Dobbing someone into centrelink.

[Cynicor]

I think the government has a vested interest in maintaining a public perception of widespread rorting. It leads to presumption and lack of questioning. Take the OP I wonder if they are just assuming the person is rorting, as opposed I knowing.

Noted that the OP's standard is the friend doesn't need the money. I compare that to my situation where I'm fully entitled to $3 a week from the government. Clearly that $3 would make no difference, and I don't need the money. Should I assume that claiming the money would be rorting the system? I think the government wants people to have the view that I would be ripping off the system.

Out of interest, what is $3/wk, if you are willing to share? It's like the government monday coffee payment or something.

 

[prozac]

It still raises two key questions: how does he know they are defrauding the system? None of my friends and not even family would know my finances that well.
Is not needing the support the same as not being entitled to it? The second half does pretty clearly say the friend doesn't need the money, with the implication that they are not entitled to the welfare payments.

We may never know that answer medhead. The OP threw the grenade and has sat back watching the commotion.

 

[medhead]

Out of interest, what is $3/wk, if you are willing to share? It's like the government monday coffee payment or something.

Family tax benefit part B, based on income of the lower income earner in a family. Running the online estimator gave me an answer of $5.88 per fortnight, which is the minimum payment, as best I know.

Edit: still considering if it's worth my time to apply.

 

[HodgoBerro]

Out of curiosity, what is the nature and extent of the fraud?
Will your friend know that it was you that dobbed them in?

Claiming disability when there is nothing physically and mentally wrong with this person.

Currently working cash in hand to avoid paying tax

Falsely told centrelink she was given a large sum of money from a estate left to her and her family.

goes overseas quite frequently for a holiday.

she has told a few people she was on centrelink, I know for a fact she is still claiming from a previous holiday as she had to lodge her form in online and asked me to do it.

sums it all up.

In reference to the later posts, this person is a close family friend.

and the OP is a she.

 

[JohnK]

In reference to the later posts, this person is a close family friend.

I would turn a blind eye.

Too many people are rorting the system and one person at the bottom of the food chain is not going to make any difference.

 

[whatmeworry]

I know one family friend who somehow got a disability pension 3 years ago. I thought her claim was legit but then I realised her children would get Austudy because of her pension. She is actually sending one of Daughters to a 20K per private school. Her Husband isn't on the biggest wage...

Another friend parent's allegedly separated... but lived together, The Mother got a single mother's pension, her children got Austudy yet they were still sent to a private schools (20k per year).

People complain about the poor rorting the system, yet it seems the richest and the most connected rort the system the most... (Cough Cough Tony Abbot).

 

[Hvr]

I would turn a blind eye.

Too many people are rorting the system and one person at the bottom of the food chain is not going to make any difference.

So how many people are allowed to steal before something should be done? The more people caught and publicly exposed the more people who will think twice about stealing.

 

[farstar]

I would turn a blind eye.

Too many people are rorting the system and one person at the bottom of the food chain is not going to make any difference.

There is a finite amount of money that taxes can provide so every false claim means less to give to genuine cases.

 

[drross]

Definitely do it. You know it's wrong and 2 wrongs don't make a right.

 

[prozac]

...............................

Falsely told centrelink she was given a large sum of money from a estate left to her and her family.

goes overseas quite frequently for a holiday.

she has told a few people she was on centrelink, I know for a fact she is still claiming from a previous holiday as she had to lodge her form in online and asked me to do it.
............................

I hope she isn't reading this thread....:shock:

 

[Boris spatsky]

I know one family friend who somehow got a disability pension 3 years ago. I thought her claim was legit but then I realised her children would get Austudy because of her pension. She is actually sending one of Daughters to a 20K per private school. Her Husband isn't on the biggest wage...

Another friend parent's allegedly separated... but lived together, The Mother got a single mother's pension, her children got Austudy yet they were still sent to a private schools (20k per year).

People complain about the poor rorting the system, yet it seems the richest and the most connected rort the system the most... (Cough Cough Tony Abbot).

AUSTUDY is a rort. You need to prove financial independence from your parents (and live elsewhere).I know of at least 5 kids who claimed this using various means in the early 2000s who used false addresses but then still lived at home with their parents.

 

[JohnK]

So how many people are allowed to steal before something should be done? The more people caught and publicly exposed the more people who will think twice about stealing.

As I said don't start at the bottom of the food chain because it is easier.

