ACT Director of Public Prosecutions says she may have to turn away some cases if funding not increased
New ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Victoria Engel says the office is at risk of not being able to prosecute every case. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)
In short:
The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions says she fears her office will have to start turning away cases due to the sheer volume of them.
She has called for more government funding to better support the office, and says sexual and family violence offences have risen exponentially in recent years.
What's next?
The ACT government has acknowledged the pressure on the DPP and says the attorney-general has committed to ongoing engagement on the issue.
The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) says her office does not have enough funding to deal with an increasing annual case load of more than 23,000 charges.
Director Victoria Engel warned that cases could be dropped if funding was not increased.
"We are surviving because of the dedication and the commitment of my very hard-working staff,"Ms Engel said.
"They go above and beyond daily to try to meet the expectations that are put on them and the unrelenting workload.
"That is not sustainable, though."
DPP at risk of rejecting some cases
Ms Engel took over as DPP 18 months ago, and said since then she had identified a "10-year funding deficit" affecting the department, even as its case load increased.
"I have described my office as the vehicle through which justice is either achieved or not achieved if you're a victim of crime in Canberra, and presently we are simply not funded to deal with the number of files that are coming into the office," she said.
She said there was a risk that people's access to justice would start to be curtailed if the situation continued as it was.
"At the moment, I'm not of the view that that risk has eventuated but it's certainly on the cards,"she said.
The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions says she is facing pressure from both the police and the court. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
The ACT is unique in Australia in that it is the only jurisdiction that does not have police prosecutions, meaning every police charge comes to the office of the DPP.
"Similarly, the court, in trying to deal with their demand and their work, set listings however they see fit," she said.
"So we have pressures coming from either side and I have no ability to turn off either of those taps unless we stop appearing in certain types of prosecutions or to set quotas.
"That would be a very extreme step. I'm very keen not to do that, but eventually I expect I will have to do that."
Dramatic rise in sexual and family violence
Asked what areas of crime she would have to drop, if forced, Ms Engel said she did not want to target any particular space, but did single out the rise in sexual and family violence matters in recent years.
In the past year, the ACT DPP was brought 935 family violence matters, a 17 per cent increase on the previous year, Ms Engel said.
In the area of sexual violence, that figure was 249, marking a 23 per cent increase.
"There is what I would call a cognitive dissonance between the expectations that are being set by the government in the space of family and sexual violence, and what you would expect if you were a victim of family and sexual violence coming into contact with my office, and what is actually being given to my office to achieve justice for those victims," she said.
"So I imagine in particular offence categories, I'll be saying to the chief police officer, 'tell me which matters you wish me to prosecute.'"
Ms Engel said she was discussing the situation with the ACT government, and had raised it with them "privately, for most of last year".
"I have certainly seen a commitment from the attorney-general to fix the long-standing funding deficit, but that to date has not been matched with any substantial funding."
In response, an ACT government spokesperson acknowledged "the pressures on the DPP", noting funding in the 2025-26 budget to support the office and its Witness Assistance Scheme.
"In a constrained fiscal environment, this government has demonstrated strong investment across the justice system, including the DPP," the spokesperson said in a statement.
"The attorney-general meets with the director on a regular basis to discuss the pressures facing her office and will continue to constructively engage on these issues."
Preparing a case 'isn't a simple tick and flick'
Government relations manager for the Australian Federal Police Association Troy Roberts described the comments made by the DPP as "crushing".
"She's in a tight position and I really feel for her and her staff," he said.
"The DPP are an incredibly important part of the whole justice system, and to hear that they may have to review cases that go to court and may not be able to prosecute due to funding is a serious issue.
"It's something the government needs to really jump on."
Troy Roberts of the Australian Federal Police Association says the police work hard on briefs before bringing them to prosecutors. (ABC News: Stuart Carnegie)
He said police spent "hours and hours and weeks and weeks" on preparing a brief for court.
"A brief isn't a simple tick and flick and a template process — it involves a lot of work," he said.
"If ACT Policing is preparing briefs of evidence for the DPP and the DPP aren't able to prosecute due to funding, that leaves the police officers, but also the victims, in an uncomfortable and not a great position.
"Police officers will still continue to do their job, they will continue to compile briefs, but it does leave a difficult conversation for potential victims who may not have their avenue to justice answered."
Mr Roberts said victims would be "left behind".
"You look over the last 20 years, police numbers haven't kept up with population or workload, and the same appears to have occurred with the DPP."
Cost of living crisis affecting victims
Legal Aid ACT chief executive John Boersig said Ms Engel was "clearly trying to champion the role that victims are now playing in our society".
He said the prospect of some cases being turned away was "alarming".
"Prosecution is one side of the coin, Legal Aid is the other," he said.
"That's how you get justice in our system."
John Boersig says Legal Aid ACT is also under pressure.
Mr Boersig said Legal Aid was already turning potential clients away, as more and more people came to them for representation since the pandemic.
"What we've seen since COVID has been a cost of living crisis that is pushing more people into desperate straits,"he said.
He said the government was doing some positive things to help the justice system, but that it was necessary to keep fighting for further funding.
"All we can do is keep putting the ball squarely in the tennis court, up in government, in the hope we'll receive more funding to continue to do this work," he said.