Act or Regulation

Requirement

Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1991

Section 9(2)

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.

Section 11(1)

The Director may give directions or furnish guidelines to the Commissioner of Police or other persons investigating, or prosecuting, offences on behalf of the Crown.

Section 11(2)

Any such directions or guidelines must be published in the Annual Report.

There were no directions or guidelines given by the Attorney-General to the Director of Public Prosecutions pursuant to section 9 of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1991 during the 2022-23 financial year.

There were no directions issued to the Commissioner of Police by the Director of Public Prosecutions pursuant to section 11 of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1991 during the 2022-23 financial year.

Act or Regulation

Requirement

Criminal Assets Confiscations Act 2005

Section 229A(1)

The Attorney-General has an obligation to report on the operation of the amendments enacted by the Criminal Assets Confiscation (Prescribed Drug Offenders) Amendment Act 2016 during the financial year ending on the preceding 30 June.

Section 229A(2)

A report under this section must include the following information for the financial year to which the report relates:

  1. the number of persons who became prescribed drug offenders during that period;
  2. the number of restraining orders made during that period in relation to persons who, if convicted of the serious offence to which the restraining order relates, will become prescribed drug offenders;
  3. details of property forfeited under this Act during that period that was owned by or subject to the effective control of a prescribed drug offender on the conviction day for the conviction offence.

Section 229A (2) (a)

In 2022-23, there were 102 persons who became prescribed drug offenders.

Section 229A (2) (b)

In 2022-23, there were 43 restraining orders made in relation to persons who, if convicted of the serious offence to which the restraining orders relates, will become prescribed drug offenders.

Section 229A (2) (c)

In 2022-23, the following property was deemed forfeited:

  • Real Property: 44
  • Vehicles: 59
  • Cash: $3,404,930.69
  • Other items (value unknown)
    • jewellery
    • 1 x silver ingot
    • 1 x gold ingot
    • packaged liquor
    • 27 x firearms
    • shares
    • crypto/bitcoin

This information relates to property that was ‘deemed forfeited’ to the Crown, including some of which is still subject to on-going applications made by defendants under s 59A for the court to exclude a portion thereof, based on cooperation with police. The potential granting of any exclusion of such property (and if so, to what extent), obviously cannot be accounted for in this report.

In 2022-23, the following property was confirmed as forfeited by virtue of a Prescribed Drug Offender conviction, with other applications for declarations of deemed forfeiture pending:

  • Real Property: 9 (still negotiating)
  • Vehicles: 12
  • Cash: $1,644,410.11
  • Other items (value unknown)
    • 1 x silver ingot
    • packaged liquor
    • shares
    • crypto/bitcoin