Report into South Australia’s Office of DPP paints a grim workplace picture … Undervalued, underpaid and unhappy … Lack of rising talent … Too many cases … Stress and rudeness … No one is listening … Ariana Haghighi reports 

People have been leaving in droves and it has been difficult to recruit sufficiently senior and experienced lawyers to do the work. The rates of dissatisfaction among the worker bees has been high. 

The situation had become so intractable that independent consultant Rossyln Cox was engaged to find out what was going wrong. She prepared the report relating to staff turnover since 2019 – in consultation with Martin Hinton KC, the current DPP. 

One hundred and ninety seven current and former members of staff were surveyed and interviewed – resulting in findings that are unhappy. 

Among those who had left the ODPP between 2019 and 2022, 76 percent cited “workload stress … feeling undervalued … dissatisfaction with pay and conditions”. 

Almost 50 percent of those who had exited said they would not not recommend the ODPP as an employer due to its work culture. 

Between 2019-2021 there were troubles with recruitment – less than half the usual number of junior lawyers had applied for jobs at the office. In addition, there were fewer applicants for senior roles. 

“This has meant that many of the senior roles have been replaced by more junior staff. This again adds to workload pressure and stress across the office … 

The final complicating factor is that having so many more junior staff at the ODPP, often working on complex cases often beyond their classification with less support and leadership than would otherwise be available, it is understandable that senior staff have concerns about the standard of work being produced.”  

Survey responses about the employees’ psychological wellbeing highlighted worrying levels of distress due to the pressure of the workplace. 

Employees reported crying unexpectedly, feeling unable to “switch off” and a general sense of hopelessness. 

When asked to select one word out of 55 to describe the ODPP’s culture, “dysfunctional” was most frequently chosen. 

Qualitative survey responses reveal that the negative words selected related to internal management processes, rather than a reflection on ODPP’s criminal prosecutions. 

Comments by management that staff should “feel lucky to work there”, had the effect that people felt unable to ask for help. 

The Cox report pointed to workloads as a serious problem – the majority of respondents cited its volume, unrelenting pace and complexity all as factors leading to pressure. With increasing staff departures, frustrations only increased. 

Unlike other workplaces the ODPP is not in control of its workflow, as it is dictated by the needs of the courts. If the office is under-resourced, staff are still expected to comply with exigent deadlines. 

Counsel were often given tasks on Thursday with a strict Monday morning deadline, leaving them with no other option than to devote their weekend to unpaid preparation. 

Employees who were dissatisfied by conditions of unpaid overtime and low pay often felt “guilted” by managers, who would stress the importance of assisting victims and their families. 

The serious and confidential nature of the ODPP’s domain was used as justification to preclude staff from working from home or benefiting from other flexible working arrangements. 

As the rest of the public sector ameliorates its conditions, many respondents communicated their dissatisfaction that the ODPP lagged behind.

The ODPP also faces sporadic pressure on its staff availability and team structure when working on “extraordinary matters” – trials whose size and complexity require prolonged and significant resourcing efforts. 

Currently it is tackling eight of these matters, which leads to senior staff reallocation.  

Another aspect contributing to the ODPP’s poor workplace environment is the absence of consistent performance management – often due to a failure by the leadership to acknowledge staff efforts. 

People working in the office felt that high-performing employees were not recognised or rewarded, while unmotivated employees were unfairly tolerated. 

A feeling of neglect often started on an employee’s first day – some reported there was no induction or introduction to other employees because of a lack of available senior staff.

In the absence of due care, staff also witnessed overt displays of bullying by leaders, such as snatching files, yelling and name calling. 

Former employees who flagged this behaviour say they received dismissive responses, or failure to reply to emails of concern. 

Other factors identified by the respondents included: 

These concerns were described as “themes” – issues that were persistently raised by a majority of respondents, but do not necessarily reflect the experience of everyone who participated in the surveys. 

The report reveals the SA ODPP workplace is untenable and psychologically unsafe. 

Systematic issues remain unaddressed by management. The report reinforces recommendations from a 2017 Wellbeing report, such as fostering a “checking-in culture” and introducing mechanisms to track workload.

The previous DPP Adam Kimber finished in the job in April 2019, while the current DPP Martin Hinton commenced his term in November 2019.