The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the

Attorney-General of Australia The attorney-general of Australia (AG), also known as the Commonwealth attorney-general, is the minister of state and chief law officer of the Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing federal legal affairs and public security as the ...

, as a part of the Attorney-General's Department. It was established by the ''Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983'' (Cth) and began its operations in 1984.

History

Founded on 8 March 1984 to prosecute alleged offences against Commonwealth criminal law, primarily the ''

Crimes Act 1914 The ''Crimes Act 1914'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia which addresses the most serious federal offences — that is, crimes against the Commonwealth. It was the first major federal criminal law since the Federation of Austral ...

'' (Cth) and ''

Criminal Code Act 1995 The criminal law of Australia is the body of law in Australia that relates to crime. Responsibility for criminal law in Australia is divided between the state and territory parliaments and the Commonwealth Parliament. This division is due to ...

'' (Cth), the CDPP was first headed by Director Ian Temby, who remained in that post until 1988. The CDPP commenced with a head office in Canberra, and a Melbourne office was opened on 6 June 1984, assuming responsibility for the work of Special Prosecutor Robert Redlich. The CDPP took over the work of the Special Prosecutors to prosecute bottom of the harbour tax cases and parts of the Attorney-General's Departments Deputy Crown Solicitor's Offices. The CDPP has been noted for its gender-blind hiring and work practices.

Function

The agency has only one outcome; "Contribute to a fair, safe and just society by delivering an effective, independent prosecution service in accordance with the Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth". It upholds this function by carrying out prosecutions of crimes against the Commonwealth, and by providing advice to referring agencies. It has no investigative power or function, and the decision to investigate matters and refer matters to the CDPP is at the discretion of referring agency. Furthermore, the CDPP depends on referring agencies to investigate alleged offences and prepare briefs of evidence to support prosecution and assets recovery.

Organisation

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is based in the head office in

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and has offices in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

, Darwin,

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, and

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

. Most offices include a Fraud and Specialist Agencies branch, a Serious Financial and Corporate Crime branch, a Human Exploitation and Border Protection branch and an Organised Crime and National Security branch. Although the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is within the portfolio of the Commonwealth Attorney-General, the Office operates independently of the Attorney-General and of the political process. The Attorney-General, as First Law Officer of Australia, is responsible for the Commonwealth criminal justice system and remains accountable to Parliament for decisions made in the prosecution process, notwithstanding that those decisions are now in fact made by the Director and lawyers of the CDPP. Under section 8 of the ''Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983'' (Cth), the Attorney-General has power to issue guidelines and directions to the CDPP; however, that can only be done after there has been consultation between the Attorney-General and the Director. Per the Act, any guidelines or directions must be in writing, published in the ''

Gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

'', and tabled in Parliament. The CDPP has been directed by the Attorney-General only thrice, none of which were in relation to a specific case.

List of Commonwealth Directors of Public Prosecutions

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.cdpp.gov.au/ 1984 establishments in Australia Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia