Report fraud against the department

The department is committed to minimising the risk, incidence and impact of fraud against the Australian Government.

We encourage and support full and appropriate disclosure of suspected fraud. We are committed to promptly and fairly assessing all incidents of suspected fraud, and then investigating them in alignment with the Australian Government Investigation Standards (AGIS) as appropriate.

What is fraud?

Fraud in the Commonwealth environment is defined as:

'Dishonestly obtaining a benefit, or causing a loss, by deception or other means'

A benefit is not restricted to tangible items, such as monetary or material benefits. It can also include intangible benefits, including:

• The unauthorised access to, or disclosure of, sensitive information for personal use
• A benefit to a third party rather than, or in addition to, the perpetrator of the fraud.

Reporting fraud

You can provide information about suspected fraudulent or unethical behaviour impacting the department by email at reportafraud@ag.gov.au or by calling 02 6141 6666.

If you have information relating to fraud against other Australian Government agencies, then please report to those agencies — see the Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre site on reporting fraud against Commonwealth entities. If it relates to payment of Commonwealth benefits visit the Australian Government Services Fraud Tip-Off Line.

What information should I provide?

You may choose to remain anonymous when providing information. The more information you are able to provide in early stages of a report will assist us to look into the matter.

You are encouraged to provide:

• details about the person/s involved, such as names, phone numbers, addresses, and relevant organisations
• information about actions or activities you think are fraudulent, including how, when and where it occurred
• your contact details.

What will happen next?

The department takes all allegations of fraud seriously. Your information will be assessed and investigated where appropriate.

The department will refer all instances of potentially serious or complex fraud offences to the Australian Federal Police. Where a matter involves offences under state or territory law, the department may refer the matter to the responsible state or territory service for investigation.

The department will endeavour to respond to your allegations, however due to privacy restrictions and/or the integrity of any investigation, feedback may not always be provided. If your allegation involves another individual, the department may not be able to give you any information about the conduct or outcome of the investigation due to the department’s obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.

Privacy statement

We will respect the confidentiality of personal information and use it only in accordance with the law. If you consider that we have breached the privacy statement, you have the right to complain to the Privacy Commissioner on 1300 363 992.

Alternatively, you can contact our department's privacy officer at privacy@ag.gov.au.​​​​