Board of Inquiry into the Criminal Justice System
On 21 December 2022, Chief Minister Andrew Barr, MLA and Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury, MLA announced the establishment of a Board of Inquiry into the Criminal Justice System in the Australian Capital Territory.
The Board of Inquiry was established to ensure that the Territory’s framework for progressing criminal investigations and prosecutions is robust, fair and respects the rights of those involved. This involved ensuring the Territory’s criminal justice entities work effectively together, and appropriately within their respective statutory frameworks.
Specifically, the Inquiry examined the conduct of criminal justice agencies involved in the trial of R v Lehrmann. Public reporting and commentary in relation to the matter of R v Lehrmann raised issues that may have wider implications for the prosecution of criminal matters in the Territory.
On 1 February 2023, the Board of Inquiry commenced. The Inquiry was established by Inquiries (Board of Inquiry – Criminal Justice System Appointment 2023 under section 5 of the Inquiries Act 1991.
The Board of Inquiry was conducted by the former Queensland Solicitor-General and retired judge of the Queensland Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, Mr Walter Sofronoff KC. Mr Sofronoff KC is independent of government.
Mr Walter Sofronoff KC delivered his report to the Chief Minister on 31 July 2023. The Government published the Inquiry Report and an interim Government Response on 7 August 2023. The final Government Response was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on 8 February 2024.
On 4 March 2024, the ACT Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Drumgold v Board of Inquiry & Ors (No. 3), which decided an application by Mr Drumgold for judicial review of findings of the Final Report of the Board of Inquiry – Criminal Justice System, dated 31 July 2023 that were adverse to him. Following that judgment, the Court made orders including three declarations favourable to Mr Drumgold in relation to findings adverse to him set out in Chapters 4, 5 and 6 of the Final Report. View the Court’s orders.
In May 2024, the ACT Integrity Commissioner confirmed their decision to commence an investigation into alleged corrupt conduct by Mr Walter Sofronoff KC, the Chair of the Board of Inquiry (Operation Juno). The allegations relate to the circumstances surrounding communications with and disclosures of confidential material made to journalists during and after the Inquiry, including the release of the report of the Inquiry before the report was made public by the Chief Minister.
On 18 March 2025, the ACT Integrity Commission provided its report to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly relating to Operation Juno (Operation Juno Investigation Report). Amongst other findings, the Operation Juno Investigation Report outlined that Mr Sofronoff KC’s conduct fell within several elements of the definition of “corrupt conduct” within section 9 of the Integrity Commission Act 2018 and that he engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” within section 10 of the Integrity Commission Act 2018 during his management of the 2023 Board of Inquiry.
Soon after the release of the Operation Juno Investigation Report, Mr Sofronoff brought a judicial review application to the Federal Court to challenge the ACT Integrity Commission findings. On 11 December 2025, the Federal Court in Sofronoff v ACT Integrity Commission [2025] FCA 1565 found that Mr Sofronoff did not establish any error in the ACT Integrity Commission’s findings and did not accept Mr Sofronoff’s grounds of appeal to have the findings overturned.