Director of scandal-ridden Forensic Science Queensland resigns

The Director of Forensic Science Queensland (FSQ), Dr Linzi Wilson-Wilde, resigned from her position on Friday — one month after being suspended by Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington. The suspension came after contamination issues were identified in the FSQ lab, resulting in a pause on routine DNA testing.

The saga is the latest in a series of scandals for FSQ, which is an independent statutory authority and forensic service provider that supports the criminal justice and coronial systems with specialised services in forensic biology and forensic chemistry. It is effectively a reskinned version of Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services (FSS), established after a 2022 Commission of Inquiry recommended a new organisational structure for forensic services in Queensland. Wilson-Wilde served as inaugural (interim) CEO before being appointed director. 

The Commission of Inquiry into Forensic DNA Testing in Queensland found that between February 2018 and June 2022, many DNA samples were incorrectly ruled by FSS scientists to contain insufficient DNA to justify further forensic testing. There were also concerns raised about an automated DNA extraction method that was introduced to FSS in October 2007 under what is known as Project 13, which was the subject of its own inquiry the following year.

The Commission of Inquiry to Examine DNA Project 13 Concerns found that the automated method yielded significantly less DNA than the previously used manual technique, meaning thousands of samples would need to be retested. This process would be conducted by the newly established FSQ; but in September 2024, it was found that less than 2% of cases had been retested, with more than 55% of these retested samples having yielded DNA. It was also suggested that Wilson-Wilde’s own expert advice to the first Commission of Inquiry may not have conveyed the fact there were major inadequacies with DNA yield from the automated extraction process.

On 22 May 2025, in an effort to enable FSQ to focus on clearing its historical case backlog and implementing all Commission of Inquiry recommendations, the Queensland Government announced a two-year, $50 million outsourcing program which would see DNA samples for sexual assault kits, most major crime cases, and unidentified human remains sent overseas for testing. But further drama arose less than two weeks later, when major paternity and kinship DNA testing and evaluation errors were uncovered at the lab.

On 4 June, it was confirmed that incorrect data handling procedures had resulted in inaccuracies in 69 individual test results, from 37 cases, dating from 1982 to 2023. The error was caused by an incorrect formula in a spreadsheet first introduced by FSS in 2019; FSQ identified issues in April 2024 and has been conducting internal case and process reviews since that time. A pause in kinship and paternity testing was subsequently implemented at FSQ, with current and future cases outsourced to an external provider during the pause.

In another discovery, it was found that an incorrect DNA profile related to a child rape investigation was mistakenly uploaded to the national DNA database in 2022. In 2024 FSQ identified the error and the correct result was uploaded; internal DNA guidelines have been revised since that time.

When the contamination issues followed on 20 June, the Attorney-General moved to immediately suspend Wilson-Wilde as FSQ Director, pending a show cause notice for removal. Four days later, Queensland’s 2025–26 Budget assigned $18.1 million to maintain FSQ’s operational capacity, with a further $2 million for essential infrastructure upgrades and $1 million to undertake an independent DNA Review. But this further funding, and the resumption of routine DNA testing, would not be enough to save Wilson-Wilde, whose resignation was announced on the morning of 18 July.

Natasha Mitchell, FSQ Executive Manager Forensic Biology, will continue acting in the role of director until a permanent appointment is made. The Queensland Government has also commissioned an independent inquiry into FSQ, which is due to report in the coming months.

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