Login
Seasoned silk appointed NSW’s first female DPP
A leading, Sydney criminal lawyer will become the next NSW Director of Public Prosecutions and the first woman appointed to the role, replacing outgoing DPP Lloyd Babb SC who finished up his 10-year term last month.
Naomi Neilson
Attorney-General Mark Speakman has welcomed NSW’s new Director of Public Prosecutions, Sally Dowling SC, who will commence her 10-year term from next Monday, 16 August. Ms Dowling will bring with her extensive experience across the profession, including as lead counsel across Australia’s major courts.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
“Ms Dowling has a distinguished background in criminal law and has shown outstanding leadership and legal skills while arguing cases both as a prosecutor and as defence counsel,” Mr Speakman said. “She is very well positioned to continue the dedicated work of Lloyd Babb SC, who finished his term on 17 July 2021.”
Ms Dowling was admitted as a legal practitioner in 1995 and appointed senior counsel in 2013. She served as Crown prosecutor for 16 years and has appeared as lead counsel in the High Court, the Federal Court and across all NSW jurisdictions.
In 2016, she was appointed deputy senior Crown prosecutor and head of the appeals unit within the office of the DPP. During her career, Ms Dowling appeared as lead counsel in more than 300 appeals in the High Court and the NSW Court of Appeal and in more than 65 jury trials in the NSW Supreme and District courts.
Ms Dowling took up the role of senior counsel assisting the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug “Ice” in 2019. Since 2020, she has been a barrister in private practice, operating out of Wardell Chambers.
Commenting on her new role, Ms Dowling said: “I look forward to representing our community and providing the public with a prosecution service that is strong, fair and fearless.”
