DPP needs extra funding needed for banking cases, Christian Porter warned

The DPP has warned Attorney-General Christian Porter it will need more funding to tackle the criminal cases stemming from the banking royal commission.

Attorney-General Christian Porter will need extra funding for an increased workload of legal cases to be referred for prosecution in the wake of the Hayne royal commission.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has warned Attorney-General Christian Porter it will need more funding to tackle the criminal cases stemming from the banking royal commission.

CDPP director Sarah McNaughton SC told a parliamentary joint committee hearing on Thursday morning the department had been in discussions with its sister agencies about the “likely” workload of legal cases to be referred for prosecution after being investigated by Kenneth Hayne’s royal commission.

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission conducts some prosecutions of minor criminal matters but refers more serious matters to the CDPP, which conducts those prosecutions in court if it believes wrongdoing has taken place.

Ms McNaughton did not deny the CDPP was being advised on cases against individual workers in banks or wealth management companies, but said it was “very early days” and there had been some “very preliminary discussions” about cases against companies and individuals.

Berdj Tchakerian, the CDPP deputy director responsible for financial crimes and corruption, said the department was anticipating cases to be referred for prosecution early in 2019.

Mr Porter told The Australian he was “constantly discussing” funding with the CDPP, which recently had its budget boosted by $6m to launch cases referred by the Tax Office, but said he would wait until after the royal commission handed down its report in February before making any commitments.

“Once the final report of the royal commission is received, the government will consider its findings and recommendations and make any further decisions required, at that point,” he said.

“I am already in discussion with the CDDP about resourcing implications arising from the Royal Commission,” Mr Porter said.

Under questioning from Labor MP Matt Keogh and Nationals Senator John Williams, Ms McNaughton conceded the department had told Mr Porter of the extra funding the CDPP would need in light of a flood of expensive legal suits on the horizon.

“Have you requested for any more funding in the last six months?” Mr Williams said.

Ms McNaughton said her office has been in discussions with “relevant portfolios and my minister” over the last six months.

“I have been in discussions in relation to our potential needs should further cases be referred with my minister,” Ms McNaughton said.

A frustrated Mr Williams was forced to ask multiple times whether the CDPP had requested extra funding. “The reason I have difficulty is that I am an agency head and I don’t want to say something that I’m not permitted to say in this context,” Ms McNaughton said.

“We have been in discussions with our partner agencies as to the likely work that might arise out of that. The royal commission is yet to bring down their final report. We accept work from upwards of 45 agencies. Most of the time we get a pretty good indication of what’s on the horizon,” she said.

ASIC has already revealed it has been talking with the CDPP over a potential legal suit against wealth management group AMP, following the revelation of its behaviour in relation to its fees-for-no-service scandal investigated by the royal commission.

Government funding of enforcement agencies regulating the financial sector is becoming a key election issue. The admission comes against a background of budget cuts for ASIC over the past few years, including a surprise $20 million slashed from its departmental allocation in this year’s budget, and community anger over the regulator’s lack of enforcement action.