Seven people have been charged over an alleged fraudulent sexual abuse compensation claims scheme that allegedly netted more than $1bn.
New South Wales police alleged that “claim farmers” approached former young offenders, inmates and public school students, encouraging them to file fraudulent compensation claims for historic child sexual abuse while in care.
The claims were brought against the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and the NSW Department of Education. Police said the charges were the “tip of the iceberg” of a “very, very large problem”.
Top news
Zali Steggall grills Don Farrell over political donations reform in fiery corridor confrontation
Influencer to provide unedited video of Bankstown hospital nurses’ anti-Israeli threats, police say
Trade minister denies Trump administration claims aluminium imports ‘killing’ US market
Australia’s investment in large-scale wind and solar hits six-year peak
Judge rules Trump can downsize federal government with worker buyouts
In pictures
A frosty flower and dead marshes were among the batch of reader-submitted photos selected for this month’s gallery. Click here to submit a picture for publication.
What they said …
***
“A bit of taxpayer-funded chicken, stuffed in a duck, stuffed in a turkey, which is a perfect analogy for this policy because I think most Australians will think it is stuffed.”
The federal education minister, Jason Clare, looked more and more like Bill Shorten’s heir apparent as Labor’s zinger-in-chief with a question time hot take on the Coalition’s small business tax breaks policy.
In numbers
The laws, which came into effect for most workers in August 2024, allow employees to reasonably refuse to respond during out of work hours.
Before bed read
Influenced by 90s nostalgia and celebrity trends, vintage football shirts have hit the mainstream, and demand for rare kits has “skyrocketed” in Australia.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: TAN. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
Sign up
If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know with our Morning Mail newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
