{"id":"sl-1991-24","name":"Director of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991","slug":"director-of-public-prosecutions-regulation-1991","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"24 of 1991","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173336,"registerId":"act-sl-1991-24-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Director of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991","content":"Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nDirector of Public Prosecutions\nRegulation 1991\nSL1991-24\nmade under the\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Act 1990\nRepublication No 4\nEffective: 16 November 2025\nRepublication date: 16 November 2025\nLast amendment made by A2025-29\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Director of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991, made under the\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Act 1990 (including any amendment made under the Legislation\nAct 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes)) as in force on 16 November 2025. It also includes any\ncommencement, amendment, repeal or expiry affecting this republished law to\n16 November 2025.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the ACT\nlegislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n• authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n• unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made by\nan Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117). The\nchanges are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law into\nline, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately\nbefore the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law\nare accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more\ninformation, see the home page for this law on the register.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the\nsymbol M appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying\nprovision appears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation\nAct 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $160 for an\nindividual and $810 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR4\n16/11/25\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991\nEffective: 16/11/25\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nDirector of Public Prosecutions\nRegulation 1991\nmade under the\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Act 1990\nContents\nPage\n1 Name of regulation 2\n3 Prescribed functions—Act, s 6 (1) (q) 2\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 4\n2 Abbreviation key 4\n3 Legislation history 5\n\nContents\nPage\ncontents 2 Director of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991\nEffective: 16/11/25\nR4\n16/11/25\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n4 Amendment history 5\n5 Earlier republications 6\n\nR4\n16/11/25\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991\nEffective: 16/11/25\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nDirector of Public Prosecutions\nRegulation 1991\nmade under the\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Act 1990\n\nSection 1\npage 2 Director of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991\nEffective: 16/11/25\nR4\n16/11/25\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n1 Name of regulation\nThis regulation is the Director of Public Prosecutions\nRegulation 1991.\n3 Prescribed functions—Act, s 6 (1) (q)\nThe following functions are prescribed:\n(a) instituting or responding to, or conducting, on behalf of the\nTerritory or any other person as the appellant, applicant or\nrespondent, an appeal, application or review (including\nadministrative review) arising out of proceedings mentioned in\nthe Act, section 6 (1) (b);\n(b) if the director, with the consent of the Attorney-General, holds\nan appointment or commission or is otherwise authorised to\nprosecute offences against the laws of the Commonwealth—\n(i) instituting such a prosecution; or\n(ii) conducting such a prosecution, whether instituted by the\ndirector or not; or\n(iii) instituting proceedings for the commitment of a person for\ntrial in relation to an indictable offence against a law of the\nCommonwealth; or\n(iv) conducting such proceedings, whether instituted by the\ndirector or not; or\n(v) instituting or responding to, or conducting, as or on behalf\nof the appellant, applicant or respondent, an appeal,\napplication or review arising out of a prosecution or\nproceedings mentioned in this paragraph;\n\nSection 3\nR4\n16/11/25\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991\nEffective: 16/11/25\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nin accordance with the terms of the appointment, commission or\nauthorisation if the prosecution or proceedings arises or arise out\nof the facts or circumstances on which a matter mentioned in the\nAct, section 6 (1) (a), (b) or (c) is based, being a matter that has\nnot been completed or otherwise determined before the\nprosecution or proceedings is or are instituted.\n\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\npage 4 Director of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991\nEffective: 16/11/25\nR4\n16/11/25\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished law\nbut are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The details\nof these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced expiries are\nunderlined in the legislation history and amendment history.