Testimonials from former and current employees or lawyers
Presiding Judge, Newcastle District Court
I am a District Court Judge in New South Wales and was appointed in 2003. I am currently the Presiding Judge of the District Court in Newcastle.
In 1984, my wife, 2 young children and I travelled to the Territory and we lived in Darwin until our return to Sydney in 1987.
I took up a position as a Legal Officer with the Northern Territory Prosecution service the fore runner to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. I was 29 and had been admitted as a legal practitioner for approximately 3 and a half years.
I appeared for the Crown in numerous Local Courts throughout the Territory. The bulk of my Local Court appearances were in Darwin but I also conducted trials in the Supreme Court in Darwin and Alice Springs.
I appeared in the Supreme Court, in the Federal Court, and acted as the Instructing Solicitor in a High Court appeal.
I started as a level 1 Legal officer in 1984 and left as the Deputy Head of the Prosecution Office.
I had gained considerable experience in the Territory which led to a statutory appointment as a Crown Prosecutor in Sydney in 1987. I was 32 and I have no doubt that I was successful because of my experience prosecuting in the Northern Territory.
My career with the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions culminated in my appointment as Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions around 1999.
I am happy to recommend employment with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for all up and coming legal practitioners.
Senior Crown Prosecutor
I started at the Summary Prosecution division in November 2013 when it was undergoing ‘civilianisation’: Police Prosecutors were being replaced by DPP Summary Prosecutors in the Darwin Magistrates Court. Despite my limited criminal law experience, I was fortunate to be offered a role replacing Police in the Bail and Arrest Court.
I spent just over a year in the Summary Prosecution division, learning criminal law and developing advocacy skills. I ran countless contested hearings, voir dires and sentencing proceedings in the Magistrates Court. I regularly appeared in the Bail and Arrest Court, as well as in the specialist lists such as mental health or directions hearings.
I had an incredible opportunity to travel to a number of Bush Courts, where I worked closely with Aboriginal witnesses and interpreters. I was in court almost every day developing my career on my feet.
I was also given the chance to undertake 6 months in the Crown division. Even though I had only a year under my belt working in criminal law, I appeared on Supreme Court pleas and summary appeals. I instructed in a number of trials and ran a busy committal practice. In 2016, I took up a permanent position.
As I have developed as a prosecutor and trial advocate, the work has become increasingly complex. I regularly run Supreme Court trials where the allegations are serious violence or sexual. I’ve also had the opportunity to act as junior counsel led by Senior Counsel in complex matters such as a historical sexual offence and a multiple murder matter.
I am constantly amazed by the courage and resilience of people involved in the criminal justice system whether it’s the Police, victims, witnesses, defendants, lawyers, or courts. Each has a critical role in delivering justice and it’s not easy.
In my experience in the Northern Territory everyone takes their roles seriously and conscientiously.
The NT DPP has a lot to offer people from the start of their professional careers through to becoming experienced practitioners. The opportunities for development are endless, if you are the kind of person who is prepared to work hard and make the most of it.
Resilience and perseverance are 2 qualities that serve NT Prosecutors well.
The lifestyle is easy and relaxed which is great for families and individuals.
A move to the Northern Territory will change the way you live your life!
Senior Crown Prosecutor
I first came to the NT in 2005 looking for legal work and found work at the bottom of the ladder as a Courts Registrar. I’d left Australia in 2000, and spent 5 years travelling overseas doing all sorts of jobs and none were related to the law.
I then became an Associate in the Darwin Supreme Court and moved to the then Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions where I have worked ever since. I began in the most junior position and now I am at the third most senior prosecutor level in the DPP.
In the NT you have an opportunity to move into diverse roles which you wouldn’t be able to do anywhere else in Australia. It’s the most challenging jurisdiction in Australia to practice law but you can move up in your career very quickly.
I have also really enjoyed being part of the framework that changes laws for the better and that includes helping guide the legal decision makers about the legitimacy of their policies.
You are able to bring common sense justice to remote communities and show the custodians of the land and people living there that they can receive the same right to justice as everyone else. Recently, the whole Darwin Supreme Court flew to a remote community and we were able to achieve a penalty that was appropriate to the crime, uphold the law and show the people that the law is for them too.
We have regular access to further training. The Australian Advocacy Institute regularly visits and the NT Criminal Lawyers Association also conducts its bi-annual conference here.
Originally, my wife and I thought we would stay here for a short time but the healthy outdoor lifestyle for us and our children meant it turned into a long time.
Crown Prosecutor
I began my career at the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. I spent time working in the Director’s Chambers before commencing as a Solicitor in the Campbelltown Office.
Since June 2022, I have been employed with the NT Director of Public Prosecutions as a Crown Prosecutor in Darwin. In November 2022, I commenced working in the Alice Springs Office.
There are many aspects of my job that I love. I enjoy challenging myself on a daily basis to be the best lawyer I can be, and the DPP is a great platform for this. The DPP provides one of the most essential high quality services to the community, and I enjoy the responsibilities that come with my role. I enjoy all forms of advocacy and I enjoy high level communication to facilitate justice, whether it’s an early appropriate resolution or a criminal trial.
For those considering applying for a job with the NT DPP, I would encourage them to embrace the opportunity and give it their all. Being a Prosecutor at the DPP fosters exceptional communication skills, orally and written, as well as critical and analytical thinking.
It encourages lawyers to be proactive and to consider a variety of issues from different perspectives. I strongly recommend the NT DPP to any lawyer looking to work in a fulfilling yet challenging workplace.
I have been lucky enough to work alongside some exceptional legal minds at the DPP. I work alongside incredible colleagues from diverse backgrounds, and this makes the workplace an even more desirable place to be. We also have fantastic mentors, and receive frequent training and development.
