Fraud and scams

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Fraud and scams

Fraud and Corruption Control and Reporting

The Australian Government defines fraud as ‘dishonestly obtaining a benefit, or causing a loss, by deception or other means’.

Corruption is any conduct that impacts:

  • The honest or impartial exercise of an official’s powers, or the performance of an official’s functions
  • Conduct which involves a breach of public trust
  • Conduct that abuses a person’s office, and
  • Conduct that misuses information acquired in a person’s capacity as an official.

Preventing fraud and corruption

We’re serious about preventing, detecting and dealing with fraud and corruption. We want to ensure that public monies are spent for their intended purpose. This applies within our agency and in programs we look after (link to programs list).

When funds, assets and information are being misused it makes it harder for us to achieve our goals.

If you suspect someone may be committing fraud, you should report it. Even if you don't know for sure, we’re still interested.

Reporting suspicious behaviour

Anyone can report fraud.

We encourage you to report suspicious behaviour. Reporting doesn’t take long. You can report anonymously, and the law protects your rights. But providing your details will help the investigation.

Some behaviours may seem suspicious but aren't fraudulent. Some might be mistakes or a misunderstanding. If mistakes are made, we need to know about them to fix them.

Please provide as much information as you can. Even a small amount of information can help.

Include:

  • Identifying details about the persons and/or organisations involved. Names, phone numbers, addresses, ABN and ACN numbers are all useful.
  • Which program the report is about?
  • When the activity occurred, and for how long?
  • What happened?
  • Where did it occur?
  • How did you learn about the activity?
  • Why does it seem suspicious?
  • Who else have you reported this to?
  • Your best contact details.

How to report

You can:

Fraud Manager, National Emergency Management Agency, PO Box 133 CANBERRA ACT 2601

You can also use our capture form below.

What we investigate

We investigate allegations about misuse of disaster funding and programs. This can include fraud and corruption by:

  • our staff
  • service providers, contractors, persons who receive funding from us, or organised crime groups

Fraud by our employees or contractors may include:

  • misuse of activities we fund, such as services, grants and other payments.
  • theft of Commonwealth assets
  • misuse/theft of grant funds
  • departmental staff collusion with service providers for kickbacks
  • unlawful or unauthorised release of information
  • giving false documents to qualify for a benefit
  • charging for goods or services that are incomplete or not delivered
  • inflating invoices
  • manipulating recruitment, procurement or grant processes
  • corruption, misconduct and abuse of power.

If you suspect our employees or contractors have acted in a dishonest way, you should report it below.

If you’re a current or former public official, you can also make a public interest disclosure (PID). Info on the PID scheme is available from the Commonwealth Ombudsman website. If you want to make a disclosure under PID, contact us first. We can make sure PID protections are applicable.

Find out more about allegations of fraud and the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment on the Services Australia Reporting Fraud website.

If the corruption allegations are proved, they may be referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The commission will then investigate.

What happens if you report suspected fraud?

The Agency will assess each allegation of suspected fraud. Where allegations are found to be true there may be a range of options available including:

  • recovering overpaid funds,
  • taking other action for breach of contract
  • or pursuing a criminal fraud prosecution.

Avoiding disaster recovery fundraising scams

Fundraising appeals often occur in the aftermath of a disaster. Unfortunately, some of these are scams. You can get fraud and scams support on the Scamwatch website.

Scamwatch has in-depth information about how to spot a charity scam. What to do if you think you have been scammed and how to search for a legitimate charity to donate. Impersonation scams | Scamwatch

Fraud, corruption and scams support

To ensure support reaches those who need it most, the groups that manage grants or other payments do:

  • application checks
  • post-payment compliance
  • debt recovery activities.

Unfortunately, some people sometimes try to claim payments they are not entitled to. We work with authorities, including the police. We support their investigations and prosecutions of fraud.

Protecting your privacy

The Privacy Act 1988 protects your personal information by law.

When we conduct fraud investigations, we collect personal information. We do this to prevent, detect and respond to fraud against us and the Australian Government.

Find out more about how we collect and use information.

If you want to talk to someone about your privacy reach out at:

Email: PrivacyOfficer@nema.gov.au

Post: The Privacy Officer, National Emergency Management Agency, GPO Box 133, CANBERRA ACT 2601.

Fraud and Scams

Who is this report about? (required)
Report type for individual (required)
Do you possess any documents or information on which you have based your opinion that the person has inappropriately claimed an Australian Government payment or allowance? (required)
Are you aware of any third parties which may hold documents or information that may indicate the person has inappropriately claimed an Australian Government payment or allowance? (required)
Report type of business/organisation (required)
In which State or Territory did the behaviour you are reporting occur? (required)
Do you possess any documents or information on which you have based your opinion that the business or organisation is inappropriately receiving or obtaining a benefit from the Commonwealth? (required)
Are you aware of any third parties which may hold documents or information that may indicate the business or organisation is inappropriately receiving or obtaining a benefit from the Commonwealth? (required)
Do you consent to us sharing information from this tip-off, including your contact details, with other federal and state/territory government entities and law enforcement agencies? (required)
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