Victoria's Office of Public Prosecutions is disbanding its specialist sex offence team despite concerns raised by a former premier, police officer and the union representing its lawyers.
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A spokeswoman for the OPP confirmed members from the Specialist Sex Offences Unit (SSOU) will join a general pool of solicitors.
"After considerable consultation, the OPP has determined to go ahead with the proposed changes," she said.
"The changes are designed to harness and develop expertise by embedding the specialist lawyers throughout the OPP's trial practice."
A sexual offences speciality committee will also be created to "ensure all victims of crime have access to our specialist expertise".
The spokeswoman said the move was a part of changes designed to address issues including increased workloads, growing file numbers, COVID-19 backlog and the health and wellbeing of staff.
She said sexual offence matters made up about a quarter of prosecutions and half of all jury trials, with a significant proportion of this work currently being done by solicitors outside the SSOU.
The change also comes after a former SSOU prosecutor sued the state for almost $450,000 after she was diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder due to ongoing, repeated exposure to a high volume of sexual offence cases, some of which involved children.
The lawyer is challenging a Court of Appeal decision overturning her payout in the High Court.
Former premier Ted Baillieu, who announced a state-first inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse during his time as leader, said the OPP risked losing experienced staff from the changes.
"If they've got a problem with the pressure on staff, they need to deal with that problem rather than restructure," he told AAP.
"The unit has been successful, it's been a source of comfort for people who are making complaints and it's generating greater confidence in reporting.
"If they play around with it, they risk losing those gains."
Justice Party MP Stuart Grimley, who was a Victoria Police sexual offences and child abuse detective before entering parliament, said the changes were a "slap in the face" to victims.
He accused the OPP of sweeping staff wellbeing issues "under the carpet".
"Rather than address that issue of how do we deal with that effectively let's just, close the unit down, nothing to see here, move along," Mr Grimley said.
He has previously suggested limited tenure for members of the SSOU or mental health and wellbeing checks every two to three years.
"After two years of the SOCIT, I knew myself that that was enough for me but there were others that had been there for many, many years," Mr Grimley said.
"It takes a toll on a person and unless you see that yourself or you have somebody else point it out to you, like a supervisor or a wellbeing officer, then you'll just keep going until it comes to a point where you break down."
Community and Public Sector Union Victorian secretary Karen Batt said members were disappointed by the decision.
"A dispersal of solicitors from the sex offences team will be perceived as a regressive step and at odds with community expectations," she said.
"The timing displays a tone-deaf attitude when community awareness about sexual offences is at its highest."
The union made several proposals to improve SSOU wellbeing, including a rotation-based system, workplace screenings and a policy to allow solicitors to take a break without any career consequences.
The proposals were rejected by the OPP late last week.
Australian Associated Press
