Auditor criticises Commonwealth prosecutor

The Commonwealth prosecutor has become less efficient assessing briefs of evidence, the auditor-general says.

An analysis of the office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, released on Monday, shows despite brief assessments occurring more quickly, the average number completed has decreased while the average cost has increased.

On average it takes 78 days to assess a brief, which is easily clear of the 90 day target.

More than 1200 brief assessments were completed in 2018-19.

The CDPP has agreed to four recommendations from the auditor-general, which relate to management reporting, cost monitoring, timeliness targets and performance reporting.

Although the CDPP has accepted the recommendations, it doesn't agree with the findings of the report.

The CDPP says the auditor-general failed to consider improvements in the brief assessment practice, and the number of people working on them, and hasn't considered the broader drivers of its operations.

"The CDPP submits that the report's analysis on this aspect is overly simplistic and regrettably, ultimately unhelpful," it says.

The CDPP says it has become more efficient, pointing to a significant backlog having been worked through.