Police called in to help recover $200m in dodgy Service NSW grants

Police and internal investigators are joining forces in a major operation to recover more than $200 million that Service NSW incorrectly paid out in grants.

Labor customer service spokeswoman Yasmin Catley says the amount of overpayments is ‘deeply concerning’. Picture: AAP

A major recovery effort ­involving police and internal investigators is under way to recover more than $200 million that Service NSW incorrectly paid out in grants.

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the recovery bill comprises money owed to the state government in overpayments to customers, unpaid invoices and suspected fraud.

Service NSW has an operational budget of $785 million for the 2022-23 financial year.

When overpayments are identified, the department ­engages Revenue NSW to r­ecoup the money.

The Sunday Telegraph revealed last year that Service NSW had intercepted 3600 dodgy applications for $38 million in flood relief.

Premier Dominic Perrottet on Saturday. Picture: Christian Anstey

The top three grants Revenue NSW is recovering on behalf of Service NSW as at February this year include $193.4 million paid out as part of the Covid-19 Jobsaver Payment Program.

Another $19.1 million was paid out as part of the Covid-19 Business Grant Program, with $6 million paid out as part of the Covid-19 Micro Business Grant also on the list.

Service NSW has referred $143.8 million in paid and $324.24 million in unpaid applications to the Internal Law Enforcement Liaison team, which has reported $153.54 million in claims to police.

About $215.7 million in overpayments has been ­referred to Revenue NSW for funds recovery.

Labor customer service spokeswoman Yasmin Catley described the volume of overpayments and fraudulent claims as “deeply concerning … the Premier must come clean and tell the public how much taxpayer money was fraudulently paid out and how much has been recovered”.

A spokesman for Service NSW said the agency had ­delivered billions in support to individuals and businesses on behalf of the state and federal governments to help people recover from bushfires, Covid-19 and floods.

“The NSW government takes attempts to defraud financial support programs very seriously and Service NSW has multiple checks and balances in place to ensure grant applications are properly reviewed, including the crossmatching of data, which will flag suspicious claims for investigation by a dedicated fraud team,” he said.

“Service NSW and Revenue NSW also conduct compliance audits to ensure the integrity of grant programs and that payments are made in accordance with guidelines.”

Got a news tip? Email [e-mail]