Convicted fraudster Sumaiah Al Shakhshir wins fight to teach again

A Melbourne teacher convicted of NDIS fraud – which left parents of disabled children unable to buy basics like nappies – has been given the green light to return to teaching.

Sumaiah Al Shakhshir turns her back on cameras at court in April 2021. Picture: Supplied

A Melbourne teacher convicted of serious NDIS fraud that left parents of disabled children unable to buy basics like nappies has won her legal bid to return to the classroom.

Sumaiah Al Shakhshir pleaded guilty in 2019 to defrauding the Commonwealth for her role in the sophisticated $1.5m scam involving her husband and members of his family.

The group, based out of Sydney, ripped off nearly 70 vulnerable people with disabilities by pretending to provide them with services, such as cleaning and transport.

They then spent the stolen money on luxury items such as cars, watches, jewellery and real estate – leaving some of the people they defrauded unable to buy crucial basics.

The Australian Federal Police arrested members of the group in May 2019. Picture: NSW Police

The Herald Sun revealed in August last year that despite her conviction, Ms Al Shakhshir worked at a non-government school in Melbourne’s outer west between January and July 2022 after her intensive correction order in NSW was suspended.

During this period, Ms Al Shakhshir was seeking an extension of her provisional registration by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).

But Ms Al Shakhshir had her right to teach revoked in July, when the VIT opted not to renew her registration.

She then applied to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) seeking a review of the decision, telling the tribunal in late April she had a “passion” for teaching and building relationships with her students.

On Thursday, after being satisfied that Ms Al Shakhshir can now be regarded as a “different person”, tribunal members Reynah Tang and Paul Gysslink overturned the VIT’s decision.

“We are ultimately satisfied that Ms Shakshir has done enough to regain her character, such that it is in the public interest to grant her provisional registration despite the nature and seriousness of her prior offending,” they said.

“It is in the public interest to allow her to teach.”

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was defrauded of more than $1.5m. Picture: NSW Police

The members said they agreed with the VIT’s description of Ms Shakshir’s offending as “egregious” but found that beside her participation in the conspiracy, Ms Al Shakshir was of “good and unblemished character”.

They accepted she was suffering from postnatal depression at the time of her offending and that the cultural environment in which she had been raised – where women are expected to obey their fathers and husbands – created “situational motivation” for her involvement in the conspiracy.

“While it seems that she only directly received a small amount, as a wage for her administrative services, she clearly assisted her husband and reaped some benefit from his participation in the conspiracy,” they added.

The tribunal heard that Ms Al Shakshir is undergoing counselling and has “developed skills in setting boundaries with the men in her life”.

“She has taken steps to remove her husband and his family from her life,” they said.

Her provisional registration has been granted for a period of 67 weeks and 4 days, subject to conditions relating to ongoing counselling and professional development.