Centrelink staff tip off triggers AFP investigation over flood relief payments in Logan

Federal authorities are investigating a spate of allegedly fraudulent claims for flood funding relief after Centrelink staff raised the alarm.

Federal authorities are investigating a spate of allegedly fraudulent claims for flood funding relief after Centrelink staff in Logan raised the alarm.

Staff said more than 50 Logan residents had allegedly tried to claim the federal government’s $750 a week South East Floods Disaster Recovery Payment after the February deluge, even though they were not eligible.

But more concerning for the staff, who cannot be named, were Centrelink customers who flipped from flood payments to other income benefits to avoid detection.

Federal authorities are investigating a spate of fraudulent claims for flood funding relief after Centrelink staff in Logan raised the alarm.

“A typical example would be a person on Jobseeker who cancels those payments voluntarily and then applies for the flood payment saying they have been adversely affected because they cannot get work,” the staff said.

“They then get paid $750 for the next 13 weeks.

“After that, we ask for bank statements and pay slips and when they can’t provide those details, their flood payment is cancelled.

“What we have noticed and reported is many of these people then reapply for Jobseeker and get away with the fraudulent claim unless I do a fraud tip-off to declare a fraudulent claim.

“I usually get them to do a statement admitting their guilt.”

The federal government’s social services department, Services Australia, said it knew of the issue and was tracing people in and around Logan with the help of the Australian Federal Police.

A Services Australia spokesman said the majority of claims were legitimate and the number of fraudulent claims following the recent floods was consistent with the amount of fraud recorded during other emergencies.

“Services Australia’s increasingly sophisticated and effective fraud detection methods are catching offenders who prey on people’s vulnerability,” a spokesman said.

“We’re able to track suspicious activity like sudden address changes so we can detect fraud both before and after payments are made.

“Enhancements in our intelligence and investigation capabilities mean if you are fraudulently claiming disaster payments, you will be caught and may be prosecuted.

“We work with the AFP and State and Territory police to further support our investigative capabilities when building a case against offenders.”

That was in contrast to the state government which said as of June 7, there had been no proven fraudulent grant applications associated with the three recent flood events in Southeast Queensland.

Communities minister Leeanne Enoch said due to the level of assessment and the validation processes, the potential for fraud was minimal.

Communities minister Leeanne Enoch said due to the level of assessment and the validation processes, the potential for fraud was minimal despite 51,560 claims paid to those affected by floods in 2017, 2021 and this year.

“The in-built fraud prevention and detection controls include verification of identity through the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs’ National Documentation Verification Service (DVS), banking, duplicate entries and validation that the residential address is in the disaster impacted area,” she said.

Originally published as Centrelink staff tip off triggers AFP investigation over flood relief payments in Logan