Our expert criminal lawyers for a financial advantage offence can help you:
- Obtain bail.
- Be found not guilty.
- Receive a lenient sentence, like no conviction and no prison.
You will be represented by a team of award-winning criminal lawyers, with 500+ five-star Google reviews, who offer fixed fees and free first consultations.
You can read our reviews here.
Centrelink Fraud
Centrelink Fraud is a criminal offence, and we highly recommend getting legal representation if you have charges against you.
“Don’t muck about with government money” – or so the Magistrates and Judges say. Centrelink and tax-reporting offences are viewed extremely seriously by the courts.
Please note before being charged with these offences, people are often offered interviews by Centrelink or the Australian Taxation Office. We strongly suggest contacting us before opening your mouth and potentially making things worse. Any admissions you make may be used against you in court proceedings.
If you intend to plead guilty to an obtain a financial advantage charge, depending on the seriousness, our criminal lawyers can have obtain a financial advantage offences dismissed without a conviction, which would otherwise result in our clients being sentenced to prison.
Read more about having no conviction recorded here.
Pleading not guilty
You will be found not guilty of the offence of obtaining a financial advantage if the police cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt:
- You engaged in conduct (e.g. failing to declare income, obtaining a single parent allowance whilst living in a de-facto relationship)
- As a result of that conduct, you obtained a financial advantage for yourself from another person; and
- You knew or believed that you were not eligible to receive that financial advantage; and
- The other person was a Commonwealth entity.
You can read more information about pleading not guilty here.
Our criminal defence lawyers frequently defend Centrelink fraud matters by arguing:
- The accused did not act dishonestly
- The overpayment resulted from a mistake or a misunderstanding;
- The accused believed they were entitled to the benefit;
- Investigators acted improperly during interviews;
- The prosecution cannot prove knowledge or intent;
- The alleged financial advantage calculations are inaccurate.
Pleading guilty
If you agree that you have committed the offence and the police are able to prove so, it is best to plead guilty. You will normally receive a discount on your sentence, and it will demonstrate remorse and contrition.
Our experienced solicitors can negotiate with prosecutors to have you plead guilty to less serious facts or to a less serious charge.
The maximum penalty for Centrelink fraud, obtaining a financial advantage, is 12 months’ imprisonment. This penalty is typically reserved for the worst offenders.
Our solicitors have a proven track record of not only keeping our clients out of jail, but (depending on the seriousness of the allegation) also having the offence finalised without the recording of a conviction.
You can read about all the sentencing options that a court has, including about not having a conviction recorded here.
You can read more about pleading guilty here.
Do I need references?
We believe references are an extremely important part of a plea of guilty in court. Read about court processes and how to write a good character reference.
Contact Australian Criminal Law Group
Our criminal lawyers, with 500+ five-star Google reviews, can beat a Centerlink fraud charge or obtain a lenient sentence for you if you plead guilty.
Call us on (02) 8815 8167 for your free first conference or submit a website enquiry.
Case Studies
Charges dismissed – Section 10
Mr Correy represented two young men charged with defrauding their employer of tens of thousands of dollars by creating fake customer accounts to obtain commissions. Our solicitor submitted that their criminal culpability was lower than most similar cases because their manager had drawn them into the scheme unwittingly and they continued the criminal behaviour acting under a degree of duress in that they feared they would lose their jobs if they ceased. The Magistrate agreed with our lawyers’ submissions and dismissed the charges pursuant to section 10, meaning no conviction was recorded.
No conviction – Charges downgraded
Mr Correy represented a man charged with 11 counts of fraud, two counts of participating in a criminal group and deriving profit from one, and knowingly deal with proceeds of crime, which has a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment. Mr Correy had all the offences withdrawn and a new charge of dealing with money reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime. The deal that Mr Correy got his client was better than all the co-Accused received. At sentence, the magistrate did not record a conviction.
Home detention
Mr Harb represented a woman who defrauded her employer out of $280,000 dollars over a period of 18 months. He negotiated the figure to $210,000. He convinced the court to give his client 15 months home detention.
No jail time
Australian Criminal Law Group represented a client charged with defrauding a charity of $150,000. He successfully argued that the court had alternatives to imprisonment and the Magistrate did not send her to jail.
No jail time – Good behaviour bond
Mr Correy represented a young man pleading guilty to tampering with odometers and then reselling cars at inflated values. He defrauded a dozen people for a profit of more than $50,000.00 over 12 months. Fair Trading did not detect his illegal activities until more than six months after he had ceased engaging in the criminal behaviour. Mr Correy argued that due to his voluntary cessation of criminal activity, there was a public interest in dealing with him leniently. The Magistrate agreed and he received a good behaviour bond.
Source:
Crimes Act 1900 No 40, Current version for 1 January 2022 to date (accessed 7 March 2022 at 21:52) https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1900-040
This information is intended as a general guide to law only. It should not be relied on as legal advice, and it is recommended that you speak with a qualified lawyer about your situation.
Australian Criminal Law Group and its suppliers make every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy and validity of the information provided on its web pages. At the time of updating, this information was correct, however, given the laws in NSW and Australia are continually changing, Australian Criminal Law Group makes no warranties or representations as to its accuracy.