4.6 Office of the Queensland Police Service Solicitor

The Office is consists of:

• Office of the Queensland Police Service Solicitor;
• Legal Liaison Unit; and
• Litigation Unit.

The roles and functions of the Office of the Queensland Police Service Solicitor are to:

• Provide high level legal advice to the Commissioner and members of the Senior Executive;
• Provide written and oral legal advice on questions of law, practice and procedure;
• Advise in relation to legal matters including the exercising of legislative powers held by members of the Service and strategic issues;
• Provide confidential advice to the Commissioner and other members of the Senior Executive on complex and/or sensitive matters affecting or likely to affect the Queensland Police Service including the discipline of officers, the prosecution of officers, and associated legal and industrial issues;
• Identify corporate and legal risks associated with legal actions and provide advice and recommendations to the Commissioner, Senior Executive and relevant corporate governance committees to manage the impact of identified risks;
• Develop and implement risk management strategies to minimise the impact of various legal actions against the Service and its members;
• Represent the Service before the Courts, Commissions and other legislative and legal forums;
• Represent the Commissioner at seminars, conferences and other forums dealing with policy formulation on legally related matters of interest to the Service; and
• Act as a contact officer for the Crown Solicitor and assist in the conduct of civil actions involving the Service to ensure the effective and appropriate conclusion of matters.

Legal Liaison Unit

• Process subpoenas and other court orders served on the Commissioner;
• Produce documents in court on behalf of the Commissioner; and
• Process applications made under various third-party disclosure legislative requirements.

Litigation Investigation Unit

• Conduct confidential and sensitive investigations relating to Workcover statutory and common law claims;
• Identify potential witnesses and relevance of documentary material to support claims against the Queensland Police Service;
• Provide high quality advice and assistance to the Service on complex Workcover investigations; and
• Liaises closely with Crown Law, to ensure appropriate, quality information is provided to build a strong defence for the claims.