Office of the Director Of Public Prosecutions resourcing & workloads

Executuve, 26 May 2008

Report adopted

A Workload Management Agreement was made by the Office of the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the PSA in 2004 following a one-day stoppage of work and subsequent work bans imposed by members employed there. The Agreement is intended to reasonably limit the workloads of staff to a safe and manageable level. However, experience has shown that its effectiveness depends greatly on the vigilance of delegates and members, and regular audits by management and the PSA in each workplace.

A Workload Management Agreement Review Committee comprised of management and PSA representatives was established by the ODPP and the PSA in late 2006. The progress of this Committee's work has been slow, and indeed negligible in recent months. The Agreement itself is increasingly not being adhered to.

On 2 April 2008, the Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed, when asked by the PSA, that he had imposed a 'staff freeze'. This information had previously been disclosed to some staff of the ODPP by a manager's memorandum.

It has been apparent for some time that staff at the ODPP have been attempting to address workloads in circumstances of apparent increasing budgetary constraints, and in circumstances where the efficiency of the ODPP and its management has recently been seriously questioned by a report of the Auditor General. There appears to be approximately 57 funded but vacant positions in the Office, in addition to approximately 30 positions which have become 'unfunded' this financial year. There is an increasingly common practice in the Office of 'parking' legal matters in administrative clerk practices, and Witness Assistance Service (WAS) officers have been told to restrict the services they provide to victims of crime.

As a result, the PSA's ODPP Departmental Committee resolved to ask the PSA to impose certain work bans.

The Attorney General first asked to meet with the PSA to discuss the issues, and we met with him on 11 April 2008. In a meeting which lasted more than one hour, the PSA's delegates impressed upon the Attorney the parlous state of the ODPP. He invited us to meet with some urgency with Ms Jan McClelland, who he had already engaged to report to him on the financial position of the ODPP. The PSA's delegates met with Mr McClelland for over three hours on 14 April 2008.

In the meantime, the PSA's delegates after further consideration of the matter expressed a strong view that we cannot allow members at the ODPP to continue to attempt to address the workloads they continue to be faced with.

As a result, the PSA directed members employed by the ODPP to:

1. Work to rule in accordance with the ODPP's Workload Management Agreement and each employee's Position Description;
2. Make no appearance, registration or preparation of Call-ups, Conviction (All-grounds) and Severity appeals (including ancillary matters) with the exception of matters where the ODPP has already appeared;
3. Take no action in relation to Confiscations;
4. Only appear (if a lawyer of Level 2 or above) in Sentence matters where the matter was committed for Sentence from their Local Court practice - no Level 1 Lawyer is to appear in District Court Sentences; and
5. Not attend any conference involving a victim of a sexual assault, domestic violence offence and matters involving children without the presence of a WAS officer.
6 Effective 24 April 2008.

Current Position

The ODPP made a notification to the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW on 24 April 2008 and the parties met in a Compulsory Conference before the Commission the same day. The Compulsory Conference concluded with a recommendation from the Commission that the PSA immediately lift the bans, the parties meet by early the following week and report back to the Commission immediately thereafter.

As a result, the PSA's bans were lifted and the parties met on 28 April 2008. At this meeting, the PSA presented the ODPP with the following demands:

1. Workloads to be managed so that the Office's Workload Management Agreement is adhered to;
2. An end to the practice of allocating prosecutions to clerks ("parking") so as to avoid the provisions of the Workload Management Agreement;
3. The establishment of a Confiscations Unit in accordance with the allocation of tied funding;
4. The appointment of a full complement of WAS officers as determined by the grant of funding, and the filling of all current WAS vacancies; and
5. Short matters to be conducted in a manner that does not prejudice workloads as set out in the Workload Management Agreement.

The parties reported back accordingly to the Commission, and the ODPP undertook to respond to the PSA's demands by the end of the week.

In the meantime, the DPP advised the Commission through his Counsel that he expects the Workload Management Agreement to be adhered to by all staff.

A formal response was received by the PSA from the DPP on 1 May 2008. In this response, the DPP re-affirmed that he expects management and staff to adhere to the provisions of the Workload Management Agreement. However, in most other respects, it was unsatisfactory.

Delegates have drafted a proposal for further formal advice to members, to assist them adhere to the Workload Management Agreement in the face of the DPP's response and an otherwise lack of precise direction to his Office's staff.

In the meantime, the outcome of Ms McClelland's report, which we have been advised will form the basis of a submission by the Attorney General to the Budget Committee of Cabinet, is awaited.