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\nLegislation history 3\nR4\n16/11/25\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991\nEffective: 16/11/25\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nThis regulation was originally the Director of Public Prosecutions Regulations. It\nwas renamed under the Legislation Act 2001.\nBefore 12 September 2001, a regulation commenced on its notification day unless\notherwise stated (see Subordinate Laws Act 1989 s 6).\nDirector of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991 SL1991-24\nnotified 16 October 1991 (Gaz 1991 No S115)\ncommenced 16 October 1991\nas amended by\nLegislation (Consequential Amendments) Act 2001 A2001-44 pt 103\nnotified 26 July 2001 (Gaz 2001 No 30)\ns 1, s 2 commenced 26 July 2001 (IA s 10B)\npt 103 commenced 12 September 2001 (s 2 and see Gaz 2001\nNo S65)\nStatute Law Amendment Act 2025 A2025-29 sch 3 pt 3.29\nnotified LR 6 November 2025\ns 1, s 2 commenced 6 November 2025 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 3 pt 3.29 commenced 16 November 2025 (s 2 (1))\n4 Amendment history\nName of regulation\ns 1 am R2 LA; R3 LA\nInterpretation\ns 2 om A2001-44 pt 103\nPrescribed functions—Act, s 6 (1) (q)\ns 3 hdg sub A2025-29 amdt 3.85\ns 3 am A2025-29 amdt 3.86\n\nEndnotes\n5 Earlier republications\npage 6 Director of Public Prosecutions Regulation 1991\nEffective: 16/11/25\nR4\n16/11/25\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n5 Earlier republications\nSome earlier republications were not numbered. The number in column 1 refers to\nthe publication order.\nSince 12 September 2001 every authorised republication has been published in\nelectronic pdf format on the ACT legislation register. A selection of authorised\nrepublications have also been published in printed format. These republications are\nmarked with an asterisk (*) in column 1. Electronic and printed versions of an\nauthorised republication are identical.\nRepublication No Amendments to Republication date\n1 not amended 30 November 1991\n2 A2001-44 23 April 2002\n3 A2001-44 1 November 2004\n© Australian Capital Territory 2025","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The 2025 amendments to regulation 3 (noted in the amendment history as A2025-29) expressly prescribe the DPP’s ability to institute or conduct Commonwealth prosecutions, committal proceedings and related appeals/reviews when the DPP has a Commonwealth appointment/authorisation and the Attorney‑General consents (reg 3(b)). That language expands the regulation’s cross‑jurisdictional reach compared with a purely Territory‑focused prescription by explicitly covering Commonwealth prosecutions and committals connected to ACT matters. The expansion remains conditional: the Commonwealth proceedings must arise out of the same facts as an ACT matter under section 6(1)(a)–(c) of the principal Act and must not have been completed before the Commonwealth proceedings are instituted. The practical effect is a broadened remit for the ACT DPP in cases with overlapping Commonwealth and ACT elements, subject to AG consent and Commonwealth authorisation, with attendant resource and coordination consequences."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (2 operative sections: s1 name, s3 prescribed functions)","Single substantive provision (s3) with a five‑item nested list (s3(b)(i)–(v))","Cross‑references to the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1990, section 6(1)(a)–(c) and 6(1)(b)","Condition precedent: Attorney‑General consent required for Commonwealth matters (reg 3(b))","Limiting qualification that Commonwealth prosecutions must arise out of the same facts/circumstances as specified ACT matters (adds a single-layer qualification)","Recent amendments noted (A2025-29) but no multiplicity of exceptions or many defined terms"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this regulation does (mechanically)\n\n- This short regulation sets out specific functions that the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is authorised to perform under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1990 (see regulation, section 3). It does not create the office — it prescribes particular functions the DPP may exercise.\n\n- The functions prescribed are:\n  - instituting, responding to, or conducting appeals, applications or administrative reviews that arise out of prosecutions or proceedings referred to in the Act (reg 3(a)); and\n  - where the DPP, with the Attorney‑General’s consent, holds an appointment/commission or is otherwise authorised to prosecute Commonwealth offences, the DPP may:\n    - institute or conduct Commonwealth prosecutions or related committal proceedings; and\n    - institute, respond to, or conduct appeals, applications or reviews arising out of those Commonwealth prosecutions or proceedings — but only to the extent the Commonwealth prosecution or proceeding arises from the same facts or circumstances as an ACT matter described in the Act (reg 3(b)(i)–(v) and final qualification in reg 3).