Have you been charged with Centrelink fraud?
We can help you.
If you have been charged with Centrelink Fraud, we can help you.
Charges relating to Centrelink fraud are some of the most common charges that the Commonwealth prosecute. They are serious charges because they carry lengthy maximum periods of imprisonment.
Centrelink frauds are also often cases where otherwise good people have exercised bad judgment and it is important that your defense lawyer conveys that to the Court.
Are you being interviewed by Centrelink?
If Centrelink wants to interview you, you should get legal advice before you participate in an interview.
Centrelink is not always trying to help you in an interview. You should get practical advice from someone who deals with Centrelink a lot. These interviews can eventually be used against you in Court.
Centrelink overpayments & fraud charges
If Centrelink do not believe that you have been fraudulent or acted deceptively then they do not have to charge you. Instead, they can just start taking some of your entitlement and use it to repay the amount of money they believe you have taken.
If you disagree with the amount that Centrelink claims that you have been overpaid then you can apply for an internal review or appeal to the Social Security Administrative Tribunal.
Fraud charges occur if Centrelink believes that the amount is not small. Generally, it is unusual for Centrelink to prosecute for amounts under $5000. Whether you will be charged with fraud also depends on the level of dishonesty that Centrelink believe you have been involved in.
Centrelink fraud prosecutions
Once Centrelink has completed an investigation and worked out what they think the overpayment is then the matter is prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).
The CDPP is a separate and independent body from Centrelink that makes a final decision on whether criminal charges will be laid. CDPP has to decide if there is a reasonable prospect that they will win the case and whether the charges should be laid. They factor into the circumstances of the offending (as far as they know or understand them). For example where a person has made up an entirely fictitious person or the amount involved.
Pleading guilty to Centrelink fraud
If you are guilty of what Centrelink are alleging and you want to plead guilty then it is very important that your matter is prepared properly. If the overpayment was a large amount then it is important to work out a strategy that will avoid prison, if possible, and that reflects both the crime and your personal circumstances.
Avoiding conviction on a plea of guilty to Centrelink fraud
On a plea of guilty it is sometimes possible to avoid a conviction being entered against you. This is obviously a great result if you can keep your record clean. It will depend on the circumstances of the offending and often the most important factor is whether the money has been paid back to Centrelink or not.
DEFENDING CENTRELINK FRAUD CHARGES
The starting point of a defence to a Centrelink charge is the question whether you thought you were doing anything wrong.
It should be remembered that Centrelink may be bringing the charges but they are being heard in a criminal Court and a criminal Court will expect Centrelink to prove any charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Can Centrelink Prove Intent?
Most of these offences require you to have full knowledge that what you did would result in Centrelink paying you more than you should have received.
Often people misunderstand their obligations and do not know they should have been declaring certain information to Centrelink.
There are also often calculation problems by Centrelink of the amounts. This is not surprising as the files that they have are very large and often very hard to follow the calculations (even with a lot of experience in these matters).
Defending Centrelink overpayments is most often on the basis that you did not have an intent to defraud Centrelink (or the Commonwealth Government). Where you might have misunderstood the obligations to provide details to Centrelink about our living arrangements this may be the defense that you run.
The most important step that you should take is to contact an experienced criminal defence lawyer as soon as you are aware that you might be interviewed and/or charged.
