❓ WA Parliamentary Question on Notice regarding chain of custody incidents at ChemCentre, particularly those related to WA Police drug samples. The response details incident numbers, audit findings, and training procedures, but lacks data on affected prosecutions.
AnsweredQoN 541Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) For each of the financial years 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, and year-to-date 2025–26, how many chain of custody incidents have been recorded in total across all ChemCentre operations? (2) For each of the same years, how many chain of custody incidents specifically related to drug samples referred from WA Police? (3) Of the incidents identified in (1) and (2), how many involved: (a) misplaced or lost samples; (b) contamination of samples; (c) documentation, labelling, or data entry errors; and (d) other breaches of chain of custody? (4) For each of the years since 2021–22, how many of the incidents identified in (2) required ChemCentre to: (a) notify WA Police of an error; (b) re-test or re-analyse samples; and (c) issue supplementary statements or clarifications to a court? (5) For each of the financial years since 2021–22, how many prosecutions were affected by ChemCentre chain of custody incidents related to WA Police referrals, and of those: (a) how many prosecutions were delayed; (b) how many prosecutions were discontinued or withdrawn; and (c) how many resulted in adverse judicial comment? (6) Has ChemCentre conducted any internal or external audits of chain of custody processes since 2021–22, and if so, on what dates and what were the findings? (7) What policies, training, or procedures are currently in place at ChemCentre to ensure the integrity of chain of custody across its operations, and when were these last updated?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 October 2025
Responded by
Minister for Science and Innovation
Response time
7 days
1) 4; 3; 5; 5; 1
2) 4; 2; 4; 3; 1
3) a)1; b) 3; c) 4; d) 13
4) 2021–22: a) 4; b) 0; c) 3 2022–23: a) 2; b) 0; c) 3 2023–24: a) 4; b) 0; c) 4 2024–25: a) 3; b) 0; c) 1 2025–26: a) 1; b) 0; c) 1 (to 21.08.2025)
5)
The Western Australia Police Force is responsible for prosecuting criminal matters in the Magistrates Court, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). The WA Police Force uses the Prosecution Application system to manage these prosecutions.
Therefore, the requested data cannot be determined in a reliable and systematic manner.
6) ChemCentre conducts internal and external audits as per the accreditation/certification requirements of ISO 9001 (8.8) and ISO/IEC 17025 (9.2).
Since 2021-22, the following audits have been undertaken:
External Audits
Assessment
Date
Findings
NATA Accreditation – Surveillance visit
17 – 18 August 2021
Nil
NATA Accreditation – Reassessment
16 – 18 May 2023
Recommended additional control measures within the secure areas of access
NATA Accreditation – Reassessment
16 – 18 May 2023
A minor non-conformance identified that the
ENIPID Sub Sampling guide was not followed for numerous sub-samples
NATA Accreditation – Reassessment
16 – 18 May 2023
Nil
Internal Audits
Assessment
Date
Findings
Annual vertical workflow audit
May 2021
No CoC issues identified
Annual vertical workflow audit
September 2022
No CoC issues identified
Annual vertical workflow audit
December 2023
No CoC issues identified
Annual vertical workflow audit
August 2024
No CoC issues identified
7) All staff undertake the NATA ‘Understanding ISO/IEC 17025’ training course.
2) 4; 2; 4; 3; 1
3) a)1; b) 3; c) 4; d) 13
4) 2021–22: a) 4; b) 0; c) 3 2022–23: a) 2; b) 0; c) 3 2023–24: a) 4; b) 0; c) 4 2024–25: a) 3; b) 0; c) 1 2025–26: a) 1; b) 0; c) 1 (to 21.08.2025)
5)
The Western Australia Police Force is responsible for prosecuting criminal matters in the Magistrates Court, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). The WA Police Force uses the Prosecution Application system to manage these prosecutions.
Therefore, the requested data cannot be determined in a reliable and systematic manner.
6) ChemCentre conducts internal and external audits as per the accreditation/certification requirements of ISO 9001 (8.8) and ISO/IEC 17025 (9.2).
Since 2021-22, the following audits have been undertaken:
External Audits
Assessment
Date
Findings
NATA Accreditation – Surveillance visit
17 – 18 August 2021
Nil
NATA Accreditation – Reassessment
16 – 18 May 2023
Recommended additional control measures within the secure areas of access
NATA Accreditation – Reassessment
16 – 18 May 2023
A minor non-conformance identified that the
ENIPID Sub Sampling guide was not followed for numerous sub-samples
NATA Accreditation – Reassessment
16 – 18 May 2023
Nil
Internal Audits
Assessment
Date
Findings
Annual vertical workflow audit
May 2021
No CoC issues identified
Annual vertical workflow audit
September 2022
No CoC issues identified
Annual vertical workflow audit
December 2023
No CoC issues identified
Annual vertical workflow audit
August 2024
No CoC issues identified
7) All staff undertake the NATA ‘Understanding ISO/IEC 17025’ training course.
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