies into the characterisation and ageing of blue ballpoint pen inks by diffuse reflectance visible spectroscopy
We are pleased to be involved in a collaboration with Georgina and Professor Simon Lewis at The Department of Chemistry Curtin University. We wish Georgina all the best for her presentation, and for the overall value of attendance at symposium.
July 2016
Research completed by our expert Tonya Trubshoe as a component of her Masters of Science (Forensic Science) has been published in the Journal of Forensic Document Examination Volume 25 2015. The reasearch is titled Investigating the potential for Training Context Effects to Influence Forensic Document Examiners' Relative Skill at Writer Individualization and Exclusion and has been co-authored with Dr Bryan Found Chief Forensic Scientist, Victoria Police Forensic Services Department.
Please contact us for further details of the research or publication.
July 2016
Our office will be closed from 15 - 23 July 2016. General enquiries can be made through our enquiry email (enquiries@docexamsolutions.com.au), which we will respond to on our return. Should your matter be particularly urgent, please contact John McGinn on +61 438002219.
April 2016
In his role with the Executive Committee of the Australasian Society of Forensic Document Examiners Incorporated (ASFDE Inc.) John has been involved in developing the annual workshop of the Society to be delivered in Sydney on April 27-29, 2016.
With four international document examiners coming from the USA, a range of relevant topics will be discussed and workhops held. The AGM of the Society is also being held.
It is expected to be a great and insightful workshop and with attendees from the Australian Federal Police, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, the Reserve bank of Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand Police, government document laboratories in Victoria, NSW and South Australia and a number of private laboratory examiners.
February 2016
John spent an enjoyable evening at the Belmont Library discussing the document examination discipline with the Belmont Interest Group. A very well organised and interestings session (well done Lynne!), with many excellent and insightful questions and some laughs.
Please contact us at Enquiries@DocExamSolutions.com.au should a presentation on our work be of value to you.
December 2015
Congratulations to Tonya Trubshoe on the completion of her Certificate IV in Biometric Technologies qualification through the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT).
This qualification has seen studies in facial comparison techniques, face biometric technologies, biometric equipment and systems and the application of biometrics and adds to our base of knowedge that allows us to develop and deliver approporiate training products.
Contact us at Enquiry@DocExamSolutions.com.au for details of future courses, or should you require tailored training for your workplace.
December 2015
Following the signing of an agreement with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) this week, our experts will commence work on the development of an expanded Passport Examination Procedure Manual.
This project will see us working closely with this important international organisation to provide appropriate means to enhance the skills of border control officers internationally in the important areas of document fraud detection and management.
For details of the current IOM manual, click here.
Contact us at Enquiry@DocExamSolutions.com.au for further information.
November 2015
We are in discussion with a number of national agencies and organisations around staff development in identity document assessment and the examination of non-original documents. We look forward to these relationships progressing and contributing to the needs of these clients.
Internationally, we are continuing our project work in the development of e-Learning products associated with the examination of fraudulent identity documents and border integrity. We have been working closely with other international agencies on their training development needs and look forward to these negotiations being finalised.
Finally, after some time Tonya has submitted her scientific research to a forensic journal. We expect this will be published in the near future!
Contact us at Enquiry@DocExamSolutions.com.au for further information.
October 2015
Tonya Trubshoe has been in Canberra for the week completing a Facial Comparison Techniques workshop as part of her studies in the biometrics area. Her studies are valuable in allowing us to develop and deliver appropriate training products for our various clients, particularly in relation to the overlap between identity documents and the various biometric measures introduced.
We will look forward to seeing her back in the office next week.
October 2015
John McGinn is looking forward to presenting at the CrimeScene WA 2015 workshop to be held at Curtin University. This is a small opportunity to talk with enthusiasts of crime fiction and budding authors about how document examination is woven into various crime types ..... and (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) to convey the message that forensic examinations are not always solved within an hour (including the ad breaks).
The programme detail can be found at https://crimescenewa.wordpress.com/programme/
October 2015
Thanks to HLB Mann Judd (Insolvency WA) for inviting John McGinn to deliver a professional development session on the document examination discipline to the City Insolvency Discussion Group.
