Queensland forensics lab in 'sustained crisis', with 'failure in leadership' leading to toxic culture, report finds

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2 days ago

A toxic culture at Queensland's state-run forensics lab has exacerbated delays, impacted police investigations and put the community at risk, a second scathing report in as many days has revealed.
The troubled Forensic Science Queensland (FSQ) was the subject of two commissions of inquiry in 2022 and 2023, which found evidence may have been compromised and could have led to miscarriages of justice.
On Monday, a report led by forensic biologist Dr Kirsty Wright identified that victims of serious crimes like rape and murder were waiting well over a year for vital DNA test results, which should have taken just 10 days.
A separate independent report released on Tuesday, led by former Forensic Bureau of Investigations (FBI) expert Dr Bruce Budowle, described the lab as being in "sustained crisis".
"The challenges facing FSQ seem to the Review Team to be multi-faceted and include failures in leadership and organisational culture and systemic failures in foundational areas like quality assurance and operational capability and capacity," the report noted.
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As of this week, about 13,000 DNA samples need to be retested due to failures at the lab.
That process is expected to take years to complete and to lead to years-long delays in the courts.
Dr Budowle found the backlog was having a "significant negative impact on police investigations and safety".
"Delays between a crime and apprehension can be exacerbated, or identification of persons of interest may not occur at all if the investigative process cannot use DNA to develop investigative leads," he wrote.
"And thus result in a failure in providing safety and security to the victims, their families, and their communities."
Dr Budowle found there was a culture of "poor communication, a lack of empowerment, and resistance to change" at FSQ.
"During interviews, many people reported raising operational and/or quality issues and receiving responses like 'it's not your concern' or 'stay in your lane' or 'pick your battles'," he wrote.
The report noted significant staffing pressure at the lab, which was short-staffed by 80 full-time employees – something Dr Budowle said was an "extraordinary predicament for any organisation".
"The Review Team accepts that finding qualified and experienced management and staff for FSQ is a real challenge given the limited pool of talent in Australia from which to draw and that recruiting to a laboratory in crisis is not an incentive to attract sufficient talent," he wrote.
Dr Wright's report also detailed environmental contamination at FSQ, labelling it a "dirty lab".
He said this had been raised in quarterly meetings for two years, but these concerns went "unheeded".
With a massive backlog of work and a huge number of recommendations from previous inquiries to be implemented, Dr Budowle said management was working in a "reactive, crisis management mode".
A clear lack of strategic direction contributed to "instability, resource wastage, staff burnout, and the erosion of staff's trust in management", he wrote.
One example of shifting priorities detailed in the report involved a visit from Attorney-General Deb Frecklington.
"For example, renovating a currently unused laboratory room became a high priority after a visit by the Attorney-General, who noted that the space should be renovated," the report read.
Former director of the facility, Dr Linzi Wilson-Wilde, resigned last month following the identification of "contamination issues".
The two reports have made a total of 32 recommendations, which the government said it would consider over the coming months.
The government has appointed former NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller to head a new expert team to overhaul operations at FSQ.