Services Australia refers seven staff to federal prosecutors
Eleanor Campbell
Overall, the agency's investigative workload decreased, with 500 total internal fraud and corruption investigations undertaken, down from 741 in the year prior.
An example of internal fraud could include a Centrelink employee abusing their position to direct welfare payments into their own bank account, faking expense reports, or wrongly claiming overtime.
A 42-year-old Services Australia employee pleaded guilty to defrauding the Commonwealth in 2023 after he created a fake Centrelink account to generate six JobSeeker payments worth over $3800.
Services Australia, which was moved under the Department of Finance as part of a post-election departmental shakeup by the Albanese government, increased its size to 35,200 staff this year.
While the agency's referrals fell, the total CDPP referrals rose by 22 per cent last year, with 2556 cases referred by 49 Commonwealth agencies.
Approximately 80 per cent of matters were referred from the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, the Australian Border Force, and state and territory police agencies.
Director of Public Prosecutions Raelene Sharp said the CDPP had a "99 per cent conviction" rate for all matters finalised last year.
This included the case of a former AFP employee who was charged with secrecy of information offences in July, after he lied about his past drug use and links to criminal groups on a security clearance application.
Government agencies handled most proven cases of internal fraud in-house during 2023-24, with internal disciplinary action the most common outcome in nearly half of all cases.
While external fraud cost Commonwealth agencies over $100 million in 2023-24, internal fraud losses were reported at $2.3 million.
