Fraud in the Australian context
In the Budget reply speech delivered by the Hon Joe Hockey MP on
22 May 2013, it was announced that a Coalition government will
introduce a policy whereby all small businesses that provide
services to government will get the benefit of a 'pay on time
or pay interest' approach to their invoices, regardless of
whether formal contracts are in place or not. This "prompt
payment" policy expands on Labor's policy about invoicing.
Notwithstanding the obvious benefit to business, such a policy
increases fraud risk with consequences for agencies from the
perspective of proper financial management and use of public
money.
Additional focus on fraud by the new Coalition government is
critical. The introduction of the Public Interest Disclosure
Act 2013 (Cth) this year by Labor was an important step for
public sector fraud, however it is apparent that an even more
holistic view needs to be taken by the Coalition of the effect of
fraud,
