Prosecution Performance Indicators 2023-24 | Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions

Table 1: Prosecution performance indicators for 2023–24
Description	Target	Outcome	Details successful (Total)
Prosecutions resulting in a finding of guilt (total matters) *	90%	98%	1413 (1449)
Prosecutions resulting in a finding of guilt (defended matters)	70%	67%	73 (109)
Prosecution sentence appeals in summary prosecutions upheld	60%	N/A	N/A
Prosecution sentence appeals in a prosecution on indictment upheld	60%	33%	3 (9)

Table 2: Prosecution performance indicators for 2022-24
Description	Target	2023-24	2022–23
Prosecutions resulting in a finding of guilt (total matters) *	90%	98%	97%
Prosecutions resulting in a finding of guilt (defended matters)	70%	67%	65%
Prosecution sentence appeals in summary prosecutions upheld	60%	N/A	N/A
Prosecution sentence appeals in prosecution on indictment upheld	60%	33%	40%

* The conviction rate is calculated by taking the number of defendants convicted as a percentage of defendants convicted or acquitted. The calculation does not include defendants where the CDPP discontinued the prosecution against them in its entirety or where a prosecution has commenced and the court has issued a warrant to bring the defendant before the court.

Prosecution appeals against sentence

The Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth provides that the prosecution right to appeal against sentence should be exercised with appropriate restraint. In deciding whether to appeal, we consider whether there is a reasonable prospect that the appeal will be successful. Factors we may consider when deciding to appeal include whether:

the sentence is manifestly inadequate
the sentence reveals an inconsistency in sentencing standards
the sentence proceeded on the basis of a material error of law or fact requiring appellate correction
the sentence is substantially and unnecessarily inconsistent with other relevant sentences
an appeal to a Court of Appeal would enable the court to lay down some general principles for the governance and guidance of sentencing courts
an appeal will enable the court to establish and maintain adequate standards of punishment for crime
an appeal will ensure, so far as the subject matter permits, uniformity in sentencing
an appeal will enable an appellate court to correct an error of legal principle.

In 2023–24, a total of nine prosecution sentence appeals were decided for indictable matters, with three of the appeals being successful. This represents an outcome of 33% of appeals being upheld, which is below our target of 60 per cent.

While appellate interventions did not occur in six of the appeals brought by the CDPP, the judgments provided useful guidance in relation to sentencing principles, and in the exercise of the residual discretion on appeal.