\n\n- In plain terms: the regulation tells us when the ACT DPP can handle appeals and reviews tied to ACT prosecutions and, with the Attorney‑General’s consent and an appropriate Commonwealth authorisation, when the ACT DPP can run or join Commonwealth prosecutions or committals that flow from the same underlying facts as ACT matters (reg 3).\n\nWho this affects\n\n- The Director of Public Prosecutions (operationally): expands and clarifies the DPP’s authorised activities.\n- The Attorney‑General: must give consent for the DPP to act in Commonwealth prosecutions (reg 3(b)).\n- Accused persons, appellants, applicants and respondents in proceedings that are ACT matters and in closely connected Commonwealth proceedings: the DPP may institute or conduct prosecutions, committals, appeals or reviews on their behalf (or for the Territory) in those circumstances.\n- The Territory (as a party) and potentially the Commonwealth, because the DPP may conduct Commonwealth prosecutions if authorised and with consent.\n\nWhy it matters (effects, incentives and trade‑offs)\n\n- Clarifies cross‑jurisdictional prosecutorial authority: the regulation explicitly permits the ACT DPP, with Attorney‑General consent and a Commonwealth appointment/authorisation, to handle Commonwealth prosecutions and related appellate work when those proceedings arise from the same facts as ACT matters (reg 3(b) and final qualification). That centralises authority for related prosecutions in the DPP where the necessary authorisations and consent exist.\n\n- Who pays and who decides: the regulation does not set funding rules. The key decision gate is Attorney‑General consent for Commonwealth matters (reg 3(b)). Practical funding and resourcing (costs of prosecution work) remain matters for government budgets and operational arrangements.\n\n- Behavioural effect on the DPP: the DPP may take on extra work — Commonwealth prosecutions and committals tied to ACT matters — which can reallocate DPP resources away from other matters. The Attorney‑General’s consent requirement is a control point that restricts unilateral expansion by the DPP (reg 3(b)).\n\n- Trade‑offs and risks: centralising related prosecutions under the DPP can produce coordination benefits (single prosecuting authority for connected facts) and legal certainty about who conducts appeals and committals. The main costs are administrative and opportunity costs (time and resources taken from other DPP priorities). There is limited discretion built into the scheme (AG consent and the requirement that the Commonwealth matter arise from the same facts as an ACT matter), which reduces but does not eliminate judgement calls about scope (reg 3).\n\n- Implementation and compliance burden: operationally straightforward for courts and practitioners because it simply states what the DPP may do; the main implementation tasks are administrative (ensuring appropriate Commonwealth authorisation, obtaining AG consent, and allocating DPP resources).\n\nRelevant citation: regulation, section 3 (Prescribed functions) and the qualification referring to matters in the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1990, section 6(1)(a)–(c) and 6(1)(b).\n\nAnalyst’s practical note\n\n- The regulation is narrowly targeted: it does not create new offences or funding rules. It prescribes when the ACT DPP can act in appeals, reviews, Commonwealth prosecutions and committals that are connected to ACT matters. The Attorney‑General’s consent requirement and the limitation to matters arising from the same underlying facts narrow the practical reach of the expansion.\n\n"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of prescribing specific functions for the DPP under the parent Act. The 2025 amendment removed the interpretation section (section 2) and updated the heading for section 3, but did not expand the scope beyond the original intent of defining the DPP's powers regarding appeals and Commonwealth prosecutions."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 sections total, with 1 section (interpretation) repealed","Single substantive provision (section 3) with straightforward list format","Minimal cross-referencing (only to parent Act sections 6(1)(q), 6(1)(a)-(c), and 6(1)(b))","No defined terms in the operative provisions","Simple conditional structure: 'if the director, with the consent of the Attorney-General...'","Recent amendment (2025) simplified rather than complicated the structure by removing the interpretation section"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation expands the powers of the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). It allows the DPP to handle appeals and reviews related to criminal cases, and—with the Attorney-General's permission—to prosecute federal (Commonwealth) offences when those cases are connected to ACT matters the DPP is already handling. Essentially, it lets the DPP represent the Territory or other parties in higher courts and administrative tribunals, and occasionally step into federal prosecutions when authorised."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulation-1991","history":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulation-1991/history","analysis":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulation-1991/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulation-1991/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulation-1991/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/director-of-public-prosecutions-regulation-1991/documents"}}