The NSW attorney-general is considering appealing the light sentence handed to a man convicted of raping his daughter.
The decision by Greg Smith comes after the DPP said it would not appeal against the sentence.
Mr Smith said the government had no authority to direct the DPP.
However, "given the understandable community concern regarding this case, the NSW Attorney General ... has taken the very unusual step of calling for the file so that he may consider appealing against the sentence himself," he said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the man was referred to Cedar Cottage - a residential treatment centre in western Sydney for fathers guilty of incest - for abusing his daughter over a period of years.
He was given a three year good behaviour bond for the crimes.
In a statement issued earlier on Wednesday, the DPP said the sentence could not be appealed.
"A referral to Cedar Cottage, or the decision to admit an offender to the program, is not capable of being appealed," the office of the DPP said in a statement.
Mr Smith said the Attorney-General had the power to appeal, despite the fact the DPP was created to keep politics out of the criminal justice system.
"There are rare cases where it is necessary for the Attorney-General to intervene," he said.
Mr Smith said his intervention was not a criticism of the DPP.
There was great public concern that perpetrators of child sexual assault did not receive adequate sentences, he said.
Mr Smith also offered an apology to the woman, now 19 years old, and vowed to lodge an appeal if his review deemed it warranted.
"I'll give you whatever help I can and I have great sympathy for you."
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