William & Lonsdale Podcast

EPISODE 85 : Commonwealth DPP Raelene Sharp KC

This week, we welcome Raelene Sharp KC, Director of Public Prosecutions for the Commonwealth, to the show.

Raelene has had an incredibly impressive Life in the Law, but back in high school, when she told her careers counsellor she wanted to study law, she was advised against it, largely because she didn’t know any lawyers and had no connections in the profession.

She persisted regardless. And once she made her way to law school, she quickly knew two things: she loved the law, and she wanted to prosecute.

That instinct has taken Raelene through an extraordinary range of roles. She began her career at the Victorian OPP, went on to work at the then Australian Crime Commission and with the United Nations in Lebanon, before being called to the Victorian Bar in 2010. In 2023, she was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions, leading an office responsible for prosecuting offences against Commonwealth law across an enormous and varied jurisdiction.

It’s a wide-ranging and wonderful conversation, and a pleasure to hear about Raelene’s Life in the Law.

Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution

Judiciary Act 1903

Mastering Law Studies & Law Exam Techniques 12th Edition

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

Transcript