Nationwide operation targets alleged rorts of disability, welfare, veterans’ and childcare schemes as authorities seize cash, bullion and vast digital evidence.
Australian authorities have charged five people as part of a major nationwide investigation into alleged fraud totalling approximately A$235 million ($155 million) against federal government programmes, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Centrelink welfare payments, veterans’ support and childcare subsidies.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP), working with the government’s Fraud Fusion Taskforce, announced the charges following Operation Integrity Fusion, a three-month coordinated effort involving 26 search warrants executed across Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, the New South Wales Central Coast and rural Queensland.
Investigators from the AFP, National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), Services Australia, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Department of Education seized 44 digital devices and gained access to 37 cloud-based accounts containing more than 28 terabytes of data. They also confiscated more than A$120,000 in cash, A$15,000 in silver bullion, A$11,000 in gold coins and jewellery valued at about A$60,000.
The A$235 million figure represents the aggregate of actual and potential fraud identified across seven separate investigations. Authorities emphasised that the sum is not attributed to any single accused individual and that four of the probes have not yet resulted in charges. Further arrests remain possible.
Details of the alleged schemes:
The cases involve different methods of allegedly obtaining public funds for services that were not delivered, only partially provided, or claimed through unlawfully obtained personal information.
In one Sydney-based investigation, three people-two women aged 23 and 22 and a man aged 26-were charged with dealing in the proceeds of crime. Police allege the group ran a phishing operation that sent fake myGov text messages, compromising about 2,000 Centrelink records and enabling more than 3,000 fraudulent transactions since March 2025, with losses estimated at roughly A$2.5 million.
In Adelaide, a 42-year-old National Disability Insurance Agency employee was charged with abuse of public office. Investigators allege she improperly accessed and shared the personal details of 78 NDIS participants with service providers with whom she had a conflict of interest. Those providers then lodged claims against the participants’ plans totalling A$21.8 million, generating about A$1.6 million in revenue.
Other strands of the operation examined networks of NDIS providers and a plan manager alleged to have claimed around A$100 million from the scheme since 2019, with patterns of cash withdrawals, gift-card purchases and gold acquisitions consistent with money-laundering techniques. Separate inquiries focused on alleged over-claiming of childcare subsidies and veterans’ support payments.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Stephen Raper said the operation targeted those who “selfishly rort the system for their own personal gain.” Service providers, he noted, exist to support Australians in need, and the majority operate legitimately.
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The NDIS(National Disability Insurance Scheme), introduced to provide individualised support for people with significant and permanent disabilities, has faced repeated scrutiny over rising costs and integrity risks as spending has grown into the tens of billions of dollars annually. Similar pressures have affected other large-scale payment systems. Officials say the majority of providers and claimants act lawfully, yet the scale of the alleged fraud underscores ongoing challenges in safeguarding public funds while ensuring support reaches those who need it.
The charged individuals are expected to appear in court in the coming weeks. Investigations continue, and the Fraud Fusion Taskforce has signalled that additional people of interest remain under examination, including links to multiple Sydney-based NDIS providers.
For many Australians reliant on disability supports, welfare payments or veterans’ services, the case highlights the tension between expanding social programmes and the need for robust oversight to prevent exploitation. The outcome of the prosecutions and any subsequent policy responses will be closely watched as Canberra seeks to balance accessibility with accountability in its major welfare and support schemes.