May 22 2009
According to reports a number of people working for the West Australian Health Department have been suspended because of suspect behaviour.
It appears that 18 Health Department employees have been allegedly submitting fraudulent expense claims by either altering or duplicating receipts to claim reimbursement for meals they had not purchased.
It is also suggested that some of the suspected fraud being investigated possibly involves a fringe benefit tax exemption that some public hospital workers can claim which qualifies under tax laws as public benevolent institutions.
An investigation into the behaviour of the workers, from the Department's Health Corporation Network, has been launched and those suspected have been given eight working days paid leave to explain their alleged misconduct.
The Health Department revealed 6 months ago that it was investigating the matter and now says inquiries are continuing, and more staff could be subject to disciplinary action and that the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) has been notified.
In March this year the CCC won an appeal against the acquittal of former senior Health Department executive Michael Moodie, who is accused of forging invoices to claim $6,000 in travel expenses and there are fears that health services will be affected by an investigation into fraud in the Health Department.
Tim Benson from the Health Consumers' Council says withdrawing people from the administrative department will have a huge impact on staff who are already under pressure and he says there have been complaints about staff not being paid properly.
The Health Corporate Network, the department’s centralised payroll and financial unit, has been strongly criticised in the past recent for botching up the wages of hundreds of junior doctors.
Mr Benson says if a significant number of people are taken out of the Health Corporate Network, the area which is responsible for the payroll, pressure will be put upon staff and that in turn will have an impact on patients.
The CCC says the Health Department had notified it of the matter several months ago.