STORY: "Queensland's beleaguered DNA lab clears backlog of hundreds of sexual assault kits, director says, by State Political Reporter Alex Brewster, published by ABC News on May 10, 2026. (Alex Brewster is the state political reporter for ABC News in Brisbane. He files across television, digital, social, and radio news platforms. Alex joined the ABC in 2021 and has worked as a video journalist in Ipswich, and covered court, crime, housing, and outer suburban issues.)
SUB-HEADING: "Forensic Science Queensland has been the subject of two commissions of inquiry and two reports which found a litany of issues with the lab's testing of DNA evidence." (ABC);
SUB-HEADING: "A backlog of more than 600 sexual assault kits has been processed at an overseas lab, following investigations into testing failures at Forensic Science Queensland (FSQ).
IN SHORT: "FSQ director Mick Fuller says the Brisbane-based lab could resume testing rape kits in July. What's next? About 20,000 historic DNA samples still need to be retested."
GIST: "Queensland's beleaguered forensics lab could soon resume testing of rape kits, after it was forced to export to a US facility.
Forensic Science Queensland's (FSQ) $50 million two-year outsourcing strategy to American lab Bode Technology has processed a backlog of more than 600 sexual assault kits.
The lab was the subject of two commissions of inquiry, over failures in testing and cultural issues which may have led to miscarriages of justice.
FSQ director Mick Fuller said the US facility had been turning around test results within 60 days, but local testing would be significantly quicker.
"The goal for me is to restart the sexual assault testing in probably July this year, which means that we could be turning around within 5 or 10 working days," he said.
"We never want another backlog with the sexual assault kits, and my guarantee is as long as the labs are standing, we won't have a backlog again in that place."
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said it meant perpetrators would face swifter justice.
This means victims of violence in particular can get answers sooner," she said.
"It means police can get their evidence to courts sooner. And importantly, it means offenders being brought before the courts much quicker."
A backlog of DNA samples from major crimes which went untested due to issues at the lab has fallen by about 70 per cent, dropping from 11,703 samples in November 2024 to 3,488 in May 2026.
Hundreds of DNA samples were sent overseas amid an overhaul of Forensic Science Queensland. (ABC News)
Historic backlog will 'take some time'
Failures in how testing was conducted at the lab, as well as regular environmental contamination over a year, meant tens of thousands of historic DNA samples needed to be retested.
A backlog of DNA samples from major crimes which went untested due to issues at the lab has fallen by about 70 per cent, dropping from 11,703 samples in November 2024 to 3,488 in May 2026.
Hundreds of DNA samples were sent overseas amid an overhaul of Forensic Science Queensland. (ABC News) reducing that backlog, a significant amount was outstanding.
t started at a number around 40,000, and it's down to 20,000. I know that's a big number," he said.
"It's just not about grabbing a vial and retesting it. You really have to look at the continuity of all aspects of it, but we are reducing it."
"I'll make a promise to all the victims in Queensland. We are getting through them, but it does take an enormous amount of time."
A 2025 report found cases in the magistrates' court relying on DNA evidence were being delayed by up to three years.
Mr Fuller was appointed in August to overhaul operations at the lab after former director Dr Linzi Wilson-Wilde, resigned following "contamination issues" being identified.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-11/queensland-dna-lab-testing-backlog-reduced/106664810
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."Lawyer Radha Natarajan: Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true;
