Counter Fraud

We manage the Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre which strengthens Commonwealth counter fraud capabilities.

Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre

Recent counter fraud initiatives demonstrate how policy design, interagency cooperation and the strategic use of both criminal and administrative responses can disrupt and prevent fraud.

The Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre was established on 1 July 2019 as a two-year pilot. We partner with government, non-government and international experts to:

  • identify and trial better practice approaches to mitigate fraud vulnerabilities
  • address barriers to effective fraud prevention including information sharing
  • provide support to agencies to design fraud resistant policies and programs.

Visit the new Counter Fraud website

The Counter Fraud website (CounterFraud.gov.au) provides entities with tools and guidance to counter fraud in Australia. On the site you can:

Commonwealth Fraud Control Framework

The Commonwealth Fraud Control Framework outlines the Australian Government's requirements for fraud control. It requires Commonwealth entities to put in place a comprehensive fraud control program that covers prevention, detection, investigation and reporting strategies. The three key documents in the Framework are the:

  • Fraud Rule which is a legislative instrument binding all Commonwealth entities. It sets out the key requirements of fraud control
  • Fraud Policy which binds non-corporate Commonwealth entities and sets out procedural requirements for specific areas of fraud control such as investigations and reporting
  • Fraud Guidance (also known as the Resource Management Guide No. 201 - Preventing, detecting and dealing with fraud) which supports the Fraud Rule and Fraud Policy by setting out the Australian Government's expectations for fraud control arrangements within all Commonwealth entities.

Report fraud

In Australia there are several different bodies where you can report fraud or incidents of suspected fraud.

We have no investigatory role and cannot investigate fraud, except for instances of fraud against our department. Find out more about how to report fraud on the report fraud page of the Counter Fraud website.