Teacher steals over $44,000 from the public purse

A teacher has been convicted in the District Court after committing over $44,000 worth of fraud. The teacher unlawfully received a series of benefits over a number of years after she falsely recorded that she was not working or receiving any other income.

The Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal held that benefit fraud is particularly serious as it is stealing from public funds. The Tribunal found that in order to protect the public and maintain professional standards, the teacher needed to be censured and suspended for six months or until she completed a budgeting course.

The Tribunal took into account that she had no previous convictions, and that she had only been sentenced to six months home detention by the Court. The Tribunal acknowledged that the teacher had faced many difficulties in her life, and may have been suffering from depression at the time of her offending.

The Tribunal also imposed a condition on her teaching certificate which requires her to inform current or prospective employers of the Tribunal’s decision, and her conviction.