Paul Rofe first director of prosecutions in South Australia, made independent from state government in 1992

Paul Rofe QC was South Australia's first director of public prosecutions (1992-2004).
Image courtesy ABC News

South Australia was the last Australia state or territory to establish an independent director of public prosecutions – in 1992. Before that, major criminal offences were prosecuted by the crown prosecutor’s office, guided by the attorney general’s department.

The director of public prosecutions could independently initiate and conduct criminal prosecutions in the magistrates, district and supreme courts of South Australia. The director also initiatedand conducted appeals to the full court of South Australian supreme court and the high court of Australia.

Since being set up by Labor attorney general Christopher Sumner, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Pirie Street, Adelaide, grew from about 40 to 140 legal and administrative staff plus witness assistance officers. In 1995, the office employed its first social workers to support victims of crime, their families and witnesses for the prosecution.

South Australia’s first three directors of public prosecutions were Paul Rofe QC (1992-2004), Stephen Pallaras QC (2005-12) and Adam Kimber SC (2012-19). South Australian supreme court judge Martin Hinton was appointed to the role for seven years in 2019.

The prosecution office’s executive committee decided the strategic direction and responses to the important legal issues.

The counsel section prosecuted the most serious criminal pleas and trials within the district and supreme courts. Senior members do appeal work in the court of criminal appeal and in the high court of Australia.

The solicitors’ section was the largest within the office and resolved about 80% of the files.

Solicitor work included committals in the magistrate’s courts of Adelaide, Christie’s Beach, Holden Hill and Port Adelaide, pre-trial hearings, preparation of files for trial, fraud and drug court matters, mental health orders and circuit court work in Mount Gambier and Port Augusta.

Solicitors appear in all criminal courts for guilty pleas, when disputed facts hearings proceed and for permission to appeal and appeal arguments. Senior members also do work in the court of criminal appeal.

The Criminal Assets Confiscation Act 2005 gave the director of public prosecutions the power to seek to confiscate proceeds and instruments of crime. The confiscations section also applied to the court for

• restraining orders over property to ensure it was not disposed of during the course of criminal proceedings;
• forfeiture orders, in which property that is the proceeds of an offence, or connected with an offence, could be forfeited; and
• pecuniary penalty orders, with money paid to the Victims of Crime Fund, based on benefits received from the offence or the value of property used in committing an offence.

The witness assistance service provided targeted services and supports to victims of crime, prosecution witnesses, and their immediate family members. It ensured that victims and are aware of their rights and responsibilities when dealing with the criminal justice system.