Linzi Wilson-Wilde, currently director of Forensic Science Queensland (FSQ), was immediately suspended from her post. She is still waiting for a show cause notice on her removal to be issued. The move, announced by Opposition leader Deb Frecklington earlier today, follows a review that found “contamination issues” in the state’s forensic laboratory. We hope that this suspension marks a new chapter. Wilson-Wilde became director officially in September 2024 after serving as chief executive in an interim capacity since early January 2023.
Contamination problems at FSQ have raised red flags. That civil society response has been escalated by the release of two Commissions of Inquiry in 2022 and 2023. Those questions revealed alarming failures in the FSQ laboratory. Their investigation unveiled a “fatally flawed” automated testing procedure that would have enabled offenders to avoid conviction. The three inquiries uncovered 120+ recommendations. These are meant to address the “disturbing and troubling” operational shortcomings that have already been found.
Deb Frecklington’s office has so far been unable to clarify what precisely qualifies as a contamination issue. Yet, she did affirm that FSQ will be experiencing a short-term suspension of operations with a seven-day primary shutdown. There will be an end-of-summer review to assess how to proceed into Year 2 with FSQ. Lastly, it will evaluate what redoing tens of thousands of contaminated samples can do to speed up the process.
“This action was taken following advice I received today that FSQ was placing a general pause on routine DNA testing after contamination issues were identified,” Frecklington stated. She emphasized that the government is “firmly committed to fixing the long-standing issues at Forensic Science Queensland.”
Despite the pause, Frecklington said urgent business would still proceed, but only in a controlled and limited manner. The federal government is already hard at work addressing the important priorities identified by the commissions of inquiry. They’re under enormous pressure to get credibility restored to the forensic science operations.
Linzi Wilson-Wilde’s timeline for responding to the new show cause notice is still unclear. The outcomes of this review and any subsequent actions taken by the government will be closely monitored, as stakeholders await clarity on FSQ’s future.
