Queensland forensic testing boss resigns after suspension

The head of Queensland’s embattled state-run forensic testing lab has resigned weeks after being asked to explain why she should not be removed from the job.

Attorney-General Deb Frecklington announced the news that suspended Forensic Science Queensland director Dr Linzi Wilson-Wilde would leave, effective immediately, on Friday morning.

Dr Linzi Wilson-Wilde has moved to Griffith University.Credit: LinkedIn

Wilson-Wilde has been in the job since September, appointed by then-health minister Yvette D’Ath a day before the government entered pre-election caretaker mode.

Frecklington suspended Wilson-Wilde, issuing a show cause notice for her removal, late last month after a pause in testing sparked by contamination issues.

Forensic Science Queensland was established in 2023 after multiple inquiries, one of which revealed a “fundamentally flawed” automated DNA extraction method.

The method might have led to offenders potentially escaping conviction for nine years from 2007. The inquiries also elicited characterisations of a “toxic” culture at the lab.

In her statement on Friday, Frecklington said the executive manager of forensic biology, Natasha Mitchell, would continue acting in the director role until an appointment was made.

On Thursday night, Wilson-Wilde announced on LinkedIn that she was starting a new position as an adjunct professor at Griffith University.

The unsalaried appointment was agreed to in January. Attempts have been made to contact Wilson-Wilde.

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