Latest News

The CDPP’s Corporate Plan 2023–27 is now available.

The 2021-22 CDPP Annual Report was tabled in Parliament on Friday 28 October 20

The CDPP recently received an overall satisfaction score of 86 per cent from its biennial 2022 Partner Agency Survey.

The CDPP's 2022-26 Corporate Plan is now available.

The Attorney-General of New South Wales today announced the appointment of Ms Sarah McNaughton SC as a judge of the Supreme Court of NSW. 

The CDPP’s Library and Research Services team has won the 2022 Legal Information Service of the Year award announced at the Australian Law Librarians’ Association (ALLA) conference in Hobart on Thursday 26 August.

On 7 July 2022 the Commonwealth Attorney-General, the Honourable Mark Dreyfus QC MP, announced he had declined to proceed further in the prosecution of Mr Bernard Collaery for five offences relating to the alleged unlawful communication of ASIS information contrary to the Intelligence Services

On 11 February 2022, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Ms Sarah McNaughton SC announced her decision to decline to proceed further in the criminal prosecutions of Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty Limited, Deutsche Bank AG and four senior banking executives for cartel offences

The CDPP 2020-21 Annual Report was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday 20 October 2021. 

Environment

As community awareness of the need to protect the environment increases, so does awareness of environmental crime. 

Environmental crime covers a wide range of Commonwealth offences, including the illegal trade in endangered species and plants, illegal fishing, offending in protected heritage places and Commonwealth marine parks, and environmental pollution such as the illegal disposal of waste and dumping of oil.

Defendants are generally financially motivated as there may be a perception there is a low risk of being caught for this type of crime.

Key legislation

Main offences

  • Fisheries Management Act 1991 section 100(2) using a foreign boat for fishing in the Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ);
  • Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 section 303EK importing a live specimen.

Penalties

The range of penalties applied by the courts in these matters can be viewed by reading our environmental matters case reports.

Partner agencies

A number of agencies are involved in detecting, referring and investigating these crimes, including:

  • Australian Federal Police The AFP is the primary law enforcement agency responsible for investigating crimes against Commonwealth laws. Investigations often involve a joint approach with other agencies.
  • Agriculture, Water and Environment  The Department is responsible for administering the majority of Commonwealth Acts relating to the environment. This includes investigating cultural heritage matters and the import/export of threatened species.
  • Australian Border Force The ABF detects and investigates the illegal movement of environmental or heritage goods.
  • Australian Fisheries Management Authority AFMA is the statutory authority responsible for detecting and investigating both domestic and foreign fishing boats in Australian fishing zones.
  • Australian Maritime Safety Authority AMSA enforces environmental standards for ships in the Commonwealth jurisdiction - they typically refer matters related to pollution, oil spills and waste caused by shipping.
  • Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority The Authority is responsible for ensuring compliance and enforcement of matters impacting on the heritage and habitat of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.