WELFARE cheats, tax rorters and crooked public servants are ripping off more than $600 million a year from taxpayers.   :(

More than 800,000 incidents of fraud were recorded by Centrelink, Customs and other government agencies in an audit by the Australian Institute of Criminology.

With thousands of families struggling, the cost of welfare fraud rose by 10 per cent to $489 million. And hundreds of public servants were investigated for misusing credit cards, stealing equipment and illegally passing on confidential information.   :(

Young people ripping off the dole and single mothers on parental payments have emerged as the biggest - and costliest - groups of fraudsters.

As the Gillard Government prepares to unveil a harsh Budget in May, the Institute says just $139 million - or 23 per cent - of the stolen money was recovered. After months of negotiations, News Limited has gained exclusive access to the Institute's landmark report, Fraud against the Commonwealth.


The audit shows "reported" fraud against the Commonwealth reached $589 million in 2008/09.

Its authors say fraud is being underestimated, suggesting the real cost to taxpayers is likely to be much higher.

Just more than 700,000 incidents of social security fraud were reported in the audit of 2008/09 - the height of the global financial meltdown. Other agencies also were kept busy fighting the national crime wave. Just more than 15,000 cases were reported involving international students and other foreigners fraudulently claiming visas and citizenship entitlements.   :(

Millions of dollars also were lost on the wharves and through airports as criminal syndicates tried to avoid paying Customs duty on tobacco and alcohol. While the Institute of Criminology is cautious in assessing fraud trends, it says the findings of its 2008/09 audit are "consistent" with other reports showing a rise in crimes against the Commonwealth.

Minister for Home Affairs and Justice Brendan O'Connor said the Government was determined to crack down on the "significant amount of money" being defrauded.

"We have increased the numbers of people dedicated to fraud across agencies by more than one-third in the last 12 months," Mr O'Connor said.

In 2006/07, the loss from fraud was calculated by Government agencies to be just $34 million, but this has leap-frogged to nearly $600 million as the level of reporting becomes more robust.Crooked public servants have emerged as a big problem with $1.85 million in "internal" fraud reported in the 2008/09 audit.

The misuse of credit cards by senior bureaucrats jumped 10 per cent to 163 incidents, involving 18 separate Commonwealth agencies.

An even bigger area of fraud involved public servants obtaining and using personal information without authorisation with 1481 incidents reported.   :(

The rise of professional fraudsters has forced federal authorities to boost resources. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions also convicted 4089 people - sending a strong deterrent to criminal elements.

The Government also has brought together key crime-fighting agencies - including the Australian Crime Commission and Australian Federal Police - with agencies such as Centrelink and the Tax Office to better tackle fraud. "We're determined to fight fraud against the Commonwealth by minimising chances for it to occur, and rapidly detecting, investigating and prosecuting fraudsters," Mr O'Connor said.

How do we overcome fraud.  It is a very good question is it not?.  Well for a start what is all this rubbish that they keep telling us?.  How about instead of telling everyone that we have plenty of jobs and low unemployment, that they actually do something to create some real jobs?.  Also how about lifting the Newstart (No start) benefit to a fair and reasonable amount, instead of expecting people to survive on the smell of an oily rag.  Now just maybe, that might eliminate some of the fraud that their on about.  5 percent unemployment, I don't think so.  Plenty of jobs, I don't think so.   :(        

wrote on Apr 4^th, 2011 at 7:33am:

