<!--The Official Report of Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia are covered by parliamentary privilege. Republication by others is not afforded the same protection and may result in exposure to legal liability if the material is defamatory. You may copy and make use of excerpts of proceedings where (1) you attribute the Parliament as the source, (2) you assume the risk of liability if the manner of your use is defamatory, (3) you do not use the material for the purpose of advertising, satire or ridicule, or to misrepresent members of Parliament, and (4) your use of the extracts is fair, accurate and not misleading. Copyright in the Official Report of Parliamentary Debates is held by the Attorney-General of South Australia.-->
<hansard id="" tocId="" xml:lang="EN-AU" schemaVersion="4.0" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="hansard_1_0.xsd" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2007/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
  <name>Legislative Council</name>
  <date date="2025-02-05T14:15:00+10:30" />
  <sessionName>Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)</sessionName>
  <parliamentNum>55</parliamentNum>
  <sessionNum>1</sessionNum>
  <parliamentName>Parliament of South Australia</parliamentName>
  <house>Legislative Council</house>
  <venue></venue>
  <reviewStage>published</reviewStage>
  <startPage num="7699" />
  <endPage num="7780" />
  <dateModified time="2025-02-18T17:38:01+10:30" />
  <proceeding continued="true" uid="4adfd17c6e8043b6874ad2441783694b">
    <name>Answers to Questions</name>
    <subject uid="7e13d646a05b4e68813efc707265e208">
      <name>Forensic Evidence</name>
      <text id="20250205faf9c2bd719541b890001398">
        <inserted>
          <heading>Forensic Evidence</heading>
        </inserted>
      </text>
      <talker role="member" id="5418" referenceid="e7b583be01404e74b438589370882e1d" uid="53afce2c0c864388bc33d4869544a5f1" kind="question">
        <name>The Hon. C. BONAROS</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <questions>
          <question date="2025-02-05T03:45:00+10:30">
            <name>Forensic Evidence</name>
          </question>
        </questions>
        <startTime time="2025-02-06T00:00:00+10:30" />
        <text id="20250205faf9c2bd719541b890001399">
          <inserted>
            <timeStamp time="2025-02-06T00:00:00+10:30" />In reply to <by role="member" id="5418" referenceid="e7b583be01404e74b438589370882e1d" uid="53afce2c0c864388bc33d4869544a5f1">the Hon. C. BONAROS </by>().10 September 2024).  </inserted>
        </text>
      </talker>
      <talker role="member" id="4697" referenceid="c1607c57d2294390bdc2b07c15f35010" uid="f5aae97ed42940709adf7f386a048166" kind="answer">
        <name>The Hon. K.J. MAHER</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <portfolios>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Minister for Aboriginal Affairs</name>
          </portfolio>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Attorney-General</name>
          </portfolio>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector</name>
          </portfolio>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Special Minister of State</name>
          </portfolio>
        </portfolios>
        <questions>
          <question date="2025-02-05T03:45:00+10:30">
            <name>Forensic Evidence</name>
          </question>
        </questions>
        <text id="20250205faf9c2bd719541b890001400">
          <inserted>
            <by role="member" id="4697" referenceid="c1607c57d2294390bdc2b07c15f35010" uid="f5aae97ed42940709adf7f386a048166">The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State):</by>  I am advised: </inserted>
        </text>
        <text id="20250205faf9c2bd719541b890001401">
          <inserted>In South Australia, there is currently no backlog of kits awaiting examination as, due to the seriousness of the offence types, these are prioritised for analysis. There is a one month wait time for initial evidence recovery screening results of sexual assault kits. Should a matter progress, the current wait time for full analysis and DNA results for sexual assault matters not involving minors is approximately 12 months. The current wait time for sexual assault matters involving minors is approximately eight months. </inserted>
        </text>
        <text id="20250205faf9c2bd719541b890001402">
          <inserted>No concerns have been raised with Forensic Science SA (FSSA) by South Australia Police or the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) regarding the current wait times.</inserted>
        </text>
        <page num="7777" />
        <text id="20250205faf9c2bd719541b890001403">
          <inserted>FSSA continually looks for business improvements to ensure an efficient and effective DNA service is provided that adds value to the SA judicial system. FSSA has strong working relationships with SAPOL, the DPP and the State Coroner's Office and regularly seeks feedback as to whether their needs are being met with the service being provided. </inserted>
        </text>
        <text id="20250205faf9c2bd719541b890001404">
          <inserted>FSSA has reviewed all 123 recommendations from the Queensland Commission of Inquiry and has implemented a number of changes where relevant.</inserted>
        </text>
        <text id="20250205faf9c2bd719541b890001405">
          <inserted>The 2024-25 Mid-Year Budget Review also includes an additional $3.8 million over four years in additional resourcing to support the work of FSSA.</inserted>
        </text>
      </talker>
    </subject>
  </proceeding>
</hansard>