‘Burnout, unmanageable stress’: NSW DPP staff survey results revealed

Less than half of the NSW prosecution office feels favourably towards the senior executive team, an all-staff survey has revealed, as hundreds of staff indicate they are subject to unmanageable stress.

NSW chief prosecutor Sally Dowling SC. Picture: Gaye Gerard/NewsWire

Less than half of the NSW prosecution office feels favourably towards the senior executive team, an all staff survey has revealed, with burnout and exhaustion still rampant in the organisation and hundreds indicating they are subject to unmanageable stress.

Chief prosecutor Sally Dowling SC circulated the survey results to staff members on Friday afternoon, praising the “significant improvement in workplace culture” from last year, thanking all those who shared their experiences, and encouraging her workers to keep a “positive mindset”.

But while the 2024 People Matter Employee Survey shows an ­uptick in wellbeing from last year – when the organisation was dubbed the unhappiest place to work in the NSW public service – the survey still indicates the ODPP in some areas is lagging behind other organisations in the sector.

Crown prosecutors and solicitors showed the most dismal scores, with just over half giving a positive response when it comes to wellbeing. However, members of the Directors Chambers – which includes Ms Dowling and her deputies – showed an overall wellbeing score of 75 per cent, with nearly 90 per cent responding favourably to questions about the senior executive.

“I wanted to thank you all for completing this survey. We had improved participation of 70 per cent, which means the data more accurately reflects the workplace experience,” Ms Dowling wrote in an email to staff on Friday afternoon. “This enables the executive to focus on areas for improvement as we strive to help ensure our workplace remains a place of inclusion, growth and service for the people of NSW.”

The survey results follow a tumultuous period for the state prosecution office, in part due to some judges alleging the organisation runs baseless rape trials that have no hope of securing a conviction.

Ms Dowling has taken out three complaints with the state’s judicial watchdog against judges who had levelled criticism at her office – one that has been upheld, another partially upheld and a third with an unknown outcome.

The Australian on Saturday revealed District Court judge Penelope Wass has filed an official complaint with the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner saying, in her opinion, Ms Dowling tried to “exert influence” over her when engaging in private communications with the court’s chief judge in the middle of the criminal hearing.

This year’s survey revealed 35 per cent of employees feel the ODPP senior executive supports their career advancement. About 36 per cent said senior executives listened to their employees.

Overall, the survey found just 44 per cent of employees provided favourable responses when asked questions about the leadership of the business, which is down 4 per cent when compared to the rest of the sector.

About 19 per cent of employees have witnessed bullying (down 5 per cent on last year), 13 per cent have experienced bullying (down 2 per cent on last year) and 6 per cent have experienced sexual harassment at work (up 1 per cent).

In relation to wellbeing, only 44 per cent believed the stress of the job was manageable (up 12 per cent on last year, but 10 per cent lower than the rest of the sector), with 47 per cent saying they feel burned out by work.

Some 49 per cent said they believed there were “effective resources” available at the ODPP to support employee wellbeing, an 11 per cent increase on last year.

When comparing different units, levels of satisfaction were much lower among Crown prosecutors and solicitors than those in corporate services or working in the Director’s Chambers. While 55 per cent of Crowns and solicitors returned favourable wellbeing results, 75 per cent of those in the Director’s Chambers did so.

Some 46 per cent of Crowns and 41 per cent of solicitors gave favourable responses relating to the senior executive, and 86 per cent of Director’s Chambers employees did so.

In her note to staff on Friday, Ms Dowling said the survey results “indicate how strongly you support the office’s values and demonstrates a significant improve­ment in workplace culture over the past 12 months”.

“Areas of improvement have been made with regards to wellbeing, health and safety, risk and innovation and learning and development,” she said.

Ms Dowling said the survey showed “ethics and values are incredibly important to our people” and that there was “strong support for flexible work conditions”, with 91 per cent of employees feeling supported by their managers to work flexibly. “I am committed to continuing these arrangements,” she added.

“There is always room for improvement, and although there have been significant areas of growth on last year’s survey results, addressing the ongoing issues of workload, wellbeing and burnout remain the top priorities of the executive,” she said.

“We are continuing to recruit for the 63 new staff I announced in June and as these positions are filled and workloads are reduced, we hope to see wellbeing further improve over the next 12 months.”

Ms Dowling said support for career development also remained a focus, but encouraged employees to keep a “positive mindset” and attend wellbeing checks.

“Your role in keeping a positive mindset and attending wellbeing checks, especially in the face of the work we do, is crucial,” she said.

“All your efforts and feedback will continue to make a significant impact.”

An ODPP spokesperson told The Australian: “Crown prosecutors and ODPP solicitors perform some of the most demanding legal work in this state. The ODPP continues to develop ways to better support these extremely valuable lawyers. Areas of improvement over the past 12 months have been made with regards to wellbeing, health and safety, risk and innovation and learning and development.

“Criminal prosecution carries a heavy burden of responsibility, and by its nature is difficult work, yet 92 per cent of employees support our values, 96 per cent are aware of their ethical obligations and 88 per cent of employees believe they are treated with respect.”