Federal police employees will have to wait until next year to move into a multimillion-dollar forensics lab in Canberra after construction delays pushed back the completion date.
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The Majura hub was expected to be fully operational by the end of this year but now staff at the overcrowded Weston forensics facility are not expected to move in for several months.
An Australian Federal Police spokeswoman said the building should be finished by the end of the year before a technical fit-out took place and staff were relocated.
"A degree of construction delay in a complex and technical building of this nature is not entirely unexpected," the spokeswoman said.
"Some wet weather delays in the early stages of construction have also contributed to the relatively minor delay in construction completion."
Workers and resources would be moved from the Weston centre to the new $106 million building in February and March.
The centre should be up and running in the first quarter of 2016.
Australian Federal Police Association chief executive Dennis Gellatly said the existing Weston forensics centre was "maxed out".
Federal police complained three years ago that evidence could be contaminated if the outdated Weston facility, which was opened in 1980 and refurbished in 2000 and 2007, was not replaced by a more modern centre.
"The forensic facility has been there for 30 years or more and has been renovated numerous times and extended to the maximum possible capacity," Mr Gellatly said.
"While it does have state-of-the-art facilities, it's definitely past its use-by-date.
"The new facility will be a much welcome relief from the very crowded accommodation they currently work in."
The AFP spokeswoman agreed the move to the new building would be welcome but said there were "no additional operational constraints being felt" because of the delay.
The Majura centre was announced by former Australian Federal Police commissioner Tony Negus, with an aim to create a "world class" centre that would target local crime and international problems such as cyber-terrorism.
Construction began on the AFP site at Majura in 2013 next to a police driver training track.
Once completed, the complex will include facilities for crime scene analysis, firearms, fingerprints, criminalistics and identification sciences, forensic imaging and digital forensics.
It will feature specialist laboratories, biometric processing, digital forensics and firearms and vehicle examination facilities.
Fast-tracked technology would mean tests such as DNA analysis could be completed within hours.
The AFP spokeswoman said the laboratory would enhance the federal agency's investigative capabilities and support national security and law enforcement agencies in Australia and internationally.
"It will increase the AFP's forensic and technical intelligence capability in-line with scientific advances, government policy initiatives, requirements of the judicial system, major investigations and crisis demands such as disaster victim identification."
"This means the AFP can continue to utilise contemporary science and best practice approaches to have the maximum disruptive effect on criminal activity and threats to national security."
The Majura building will initially accommodate about 200 staff with capacity to expand its workforce to 260.
It is predicted it will be able to meet the AFP's forensic science needs for at least 20 years and could provide service for other police forces.
