A court case against Canberra Raiders NRL star Josh Papalii has been dropped after a judge found police had abused legal processes by using an encrypted messaging app to discuss proceedings.

A court case against Canberra Raiders NRL star Josh Papalii has been dropped after a judge found police had abused legal processes by using an encrypted messaging app to discuss proceedings.

 

 

A criminal case against veteran Canberra Raiders forward Josh Papalii has been permanently stayed after the court found that the prosecution’s case was undermined by the conduct of the investigating police.

The incident and charges

Papalii, 33, was charged with three offences following an alleged incident at the Raiders’ Gungahlin-club venue in the early hours of 16 September 2024. The charges included intimidating police and failing to leave a licensed premises.

According to police, the incident involved Papalii and others behaving aggressively towards club staff and officers after being asked to leave.

Discovery of the encrypted group chat

During the legal process, Papalii’s defence uncovered the existence of a private group chat on the encrypted messaging service Signal. The chat involved around 12 officers — including the officer who was purportedly the victim of the intimidation charge and some of the investigating team.

The chat was set to automatically delete its contents (self-destructing messages), meaning that communications relevant to the investigation may have been lost.

Papalii’s lawyers argued that this raised a serious risk of unfairness: the prosecution could not fulfil its duty to disclose all relevant evidence when material may have been deleted without trace.

Court decision: Permanent stay

On 31 October 2025, the ACT Magistrates Court, presided by Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker, granted a permanent stay of the proceedings — meaning the charges against Papalii are dropped indefinitely.

While the court found that the defence had not proven they were at a practical disadvantage because of the deleted messages, the magistrate said that the “unknown remains unknowable” and the officers’ “cavalier approach” to the use of Signal compromised the integrity of the process.

Magistrate Walker concluded that allowing the prosecution to proceed under those circumstances would be “an irremediable affront to the administration of justice”.

Why the decision matters

The case reaffirms that police and prosecutors must ensure evidence disclosure obligations are met; when key communication channels are inadequately documented, fairness to the defence is compromised.

The use of encrypted messaging apps by investigators, especially with auto-delete settings, raises concerns about transparency, record-keeping and accountability. The judge noted that other jurisdictions prohibit or tightly regulate such use.

Although Papalii faced serious allegations, the procedural issues meant the court could not risk proceeding. It underscores that legal process and fairness are foundational, beyond the facts of any alleged offending.

Implications for Papalii & the Raiders

For Papalii, the outcome means the charges will not go to trial, removing a significant legal overhang. It may also affect how his club and the public view the case, though the underlying incident allegations remain undisputed publicly.

For the Raiders and broader NRL community, the matter will likely prompt reflection about how off-field conduct and legal scrutiny interact, and how investigations by law-enforcement must be beyond reproach.

This decision does not equate to a finding of innocence — rather, it reflects that procedural fairness and prosecutorial integrity are so compromised that the court refused to allow continuation.