WELFARE cheats, tax rorters and crooked public servants are ripping off more than $600 million a year from taxpayers.   :( More than 800,000 incidents of fraud were recorded by Centrelink, Customs and other government agencies in an audit by the Australian Institute of Criminology. With thousands of families struggling, the cost of welfare fraud rose by 10 per cent to $489 million. And hundreds of public servants were investigated for misusing credit cards, stealing equipment and illegally passing on confidential information.   :( Young people ripping off the dole and single mothers on parental payments have emerged as the biggest - and costliest - groups of fraudsters. As the Gillard Government prepares to unveil a harsh Budget in May, the Institute says just $139 million - or 23 per cent - of the stolen money was recovered. After months of negotiations, News Limited has gained exclusive access to the Institute's landmark report, Fraud against the Commonwealth. The audit shows "reported" fraud against the Commonwealth reached $589 million in 2008/09. Its authors say fraud is being underestimated, suggesting the real cost to taxpayers is likely to be much higher. Just more than 700,000 incidents of social security fraud were reported in the audit of 2008/09 - the height of the global financial meltdown. Other agencies also were kept busy fighting the national crime wave. Just more than 15,000 cases were reported involving international students and other foreigners fraudulently claiming visas and citizenship entitlements.   :( Millions of dollars also were lost on the wharves and through airports as criminal syndicates tried to avoid paying Customs duty on tobacco and alcohol. While the Institute of Criminology is cautious in assessing fraud trends, it says the findings of its 2008/09 audit are "consistent" with other reports showing a rise in crimes against the Commonwealth. Minister for Home Affairs and Justice Brendan O'Connor said the Government was determined to crack down on the "significant amount of money" being defrauded. "We have increased the numbers of people dedicated to fraud across agencies by more than one-third in the last 12 months," Mr O'Connor said. In 2006/07, the loss from fraud was calculated by Government agencies to be just $34 million, but this has leap-frogged to nearly $600 million as the level of reporting becomes more robust.Crooked public servants have emerged as a big problem with $1.85 million in "internal" fraud reported in the 2008/09 audit. The misuse of credit cards by senior bureaucrats jumped 10 per cent to 163 incidents, involving 18 separate Commonwealth agencies. An even bigger area of fraud involved public servants obtaining and using personal information without authorisation with 1481 incidents reported.   :( The rise of professional fraudsters has forced federal authorities to boost resources. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions also convicted 4089 people - sending a strong deterrent to criminal elements. The Government also has brought together key crime-fighting agencies - including the Australian Crime Commission and Australian Federal Police - with agencies such as Centrelink and the Tax Office to better tackle fraud. "We're determined to fight fraud against the Commonwealth by minimising chances for it to occur, and rapidly detecting, investigating and prosecuting fraudsters," Mr O'Connor said.

This is a total furfy, the biggest rorting of the Tax payer goes into foreign aid, wasteful spending on illegal immigrants, the selling of Tertiary places to foreign students, the privatization of the Tax payers assets and then extortion through bills and carbon tax ect.  The cost to the tax payer and this country of money just vanishing out of the country into thin air is incalculable.

How do we overcome fraud........

GET RID OF FEDERAL LABOR!!!!!

How do we get rid of tax fraud - the struggle for social justice!!!

QUOTE: -""Young people ripping off the dole and single mothers on parental payments have emerged as the biggest - and costliest - groups of fraudsters.""




Yep! Not hard to see that it's nearly budget-time.

The boots are already slamming into the faces of the most vulnerable.

How effing contemptible....

So how does it feel Imcrook to be known as a welfare cheat considering you can work, and instead choose to be on here all day telling other people how to do their jobs.

I am not a welfare cheat you idiot.  Or for that matter do I tell people how to do their jobs.   >:(  

Well I think they need to have suitable punishment, and when a tax cheat and a welfare cheat are identified, they should be moved into shared accommodation, and made to work together as a unit, until their combined debt is repaid.
This would force them to gain some understanding of the perspectives they each hold, and maybe help them modify it.

If a tax cheat or a welfare cheat is identified, one would imagine a court of law appearance would be the most likely outcome.  

Kat wrote on Apr 5^th, 2011 at 7:38am:

QUOTE: -""Young people ripping off the dole and single mothers on parental payments have emerged as the biggest - and costliest - groups of fraudsters."" Yep! Not hard to see that it's nearly budget-time. The boots are already slamming into the faces of the most vulnerable. How effing contemptible....

Yet in the next breath the article states...



Quote:

The misuse of credit cards by senior bureaucrats jumped 10 per cent to 163 incidents, involving 18 separate Commonwealth agencies. An even bigger area of fraud involved public servants obtaining and using personal information without authorisation with 1481 incidents reported. The rise of professional fraudsters has forced federal authorities to boost resources. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions also convicted 4089 people - sending a strong deterrent to criminal elements.

How do young people rip off the dole? Even if they have the occasional days work - cash in hand, they have none of the benefits a legal worker is entitled to. Sometimes these jobs are the only means of survival available to them.

