The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet does not tolerate dishonest or fraudulent behaviour. We are committed to deterring, preventing and detecting such behaviour in the delivery of programmes to disadvantaged Australians.
Fraud undermines the ability of the Department to achieve Australian Government policy and programme outcomes. It deprives individuals and communities of the grants and resources needed for service delivery.
What is fraud
Fraud is: "Dishonestly obtaining a benefit, or causing a loss, by deception or other means".1
Examples of potential fraud against the Commonwealth include:
- theft of Commonwealth assets
- misuse / misappropriation of grant funds
- departmental staff collusion with service providers for kickbacks
- unlawful or unauthorised release of information
- providing misleading information or falsified documentation to the Department
- creating false bank accounts to siphon money
- charging for goods or services that are incomplete or not delivered
- fraudulently inflating invoices.
Fraud is a criminal offence and the Department is determined to ensure that when it occurs, it is rapidly detected by departmental staff or reported by the public to enable an appropriate assessment or investigation to occur.
Fraud control and prevention
Fraud prevention strategies are the first line of defence and provide the most cost-effective method of controlling fraud within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C). To be effective, fraud prevention requires a number of contributory elements, including an ethical organisational culture, a strong awareness of fraud among employees, suppliers, service providers, contractors and clients, and an effective internal control framework.
Key elements of PM&C’s fraud prevention strategies include:
- promotion and adherence to APS Code of Conduct
- sound fraud risk management processes
- practical employee, and third party, due diligence
- regular fraud awareness training
- fraud-related controls for activities with a high fraud risk exposure
- system controls to ensure accurate and up-to-date data
- communication about investigation outcomes to demonstrate that allegations and incidences of fraud are treated seriously and appropriately dealt with.
PM&C’s Fraud Policy Statement and Fraud and Corruption Control Plan are in line with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and Fraud Rule 2014 and are available to all staff, external service providers employees, contractors and clients on this internet site. The aim of the Department’s Fraud Policy Statement and Fraud and Corruption Control Plan is to reflect better practice in fraud risk management and to protect public money, property and information.
1 Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, Part 4.1 of the Resource Management Guide No. 201 issued by the Department of Finance
Contact us
How we can help
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet takes all allegations of fraud seriously.
PM&C can investigate allegations of suspected fraud in relation to our programs, services or staff/contractors employed by PM&C.
We can’t investigate allegations of fraud in relation to other departments, agencies or organisations. You should report suspected fraud directly to the relevant organisation or your state/territory police.
Other help
The Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre has information on how to report fraud. Visit Find where to report fraud
The ACCC’s ScamWatch has information on avoiding and reporting scams.
Contact Form
You can report a suspected fraud involving a PM&C program, service or staff member/contractor by completing the form below or via mail. Please read the Privacy Collection Notice before submitting a report.
Mail:
Fraud Control Officer
Corporate Division
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
PO Box 6500
Canberra ACT 2600
Privacy Collection Notice
Personal (and other) information that you choose to provide the Department when reporting suspected fraud is collected and used for the purpose of investigating, and responding to, reported fraud allegations.
Your report may be more appropriately considered by another agency or organisation, in Australia or overseas. As such, we may disclose this information (including your personal information) to that agency or organisation (which may include but is not limited to a Federal, State/Territory agency, department or authority, and Federal or State/Territory Minister as relevant), if that agency or organisation is better placed to deal with your report of fraud.
Correspondence containing threatening content or advocating illegal activities will be forwarded to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Correspondence containing offensive language or inappropriate content will not be responded to and may be destroyed.
We will not use or disclose your personal information for another purpose without your consent or unless we are authorised or required to do so by law. The Department’s Privacy Policy provides more information about how we protect your personal information, and who to contact if you have a privacy enquiry or complaint.