Contact us at Enquiry@DocExamSolutions.com.au should a similar session be of interest as a professional development activity within your industry, or the content is of interest in your workplace.
September 2015
The team delivered a one day Identity Documents - are they real? course in Perth. The course was attended by government department employees and discussed the processes around documents and document fraud, as well as document security features and their assessment.
It was a really interesting and enthusiastic group of participants for us, and an enjoyable day.
Contact us at Enquiry@DocExamSolutions.com.au for details of future courses, or should you require tailored training for your workplace.
September 2015
We are pleased to be collaborating with a the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) for the delivery of a specialised Evaluation of Security Documents short course appropriate for a range of industries across government and the private sector.
The first of these 4 day courses is scheduled for November 2015, to be delivered in Canberra Australia.
Click here to view a flyer with the course details, and registration can be completed through the CIT website (click here).
August 2015
Our experts have been working extensively as subject matter experts on content for a security document e-Learning course for an international organisation. With the content finalised, we will be working with the developers over the coming months to see the final product delivered.
Contact us at Enquiry@DocExamSolutions.com.au for further information.
August 2015
John completed a tailored training session to a team of document assessors in Melbourne Victoria. The workshop was theoretical and practical, touching on effective assessment process management, document security features, the assessment of non-original documents and other comparison activities.
It was enjoyable working with an enthusiastic, experienced and committed team of people passionate about not only doing the assessment role, but striving to provide the most effective service.
Contact us at Enquiry@DocExamSolutions.com.au for further information.
August 2015
A busy month ahead with our experts travelling to Victoria to deliver a workshop on the assessment of original and non-original identity and qualification documents.
A number of courses relating to the assessment of secure and identity documents and the use of document examination services are proposed for Perth in September. More information to come.
We are excited to have been contracted by a major non-government organisation (NGO) for the development of specialist document examination e-Learning content associated with the examination of identity documents. The course being developed will ultimately become available to a wide and varied international audience.
Please contact us for more details on any of our activities.
July 2015
Our experts have been heavily involved in a diverse range of casework as well as the delivery of expert evidence in the Perth Magistrates Court in a handwriting and signature matter.
Following recent consultation, Document Examination Solutions will be developing and delivering a number of specialist training seminars and workshops nationally. We are looking forward to supporting our clients needs.
Enrolments have been completed and semester 2 of 2015 will see both of our experts undertaking professional development studies.
Contact us at Enquiry@DocExamSolutions.com.au for further information.
22 June 2015 (A summary of our activities last week) | The Trust the Kinegram Specialist OVD Workshop for Forensic Document Examiners was successfully held in both Melbourne and Sydney last week.
Specialists from OVD Kinegram AG in Switzerland Dr Andreas Schilling (Head Design and Origination) and Dr Ohannes Minnetian (Project Manager, Customer Service) together with Mr Sascha Fuls (General manager OVD Kinegram Asia Pacific) delivered a highly interactive workshop delving into the background of DOVID's and the experimental and emerging technologies associated with these security features. The workshops were attended by government and non-government specialists with a requirement for the knowledge to assist in the development, detection and identification of secure identity documents.
Mr Stephen Pratt (Kurz Managing Director Aust / NZ) and Mr Mark Tellus (Kurz Marketing Aust / NZ) facilitated the workshops over the two days with Document Examination Solutions being thanked by both the specialist presenters and the attending participants for our coordination and management of the attending organisations.
Contact us at Enquiry@DocExamSolutions.com.au for further information.
17 June 2015 | Tonya Trubshoe will attend the Trust the Kinegram Specialist OVD Workshop for Forensic Document Examiners in Melbourne. John McGinn will attend the second workshop in Sydney on 18 June 2015.
Document Examination Solutions are heavily involved in the coordination of this workshop activity for qualified and experienced forensic document examiners in government and private laboratories, which will see specialists travel from Switzerland to deliver a background on the various types of DOVID's available before moving into the production process for OVD Kinegrams from the design to end product.