Since commencing my role, I have run 4 jury trials and been a junior in a number of others. These have been among the most rewarding experiences of my life.
I would be more than happy to chat with anybody who is considering working at the NT DPP. I consider the NT DPP to be among the best employers to gain high level experience and meet significant challenges that help foster tremendous growth.
Judge, New South Wales District Court
My 5 years spent in the Territory, from 1994 until late 1999 was a life changing experience.
I relocated from Hobart when I was 24 years of age and dying for an adventure. I commenced working for the NT DPP as a junior Crown Prosecutor [having been only recently admitted] and was immediately prosecuting local court matters in Darwin and remote communities including Groote Island, Elcho Island and the Tiwi Islands.
I also instructed senior Crown Prosecutors in the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeal before being entrusted to run my first Supreme Court jury trial at 26.
The career opportunities the NT DPP provided me have proved invaluable throughout my career. They helped me to ‘leap frog’ over my peers in the big cities - smaller regions offer more opportunities and quicker career advancement.
I then applied for a position with the NSW DPP as a Crown Prosecutor when I was 32 and my experience in the NT was behind my appointment.
Outside work, I tried to maximise my time and to explore the Territory and the Top End of Australia generally – the unique and spectacular parts of Australia that most people have not seen or experienced.
Over the years I have encouraged many young solicitors to experience the Northern Territory and those that have taken it up have not been disappointed.
I will always treasure the time I spent in the Top End and particularly my time in the NT DPP.
Crown Prosecutor
I’ve been working with the NT Director of Public Prosecutions for 3 years and spent the first 2 years as a Summary Prosecutor in Alice Springs before moving to Darwin.
As prosecutors we deal with very vulnerable complainants and witnesses, especially in domestic violence proceedings and routinely with the assistance of interpreters from the Aboriginal Interpreter Service.
Working in Alice Springs, I was lucky to go on circuit to bush courts all over central Australia.
The NT is a special place and Darwin and Alice Springs are great in different ways. There is essentially no commute. The best part of living in the NT is the outdoors like the West McDonnell ranges outside Alice Springs, or Kakadu and Litchfield in the Top End.
My best career achievement to date would have to be running my first trial in the Supreme Court. I really enjoy appellate work and I’ve had many notable summary hearings. I was the instructing solicitor to a Senior Crown Prosecutor in a significant sexual assault trial in Alice Springs where the accused was convicted by the jury of nearly all the charges.
If somebody had told me I would be running Supreme Court trials in 3 years when I joined the NT DPP, I wouldn’t have believed them. You would be hard-pressed to find another jurisdiction where you would get as much ‘hands-on experience’.
CSC, FRSN, FAAL, Senior Counsel New South Wales and Honorary Professor, Australian National University
From 1989 to 1990, I worked for the NT Department of Law, now part of the Department of Attorney-General and Justice, following nearly 3 years legal practice in Sydney.
Working in the Territory was my introduction to government and policy legal work which became lifelong interests of mine. It also gave me the topic for my doctoral thesis.
During my time in the Territory, I was given wonderful work opportunities much earlier in my legal career than most of my university contemporaries.
I lived mainly in Darwin, and then as now, the most multicultural capital city in Australia with so much to do outside work including sport, the outdoors and travel. I also made friendships which endure to this day.
In 2017, I was appointed as Australia’s Independent National Security Legislation Monitor and acted in that position until 2020. The monitor is important in ensuring that Australia’s national security and counter-terrorism legislation accords with the rule of law and is applied consistent with Australia’s human rights obligations.
Working at the NT DPP early in your career gives you a great opportunity to do really vital work in the administration of justice, and much sooner than you would anywhere else.
Why not give it a try?
Prosecutor
Working at the NT DPP has given me unparalleled opportunities to develop my skills as an advocate where I publicly support or recommend a particular cause or policy.
It has meant working with and learning from some of the Territory's most senior legal practitioners, and being able to use my role to help people every day and contribute to a better, fairer justice system.
As a Prosecutor, I work on complex trials and run hearings in remote communities. The diversity of experiences the NT DPP has to offer is incredible. Not to mention how magical Darwin sunsets and waterhole adventures are.
My time at the DPP has taught me so much about how the law can be used to better lives and I am so glad I decided to make the move.
Crown Prosecutor, New South Wales, Office of the Director of the Public Prosecutions
I came to the Territory in February 1994 and stayed for 4 years working in Darwin for 3 years and spent one year in Alice Springs. I am glad that I experienced working both in the Top End and in the Central Desert town of Alice Springs.
I travelled all over the Territory appearing in Bush Courts. The variety of work and the unusual cases in Bush Courts always stick in my mind. The communities that I visited were wonderful places and I flew in light planes all over the place.
I came up to the Territory as a young, green lawyer and left with a lot of experience returning to the NSW DPP to take up a trial lawyer position.
The Territory was such an experience - it was a totally different environment.
I recommend it to any young lawyer who wants to develop their criminal law career and make a difference.
Senior Member NCAT, NSW
The time I spent working for the NT DPP remains a highlight in my career and I was appointed a Crown Prosecutor.
The work was diverse and interesting, as well as meaningful and challenging. I was allocated prosecutions at a very early stage and was able to see them through to a verdict. This meant I developed relationships with the witnesses, with assistance from the capable and helpful witness assistance officers, as well as with the Officers in Charge of the prosecutions and defence.
I worked across the Northern Territory including in remote regions and with culturally and linguistically diverse witnesses. It was incredibly fulfilling work.
Being a small jurisdiction, I became familiar with the bench quickly and could tailor my advocacy to suit as well as with the legal profession generally. I found the Northern Territory a friendly and welcoming place to work and have lifelong friends from my time up north.