The big corporations legally "steal" billions. Start on them.

 

[medhead]

There is a finite amount of money that taxes can provide so every false claim means less to give to genuine cases.

Not really. The genuine cases get the money regardless. They don't stop paying people who are eligible. If there is a lack of funds they just change the qualification requirements. Family tax benefit is a prime example of this, where they are dropping the income limits and have done so a few times. The most recent announced change will cut me off from the $5.88 per fortnight. As someone who is eligible and a genuine (potential) recipient do you think I'm going to be hurt by not getting that money?

Another example would be the health insurance welfare. Means test introduced, people who need it still eligible. Less money paid out.

 

[doctau]

Another friend parent's allegedly separated... but lived together, The Mother got a single mother's pension, her children got Austudy yet they were still sent to a private schools (20k per year).

'Undeclared Member of a Couple' is (or was when I was working in Centrelink IT 5 years ago) the most common type of welfare fraud. I don't recall exactly, but I recall being told it made up a bit over half of all welfare fraud - although a lot of it was minor amount of money. Centrelink have a somewhat scary amount of power to investigate allegation of that, and that's before they get police involved (if it's large enough to warrant doing so). I wouldn't want to go through the process of having to prove you're not a couple.

I think that if you're asking whether you should dob someone in, you probably already know which way you want the answer to be.

 

[HodgoBerro]

I hope she isn't reading this thread....:shock:

I highly doubt it.

They didn't know til last week what a lonely planet book was.

I dobbed them in, as the operator said, regardless of what it is, it's still theft. And theft can have consequences such as jail time.

as someone who works within law enforcement sector, it's still illegal. Regardless.

 

[BadgerBoi]

she has told a few people she was on centrelink, I know for a fact she is still claiming from a previous holiday as she had to lodge her form in online and asked me to do it.

I really really hope you refused.

Thinking about this thread, you've been advised only to dob her in if you're 100% sure. That is bull - it's not up to you to prove that she's committing fraud, that's up to the investigators. You think she is, they'll look at her and it's up to them. I'm happy for my taxes to go to educating peoples' kids, providing pensions for the elderly, that sort of thing. I'm not happy for it to be funding a fraudster's lifestyle.

 

[prozac]

I highly doubt it.

They didn't know til last week what a lonely planet book was.

I dobbed them in, as the operator said, regardless of what it is, it's still theft. And theft can have consequences such as jail time.

as someone who works within law enforcement sector, it's still illegal. Regardless.

That's a decision fraught with misgivings, but it sounds like you did the right thing.

 

[medhead]

I really really hope you refused.

Thinking about this thread, you've been advised only to dob her in if you're 100% sure. That is bull - it's not up to you to prove that she's committing fraud, that's up to the investigators. You think she is, they'll look at her and it's up to them. I'm happy for my taxes to go to educating peoples' kids, providing pensions for the elderly, that sort of thing. I'm not happy for it to be funding a fraudster's lifestyle.

You've completely missed the point of needing to absolutely know it was fraud. That advice is about the risks of dobbing in a close personal friend who isn't committing fraud. It sure ain't about excusing them.

 

[HodgoBerro]

I really really hope you refused.

Thinking about this thread, you've been advised only to dob her in if you're 100% sure. That is bull - it's not up to you to prove that she's committing fraud, that's up to the investigators. You think she is, they'll look at her and it's up to them. I'm happy for my taxes to go to educating peoples' kids, providing pensions for the elderly, that sort of thing. I'm not happy for it to be funding a fraudster's lifestyle.

I was not advised to dob her in by anyone, If you actually read the entire thread, I was thinking about dobbing her in, and asked fellow people here on some advice.

as for handing the forms in, I said to her I wasn't comfortable in doing it. From what I heard she got someone else to do it.

anyone knows well enough not to steal from a shop, so why do it to the government? It's the same deal

 

[anat0l]

anyone knows well enough not to steal from a shop, so why do it to the government? It's the same deal

I know some people have the logic that "we pay far too much tax to the government (which is further fuelled by any perceived or realistic incompetence possessed by the incumbent or previous governments) and get not much in return, so might as well get as much back as we can".

Certainly that is the line used by many to justify signing up for every rebate or handout there is available under the sun; some go further in this regard and start to push at or overstep the legal boundaries.

As the old (albeit maybe silly) question goes, if you had a large family to feed and you were all broke, would you be prepared to steal from a bakery to feed them?