Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1991

This Act may be cited as the Director of Public

Prosecutions Act 1991.

In this Act—

Director means the Director of Public

Prosecutions and includes a person acting in the position of Director of Public

Prosecutions;

Office means the Office of the Director of

Public Prosecutions.

There will be a Director of Public Prosecutions.

The Director will be appointed by the Governor.

A person is not eligible for appointment as the Director unless he or she is a legal practitioner of at least seven years standing.

The Director will be appointed—

for a term of office of seven years; and

on terms and conditions determined by the Governor.

At the expiration of a term of office, the Director will be eligible for re-appointment.

The Director must inform the Attorney-General in writing of—

any direct or indirect pecuniary interest that the Director has or acquires in any business, or in any body corporate carrying on a business, in Australia or elsewhere; and

any other direct or indirect interest that the Director has or acquires that conflicts, or may conflict, with the Director's duties.

The Director must not—

engage in legal practice outside the duties of his or her office; or

engage, without the consent of the Attorney-General, in any other remunerated employment.

The Governor may terminate the Director's appointment if the Director—

is guilty of misbehaviour; or

becomes physically or mentally incapable of carrying out official duties satisfactorily; or

becomes bankrupt or applies to take the benefit of a law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors; or

is absent, without leave of the Attorney-General, for 14 consecutive days, or for 28 days in any period of 12 months; or

contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (6) or (7).

Except as provided in subsection (8), the Director's appointment cannot be terminated.

This section applies if a person who is or has been—

a Judge as defined in the Judges' Pensions Act 1971;

or

the holder of any other office that is treated as if it were judicial service for the purposes of the Judges' Pensions

Act 1971, is appointed as the Director.

The Governor may, by instrument in writing made at the time the person is appointed to be the Director, apply the

Judges' Pensions

Act 1971 to or in relation to the Director as if the

Director were a Judge as defined in that Act and service as the Director were judicial service as defined in that Act (or a continuation of any period of service that is, or is treated as if it were, such judicial service).

The instrument may—

impose conditions on the application of the

Judges' Pensions

Act 1971 (including a condition that the Act will only apply if the person is made a Judge following the person's term of office as the Director); and

apply the Judges' Pensions

Act 1971 subject to any modifications specified in the instrument.

Notwithstanding anything in this section, unless the Governor otherwise directs, no pension is to be payable under the

Judges' Pensions

Act 1971 if the appointment of the Director is terminated under section 4(8).

If, pursuant to an instrument under this section, the

Judges' Pensions

Act 1971 has applied to a person who is or has been

Director and that person is subsequently appointed as a Judge as defined in the

Judges' Pensions Act 1971, that Act will apply to and in relation to that person as if—

service by that person as the Director were judicial service as defined in that Act; and

section 5 of that Act had not been enacted.

If a person referred to in subsection (5) was, immediately before being appointed as a Judge, in receipt of a pension under the

Judges' Pensions

Act 1971, that pension ceases on the appointment as a

Judge.

If, pursuant to an instrument under this section, the

Judges' Pensions

Act 1971 is to apply to a person appointed as the

Director and the person was, immediately before being appointed as the

Director, in receipt of a pension under that Act, that pension ceases on the appointment as Director.

If the Director is temporarily absent, or the Director's position is temporarily vacant, the Attorney-General may assign a suitable person to act in the Director's position during the temporary absence or vacancy.

A person is not eligible to act in the Director's position unless he or she is a legal practitioner of at least seven years standing.

The terms on which a person is assigned to act in the Director's position will be as determined by the

Attorney-General.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is established.

The Office consists of—

the Director of Public Prosecutions; and

Public Service employees assigned to work in the

Office.

The Director has the administration and control of the

Office.

The Director may delegate to a suitable person (including a person for the time being performing particular duties or holding or acting in a particular position) a function or power of the Director under this or any other Act (unless the contrary intention appears).

A delegation under this section—

must be by instrument in writing; and

may be absolute or conditional; and

does not derogate from the power of the Director to act in any matter; and

is revocable at will.

A function or power delegated under this section may, if the instrument of delegation so provides, be further delegated.

