John Harber Phillips Award

Download a Nomination Form

The mission of ANZPAA NIFS is to facilitate continuous improvement in the forensic sciences and to promote awareness of them in the wider community through strategic partnerships.

The Honorable Professor John Harber Phillips AC QC was the chair of NIFS Board of Control and later the ANZPAA NIFS Forum.  He held these roles from 1992 until his passing on 7 August 2009.  Professor Phillips had a distinguished professional career in the law and an unstinting interest in the forensic sciences that provided lasting contributions to Australia and Australians. 

The John Harber Phillips Award now recognises his achievements and serves to further promote and reward outstanding contributions to the advancement of the forensic sciences. 

The John Harber Phillips Award is a peer recognition award and is the most prestigious award given for individual contribution in the field of forensic sciences.

The John Harber Phillips Award encourages peer/peer groups to acknowledge the individual contributions their colleagues have made in the forensic sciences.   

The Honour

The John Harber Phillips Award honours the outstanding contribution of an extraordinary individual in terms of their contribution to the advancement of the forensic sciences in Australia and/or New Zealand. 

Nominations for the Award 

Any individual peer or peer group within the forensic science, law enforcement and legal communities can nominate a professional from the forensic sciences who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of the forensic sciences, for the award.  

The peer does not have to be an Australian/New Zealand citizen and must not be related to the nominee. 

Nominations for the award are sought on an annual basis via a formal call for submissions made in March of each year received by the closing date of the first week in August of that year.                     

The 2010 dates are:

• 15 March 2010 – Open for nominations
• 6 August 2010 – Closing date for nominations 

Eligibility

Nominees will include individual Australian or New Zealand citizens who have made significant contribution(s) in the field of the forensic sciences in Australia and/New Zealand, where the contribution(s) are in accordance with the nomination criteria for the award. The nominee can or has been employed or involved in any discipline in the field of the forensic sciences.  

The individual must be nominated by a peer; self nominations will not be accepted. The nominee does not have to consent or be made aware of the nomination.  

Preference is given to individuals who have not previously been awarded the John Harber Phillips Award. 

Awards are normally given while the nominee is alive, but can be awarded posthumously. 

Assessing Nominations

ANZPAA NIFS is the organisation responsible for administering the award.  

The award will be offered annually and nominations will be assessed by members of the John Harber Philips Award Committee.  This committee will comprise of:

• NIFS Director (Chair of Committee);

• Two representatives from the ANZPAA NIFS Forum (one research and one forensic representative)

•  ANZPAA Executive Officer;

• Police Commissioner;

• A representative from the legal fraternity

Representatives from the committee reserve the right to put forward nominations for consideration, however, they will abstain from judging the application.

The value of the contribution over time, rather than merely the outcome/s, is the primary focus of the Committee’s consideration. All criteria have equal weighting when assessing applications.  

A recommendation for the recipient of the award will be made by the Committee to the ANZPAA Board for ultimate confirmation.   

Only one award will be presented annually when there is candidate worthy of merit in accordance with the criteria.  In the case where no nominees meet the required criteria, the award will be carried over to the following year. 

Nomination Criteria

The John Harber Phillips Award acknowledges an individual that has made a substantial contribution to the field of forensic sciences.

Nominations need to address the following criteria:

1. The overall contributions of the nominee;

2. Particular features of their contribution that are outstanding;

3. The period of time over which the contributions were made;

4. How the contributions have impacted the forensic sciences;

5. Whether the contributions have been recognised previously and if so, in what way.

If you have any further questions, or require further guidance in the preparation of the nomination, please contact ANZPAA NIFS Secretariat via email or phone:

secretariat.nifs@anzpaa.org.au
Tel:  +61 3 9628-7211