04-05-2017-Maroochydore
| Date | 4 November 2016 |
|---|---|
| Charges | Charge One – Section 533 Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) (WCRA) – Fraud |
| Court | Maroochydore Magistrates Court |
| Plea | Guilty |
| Case | For returning to a calling and failing to advise the insurer of this work |
| Facts | On 15 December 2012 the worker lodged an application for compensation with the insurer alleging that on 14 December 2012 she sustained cervical spine and left upper limb injuries while assisting another staff member to re-position a resident on a bed during the course of her employment with an aged care company as a permanent part-time Assistant in Nursing. Compensation was paid from 16 December 2012 to 19 May 2013. The worker lodged a Notice of Claim dated 1 December 2015. The worker swore that she had received income of $8,010.00 from her employment with another employer during the period 28 November 2012 to 30 June 2013. The worker did not disclose her employment with this other employer at all during the statutory claim. The records obtained from the other employer confirmed the worker commenced work on 28 November 2012 (prior to the date of the injury) continuing after the claim was closed. The worker worked on a regular basis for this employer as a 'nanny' to care for a family whose sole parent has a disability. The worker did not disclose this employment during the statutory claim and provided false and misleading information that she had not worked. A complaint was filed in the Maroochydore Magistrate Court charging the worker with 6 separate offences under the WCRA. The charges included: one charge of fraud for returning to a calling, one charge for failing to advise the insurer of that work and four charges of providing a false and misleading information/documents/statements to the insurer. |
| Penalty | The worker was sentenced to 3 months wholly suspended for the fraud charge and 1 month each for the five other charges (1 x s.136 failure to notify + 4 x false and misleading) for an operational period of 12 months |
| Restitution | $14,451.99 |
| Costs | $5,000.00 – Workers Compensation Regulators Costs |
| Conviction | Recorded |
| Consideration for Prevention | A worker should notify the insurer if they continue to work or return to work while in receipt of benefits. A worker should notify the insurer if they perform any activity giving rise to the receipt of remuneration or reward including self-employment or the performance of an occupation, trade, profession, or carrying on of a business, whether or not the person performing the activity received remuneration. A worker should be honest about his/her symptoms and capacity to work when speaking to the insurer and/or medical practitioners . |