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ACT top prosecutor Shane Drumgold SC won’t be able to practise as an ACT barrister when his resignation takes effect next month, as his practising certificate, which is tied to his title, will no longer be valid.

The territory’s Bar Association president Marcus Hassall said in a statement on Tuesday that, as the holder of a restricted, government practising certificate, Drumgold is only entitled to practise as a barrister while employed in his current role.

ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC’s practising certificate will be extinguished once his resignation takes effect.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“The announcement of Mr Drumgold’s resignation from the office of Director of Public Prosecutions, to take effect from 1 September 2023, means that from that date Mr Drumgold will no longer have capacity to practise as a barrister in the ACT,” Hassall said.

“Any application by Mr Drumgold for a new or unrestricted practising certificate will require the approval of the ACT Bar Council and will necessitate consideration of the findings contained in the Sofronoff Report.”

Drumgold resigned as Director of Public Prosecutions on Friday over a series of damning findings made about him over his conduct during the trial of former Coalition staffer Bruce Lehrmann last year. Drumgold disputed many of the findings.

Inquiry chair, Walter Sofronoff KC found Drumgold had lied to ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum in the lead-up to the trial, that he had improperly questioned former Coalition minister Linda Reynolds during the trial, and had made baseless and “scandalous” claims against police, among other things.

Hassall said the bar council noted the findings of the report regarding Drumgold’s conduct “with grave concerns”.

“Those findings are patently serious and will receive careful consideration by the ACT Bar Council in the context of its role as the professional regulator of the ACT Bar,” he said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the ACT Law Society said it acknowledged the “serious questions raised” about the conduct of Drumgold in the Lehrmann trial.

“To the extent that the report criticises the conduct, decisions and objectivity of the DPP, there may be an opportunity to review the guidance, training and mentorship available to prosecutors and ensure that at key points prosecutors are required to check their objectivity (with themselves and peers),” the statement said.

Drumgold is not visible on any searchable lists of solicitors and barristers in any other state or territory, and comment has been sought from his lawyer, Mark Tedeschi KC, about whether he intends to practise again.

In a written statement issued on Sunday, Drumgold, who has been working as an ACT prosecutor since 2002, said his career had “been driven by a fire burning within, lit by an early life spent surrounded by the pain of chronic intergenerational social injustice.”

“Unfortunately, I find the fire has been extinguished, and try as I might, I cannot reignite it,” he said.

ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said the government had undertaken a preliminary review of other cases in which Drumgold was involved and determined no further investigations were required.

But ACT Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee argued there needed to be a more thorough review of cases to ensure confidence in the territory’s legal system.

“There was no detail about the preliminary review. Who undertook it? What was the criteria?” she said during a press conference on Tuesday.

Asked whether Drumgold should be prosecuted, Rattenbury told a press conference on Monday: “That is a matter the government is still considering.”

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