Question Time

Court Backlogs

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Attorney-General a question on criminal court backlogs.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: The Report on Government Services 2025 reveals that South Australia now has the highest percentage of criminal case backlog in the nation, with 40.5 per cent of cases more than 12 months old in 2023-24. This is a sharp increase from 21.1 per cent in 2020-21, effectively doubling the backlog in just three years.

Given that lengthy delays in the justice system have serious consequences for victims seeking closure, accused individuals awaiting trial and broader public confidence in the rule of law, my question to the Attorney-General is: what specific steps is the Attorney taking to address this growing issue and ensure cases are processed in a more timely manner?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:29): I thank the honourable member for her question. It is an area that we traverse, I think, every budget estimates committee process that we have had, not just since we have been in government but I can remember as shadow attorney-general not being involved but helping to write questions on similar topics for my colleagues when the Hon. Vickie Chapman was Attorney-General.

It is the case that we are finding the complexity of criminal trials increasing. There has been a number of criminal trials in our superior courts that have lasted many, many months, with multiple defendants, and many different parts of those trials considered different evidence. It is also the case that, particularly with Operation Ironside, we have seen a significant spike in the number of serious matters, and that affects the DPP committal stages in lower courts and trials in superior courts.

Over the last few budget cycles, including in Mid-Year Budget Reviews, we have made significant investments in relation to the capacity of courts to deal particularly with Ironside matters, and also for the DPP to deal with those. We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation and receive submissions, but I do acknowledge that, as previous governments have faced the increasing complexity of criminal trials, particularly with Ironside matters, we are continuing to increase resources where they are needed.