Leadership team
Statutory appointments
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the head of NSW's independent prosecution service.
The Director is appointed under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1986 by the NSW Attorney General, for a 10-year term.

Sally Dowling SC was appointed as Director of Public Prosecutions in August 2021.
Ms Dowling graduated from the University of Sydney in 1994 and was admitted as a solicitor in 1995. Called to the Bar in 1997, she worked in private practice until 2002 when she was appointed a Crown Prosecutor and joined the ODPP. In her 16 years in the Office, Ms Dowling prosecuted hundreds of matters, at trial and on appeal. She was appointed Senior Counsel in 2013 and in 2016 was appointed a Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor and head of the Appeals Unit.
In 2017, Ms Dowling was appointed to the Racing Appeals Tribunal NSW, and in 2019 acted as Senior Counsel assisting the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into Crystal Methamphetamine.
In 2020 Ms Dowling returned to the private Bar, appearing in coronial inquests and in criminal and regulatory matters both for the prosecution and defence.
Ms Dowling has consistently mentored junior practitioners and contributed to the continuing legal education of solicitors and barristers in NSW. She has served on multiple committees of the NSW Bar Association, including the Education Committee, the Silk Selection Committee, the Equal Opportunity Committee and the Professional Conduct Committee.

Frank Veltro SC was appointed as a Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in October 2022.
Mr Veltro first joined the ODPP as a solicitor in 1988, practising for four years before taking up an appointment as prosecuting counsel in Hong Kong. There, he appeared on behalf of the Crown in Supreme Court jury trials, in appeals in the Hong Kong Court of Criminal Appeal and before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
On his return in 1997 he practised at the NSW Bar before being appointed in-house counsel with the Commonwealth DPP in 1998. Mr Veltro was appointed a Crown Prosecutor in 2000 and a Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor in 2019, serving as the Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Sydney West Region and head of the Court of Criminal Appeal Unit. Mr Veltro has appeared in numerous complex trials and appeals in the Court of Criminal Appeal and in the High Court. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2020 and as an Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in May 2021.
Mr Veltro has also been a member of the NSW Bar Association’s Professional Conduct Committee and Criminal Law Committee and is presently a member of the Education Committee.

Helen Roberts SC was appointed as a Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in October 2022.
Having been Associate to Gleeson CJ in the High Court, she joined the ODPP as a solicitor in 1999. She then held positions as Solicitor Advocate with the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office, as Deputy Coroner for the Northern Territory and as Crown Prosecutor with the NT ODPP, before returning to the NSW ODPP.
Ms Roberts was appointed a Crown Prosecutor in July 2010, running trials in the District Court, before specialising in appellate work in 2017. She was appointed as an Acting Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor in February 2019, assuming joint responsibility for the Court of Criminal Appeal Unit.
Ms Roberts has appeared for the Crown in numerous complex appeals in the Court of Criminal Appeal and appeared in the High Court in special leave applications on behalf of the Director. She has twice been appointed as an Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, from March to August 2020 and in August 2022. In September 2021, she was appointed Senior Counsel.
She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at University of NSW Law School, teaching advocacy, and is Co-Chair of the Criminal Law Committee of the NSW Bar Association.

Michelle England was appointed as an Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in February 2022.
After practising as a solicitor at a leading commercial firm and at the Crown Solicitor’s Office, Ms England was called to the Bar in 2006. There, she had an extensive trial and appellate practice in criminal and administrative law. Ms England practised across a broad range of jurisdictions, with a focus on drug and terrorism trials in the District and Supreme Courts and appeals in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Following her appointment in 2021 as a Crown Prosecutor and an Acting Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor (first for a trial group and then for the Sydney West Region), Ms England appeared in numerous murder trials and appeals in the Court of Criminal Appeal and in the High Court.
Ms England has a long-standing commitment to leadership and mentoring. She has been an Australian company director of a large international anti-slavery organisation and has run prosecutor training overseas with a focus on gender-based violence. Ms England has also been a member of the NSW Bar Association’s Professional Conduct Committees and Criminal Law Committee.

Ken McKay SC was appointed Acting Senior Crown Prosecutor in December 2021.
He has more than 35 years’ experience as a prosecutor with the ODPP, commencing as a solicitor in 1987 and later practising as a Solicitor Advocate.
Mr McKay was appointed a Crown Prosecutor in 2000 and as a Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor in 2017. He has appeared in some of the state’s most complex and high-profile jury trials in the District Court and Supreme Court. In 2015, he specialised in appellate work, appearing in the Court of Criminal Appeal and as junior counsel to the Director in the High Court.
Mr McKay was appointed Senior Counsel in September 2020. Prior to his appointment as Acting Senior Crown Prosecutor, he was the Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Sydney West Region.

Craig Hyland was appointed Solicitor for Public Prosecutions in February 2015.
Mr Hyland has more than 30 years’ experience in the criminal justice system. He joined the ODPP NSW in 1988, holding positions as a Solicitor, Managing Lawyer and Assistant Solicitor of Public Prosecutions (Operations).
In March 2009, Mr Hyland was appointed Solicitor for Public Prosecutions at the Office of Public Prosecutions Victoria, holding that role until his appointment to his current position.
Mr Hyland graduated from the University of NSW in May 1985 with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Jurisprudence. He was admitted as a solicitor in December 1986 and holds postgraduate qualifications in Public Administration from the University of Sydney.
Other Senior Staff
The ODPP's other senior office holders are also appointed under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1986 by the NSW Attorney General.

Brendan Oldham was appointed as Director, Information Management and Technology in March 2017.
He has previously held roles at organisations including the Audit Office NSW, Deutsche Bank and Deloitte, where he spent five years working in the United States on global IT programs.
He holds an MBA in Technology Management and has a degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Newcastle.

Sandra Jones was appointed as Director Finance and Facilities in November 2018.
She has more than 20 years of public sector experience in finance, procurement, resource management and facilities working in the Crown Solicitor’s Office, the Department of Commerce and the Public Works Department.
Ms Jones holds a Bachelor of Business degree and is a Certified Practising Accountant.

Nigel Richardson was appointed as Director Human Resources in July 2015.
He has worked in human resources at the ODPP for 27 years, including as Personnel Co-ordinator, Assistant Manager Personnel and Manager Human Resources.
He has also held HR roles with the Public Service Board, Department of Industrial Relations and Employment, the NSW Department of Education and the NSW Archives Authority.