Charges:

1 charge of fraudulent obtaining Loss of Earnings benefits pursuant to s116 of the Transport Accident Act 1986 and 1 charge of providing false or misleading information pursuant to s117 of The Transport Accident Act 1986.

Plea: Guilty

Result:

The Magistrate imposed a 12 month Community Corrections Order of 200 hours unpaid community work, without conviction.  The accused was also ordered to pay compensation in the amount of $71,573.92 and legal costs of $2,057.00.  The accused has also entered into a deed of repayment to commence repaying the funds at a rate of $500 per month.

Remarks:

The accused was involved in a transport accident in December 2019.  Nil injuries were reported by emergency services who attended the accident.  The accused subsequently lodged a TAC claim in January 2020 citing left wrist injury, neck pain, right shoulder pain, bruising, headache, anxiety and difficulty sleeping.  The accused TAC claim was accepted and Loss of Earnings (LOE) benefits commenced in January 2020.  The accused submitted 20 medical certificates certifying to have no capacity for employment between January 2020 to May 2021. The accused also signed 16 certificates indicating no return to employment/volunteer work during this time.  It was detected through surveillance that the accused had returned to work as a casual relief teacher, which was further confirmed by employment enquiries and bank records. The accused returned to employment in February 2020 and continued obtaining LOE benefits while regularly working until they were ceased by TAC in June 2021.  The accused defence solicitor noted the accused had suffered a history of family violence from her husband and was now a single parent to three children with no family support and was attempting to build a home at the time of the offending, had ran out of money and was living in an incomplete home with her children.  Further, that physical injuries and mental health injuries had been suffered as a result of the transport accident and a conviction for the offending would jeopardise the accused’s ability to work in future to support her children and repay TAC.  Prosecution made submissions as to the significant length and amount of offending, that notwithstanding her lack of priors and early guilty plea, general deterrence and denunciation were paramount considerations, that as such a corrections order and conviction were in the range.

Restitution:	$71,573.92
Total Fines:	$N/A
Disbursements:	$N/A
Statutory Costs:	$N/A
Professional Costs:	$2,057