The Director has the following powers:

to lay charges of indictable or summary offences against the law of the State;

to prosecute indictable or summary offences against the law of the

State;

to claim and enforce, either on behalf of the Crown or other persons, civil remedies that arise out of, or are related to, prosecutions commenced by the Director;

to take proceedings for or in relation to the confiscation of profits of crime;

to institute civil proceedings for contempt of court;

to enter a nolle prosequi or otherwise terminate a prosecution in appropriate cases;

to grant immunity from prosecution in appropriate cases;

to undertake to a person not to use, or make derivative use of, information or a thing against the person in a proceeding, other than in relation to the falsity of evidence given by the person in a proceeding;

to exercise appellate rights arising from proceedings of the kind referred to above;

to carry out any other function assigned to the Director by any other Act or by regulation under this Act;

to do anything incidental to the foregoing.

The Attorney-General may, by notice in the Gazette, transfer to the

Director any powers or functions of the kind referred to above, or any power to consent to a prosecution, vested in the Attorney-General by an Act passed before the commencement of this Act.

A person who has power to consent to a prosecution, or to allow an extension of the period for commencing a prosecution, for an offence of a particular kind under the law of the State may, by notice in the Gazette, delegate that power to the Director.

A delegation under subsection (3)—

is revocable by subsequent notice in the Gazette; and

does not prevent the person from acting personally in a matter, but, once a decision on a particular matter has been made by the Director in pursuance of a delegation, the delegator is bound by that decision.

A document apparently signed by the Director and stating that the

Director consents to a particular prosecution or that the Director allows a specified extension of the period for commencing a particular prosecution is to be accepted, in the absence of proof to the contrary, as proof of the fact so stated.

Where an information or complaint charging an offence is apparently signed by the Director or a person acting on the Director's authorisation, the information or complaint will, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be taken to have been duly signed by or on behalf of the

Director.

In any legal proceedings, the Director may appear personally or may be represented by a member of the staff of the office who is a legal practitioner or by counsel or solicitor (including the Crown Solicitor or the

Solicitor-General).

Details of any notices published under this section must be included in the Director's annual report.

The Director must, if requested to do so by the Attorney-General, consult with the Attorney-General with respect to the exercise of the

Director's powers or functions.

The Attorney-General must, if requested to do so by the Director, consult with the Director with respect to the exercise of the Director's powers or functions.

Subject to this section, the Director is entirely independent of direction or control by the Crown or any Minister or officer of the

Crown.

The Attorney-General may, after consultation with the Director, give directions and furnish guidelines to the Director in relation to the carrying out of his or her functions.

Directions or guidelines under this section—

must, as soon as practicable after they have been given, be published in the Gazette; and

must, within six sitting days after they have been given, be laid before each House of Parliament.

Subsection (3) need not be complied with in relation to directions or guidelines under this section relating to individual matters if, in the opinion of the Attorney-General, disclosure may be prejudicial to an investigation or prosecution, but, in that case, the directions or guidelines must be published in the Gazette, and laid before each House of Parliament, as soon as practicable after the matter is determined or otherwise completed.

If the Attorney-General is satisfied that disclosure under this section would place human life or safety at risk or cause some other form of severe prejudice to any person, the Attorney-General may withhold material from disclosure so far as necessary to avoid that consequence.

The Commissioner of Police must, so far as it is practicable to do so, comply with any request from the Director to investigate, or report on the investigation of, any matter.

A police officer in charge of the investigation of an indictable offence (the chief investigator) has a duty to disclose to the Director all documentary material collected or created in the course of the investigation that might reasonably be expected to assist the case for the prosecution or the case for the defence.

The chief investigator must, when so required by the Director, provide the Director with—

a list, certified by the chief investigator, of all documentary material so far collected or created in the course of the investigation that might reasonably be expected to assist the case for the prosecution or the case for the defence; and

copies of documentary material referred to in the list.

The duty of disclosure under subsection (1)—

extends to material that would be exempt from production in court because it is protected by privilege or for any other reason; and

continues until the termination date.

The chief investigator must ensure that all material disclosed, or liable to disclosure, under subsection (1), is retained until the termination date.

The chief investigator must, at the request of the Director, provide the Director with copies of specified documentary material collected or created in the course of the investigation that is not liable to disclosure under subsection (1).

Copies of documentary material to be provided under this section may be provided in electronic form.

A police officer must not, without good and sufficient cause, fail to carry out a duty under this section promptly and diligently.

The police officer in charge of the investigation of an indictable offence will, for the purposes of this section, be the police officer appointed by the Commissioner for that purpose.

In this section—

termination date means the date when—

the Director decides that the person suspected of having committed the alleged offence not be prosecuted for the offence; or

the prosecution is terminated; or

the accused person is convicted or acquitted, and all rights of appeal have expired or been exhausted.