Palmerston nurse sentenced to home detention for $80k Centrelink fraud
A PALMERSTON nurse will spend nine months in home detention for rorting the government of almost $80,000 in Centrelink payments.
Police & Courts
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A PALMERSTON nurse will spend nine months in home detention for rorting the government of almost $80,000 in Centrelink payments.
Renee Lee Williams, 47, appeared in the Darwin Supreme Court yesterday after pleading guilty to dishonestly causing loss to a commonwealth entity and dishonestly obtaining financial advantage from a commonwealth entity.
The court heard Williams, who now works at the Palmerston Hospital as a theatre nurse, was receiving Newstart and single parent payments from Centrelink between November 2011 and March 2014 while also working, but didn’t once declare her income.
At that time she was working for NT Pub Co Pty Ltd and IMED Regional Imaging.
She earned about $74,000 and was paid more than $45,000 in Centrelink payments – over $25,000 more than she would have received had she declared her income.
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Centrelink became aware of her overpayments and sent her a repayment notice in 2014, which she unsuccessfully appealed. She was then receiving the single parent payment until March 2018, during which time she made 75 false declarations of her income and was overpaid by almost $54,000.
In sentencing, Acting Justice Dean Mildren said Williams had defrauded the government of more than $79,000 over a six-year period.
“Offences against the public welfare system lead to loss of public confidence … and create a risk of demonising the genuine and needy who require assistance,” Justice Mildren said.
“Those who intentionally abuse the system to gain substantial benefits … must normally expect to be sent to prison so as to act as a deterrent both to themselves and to others.”
However, Williams’ lawyer Matt Hubber told the court her three children would be significantly disadvantaged if she was to go to jail.
“She’s the sole provider for her children, her children have particular difficulties,” he said.
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Williams was sentenced to two years prison, suspended on the condition she do nine months home detention.
She will be allowed to continue working in order to pay back what she owes.
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