NT ICAC exposes public servant who lied about tertiary qualifications three times to secure top jobs

A corruption probe has exposed a senior Territory public servant who fraudulently claimed to hold tertiary qualifications to win several jobs. ICAC believes they are not alone.

The Northern Territory’s anti-corruption watchdog has requested an audit of public servants’ personnel records after it was discovered a senior officer used fraudulent qualifications to secure several top jobs in the Territory.

In a statement on Thursday the Territory’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Michael Riches said he believed there were more false qualifications yet to be discovered.

“I am confident that this is not an isolated incident,” he said.

“Accordingly, I ask that all public bodies audit the personnel records of public officers whose employment or appointment is contingent upon the holding of a particular qualification.

“Any anomalies identified should be reported to me.”

ICAC could not name the officer at the centre of the investigation, termed ‘Operation Pacific’, due to legal constraints.

NT Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Michael Riches, said the corrupt conduct threatened trust in the public service. Picture: Office of the ICAC/Supplied

The individual was awarded the role of Chief Financial Officer in a public body in 2013 based on an application that knowingly made a false claim they held a certain tertiary degree.

No checks were conducted to verify whether that qualification was in fact held.

In 2017 the same officer was again awarded the position of Chief Financial Officer in a public body.

It was an essential requirement for the job that the applicant held a particular tertiary degree and was a registered accountant.

The officer’s job application included reference to holding a university degree and being a Certified Practicing Accountant – both claims were knowingly untrue.

After being awarded the job the officer was asked to confirm their qualifications, prompting them to create false documents including a “purported” statutory declaration, Mr Riches said.

“I have been unable to determine how the purported statutory declaration came to be created, nevertheless, the content of the purported statutory declaration ought to have raised suspicion as to its authenticity,” he said.

The “suspicious” elements included a number of spelling errors such as “memmordam[sic] of grades”, a Commonwealth of Australia template instead of the Northern Territory Government template, reference to a qualification that was different to the qualification in the officer’s resume, and missing information generally required on statutory declarations.

In 2018, the individual applied for and was awarded the role of Chief Operating Officer in a public body, making the same false representations about being an accountant and their tertiary qualifications.

Once again, no further checks were made to verify those claims.

They resigned as COO in 2020, and took a role in a different public service job, with “insufficient evidence” to prove there was any improper conduct on that occasion.

Mr Riches said the case clearly amounted to corrupt conduct and threatened trust in the public service.

He said while recruitment checks were a “resource burden”, this case was a “glaring example of why those checks are so important”.

“All public officers should take note,” he said.