Labor under Hawke/Keating were very serious about welfare cheats - yet this regulation was foregone during the Howard era where welfare was dished out to everyone for any flimsy reason. No doubt a culture of fraud has built up over the last decade or so and it will be hard to police now as the population rapidly increases.

The public service and Centrelink need a thorough clean up - but who's going to do it? We can't just keep employing more and more public servants to keep the existing ones honest  - the cycle will only continue.

They need to review the existing penalties to ensure a harsh punishment for the first offence and no second chances.

mantra wrote on Apr 5^th, 2011 at 8:55am:

The public service and Centrelink need a thorough clean up - but who's going to do it? We can't just keep employing more and more public servants to keep the existing ones honest  - the cycle will only continue. They need to review the existing penalties to ensure a harsh punishment for the first offence and no second chances.

I agree with you Mantra... however, the checks and measures are already in place. What is lacking is diligance by our office support staff who are in charge of the checks and measures.

This old furphy gets dragged out EVERY budget-time, and is
nothing but a transparent attempt to justify hitting the most
vulnerable of welfare recips, while letting the WEALTHfare
rorts continue unchecked.


It is hoped that, by again vilifying the most vulnerable, the
minds of the electorate will be diverted from the REAL rorters
and defrauders, ie the MIDDLE-CLASS and its WEALTHfare.


To talk about cutting benefits/penalising the u/e, single parents
etc, while INCREASING the WEALTHfare payments to the middle-class
is NOTHING LESS than a CRIME.

Encore: -


Kat wrote on Apr 5^th, 2011 at 10:39am:

This old furphy gets dragged out EVERY budget-time, and is nothing but a transparent attempt to justify hitting the most vulnerable of welfare recips, while letting the WEALTHfare rorts continue unchecked. It is hoped that, by again vilifying the most vulnerable, the minds of the electorate will be diverted from the REAL rorters and defrauders, ie the MIDDLE-CLASS and its WEALTHfare. To talk about cutting benefits/penalising the u/e, single parents etc, while INCREASING the WEALTHfare payments to the middle-class is NOTHING LESS than a CRIME.

It is about time that the Labs removed the plethora of essentially-exclusive, reverse-means-tested, inefficient and distortionary tax lurks and perks - and started means-testing a range of WEALTHfare payments - and also increased meagre welfare payments to an above-subsistence level...

Verge wrote on Apr 5^th, 2011 at 8:27am:

So how does it feel Imcrook to be known as a welfare cheat considering you can work, and instead choose to be on here all day telling other people how to do their jobs.

what about the jobs that Holden were supposed to create making its proverbial 'green' car after ripping off tax payers to the tune of 200 million ??

where is the Holden 'green' car that runs off ethanol because that's what it said it was going to build here ??

Equitist wrote on Apr 5^th, 2011 at 10:54am:

Encore: - Kat wrote on Apr 5th, 2011 at 10:39am: This old furphy gets dragged out EVERY budget-time, and is nothing but a transparent attempt to justify hitting the most vulnerable of welfare recips, while letting the WEALTHfare rorts continue unchecked. It is hoped that, by again vilifying the most vulnerable, the minds of the electorate will be diverted from the REAL rorters and defrauders, ie the MIDDLE-CLASS and its WEALTHfare. To talk about cutting benefits/penalising the u/e, single parents etc, while INCREASING the WEALTHfare payments to the middle-class is NOTHING LESS than a CRIME. It is about time that the Labs removed the plethora of essentially-exclusive, reverse-means-tested, inefficient and distortionary tax lurks and perks - and started means-testing a range of WEALTHfare payments - and also increased meagre welfare payments to an above-subsistence level...

yes abolishing negative gearing on property would be a great start as well ;)

mozzaok wrote on Apr 5^th, 2011 at 8:35am:

Well I think they need to have suitable punishment, and when a tax cheat and a welfare cheat are identified, they should be moved into shared accommodation, and made to work together as a unit, until their combined debt is repaid. This would force them to gain some understanding of the perspectives they each hold, and maybe help them modify it.

what about public servants that squander billions on failed projects ??

Collins class submarines, Sea sprite helicopters, Mikey Mouse ticket system, Adelaide to Darwin ghost train railway etc etc.

It seems that it's ok for public servants to waste truck loads of money without any consequences !!