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A Victoria-based business manager has been convicted and placed on a community corrections order after claiming a total of $114,952 in workers’ compensation payments while working a full-time job.
A WorkSafe Victoria investigation recently discovered that a full-time worker was dishonestly, secretly, and fraudulently collecting workers’ compensation payments.
The 57-year-old man was convicted in the Frankston Magistrates Court today (27 February 2025) after pleading guilty to a single charge of fraudulently obtaining payments – and a single charge of providing false or misleading information.
Back in April 2021, the man slipped and sustained leg, shoulder and lower back injuries working for a plant hire company. His compensation claim for these injuries was accepted in June 2021 – but the man continued working while submitting suitable employment certificates until May 2022, when he underwent surgery.
After the surgery occurred, the man did not return to work and became a vegan, receiving the weekly payments from when he formally resigned in June 2022 while also filling out and submitting medical certificates that claimed he had no capacity for employment.
Yet, after WorkSafe peeked behind the curtain, they discovered that in the same month, the man had begun a new role as a business manager for a rail freight business – bringing in an annual salary of $200,000.
The man falsely declared that he was not engaged in any form of employment on 11 out of the 13 medical certificates he submitted. The man was asked to clarify his employment on three separate occasions, where each time, he committed the fabrication that he was not working.
The man’s weekly compensation payments were cancelled in April 2023 – around two years after he sustained his original injuries. The payments were terminated on the basis of fraud – since then, the man has paid back the full amount of $114,952.
“It’s really disappointing to see when someone knowingly accepts workers’ compensation payments while already earning a full-time salary,” said Return to Work Victoria executive director Jason Lardelli.
Lardelli believes the case exposed a direct attempt to exploit Victoria’s workers’ compensation system for personal gain.
“WorkSafe has stepped up monitoring and compliance checks. Those who behave in this way will be caught, and they will face the full consequences of their actions,” he said.
As previously reported on HR Leader, these fraudulent compensation claims have become an often occurrence, with workers attempting to falsify their documents and receive the payments well after their injury has healed and they’ve returned to work.
With Safe Work Australia’s 2024 data showing a significant increase in serious claims over the past decade, with a 20.5 per cent rise – regulators will continue to ensure that these payments aren’t being handed out to dishonest claimers.
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Compensation is a term used to describe a monetary payment made to a person in return for their services. Employees get pay in their places of employment. It includes income or earnings, commision, as well as any bonuses or benefits that are connected to the particular employee's employment.
Compliance often refers to a company's and its workers' adherence to corporate rules, laws, and codes of conduct.
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
