AN Australian Customs and Border Protection official resigned last year while being investigated on allegations of defrauding the Commonwealth, an internal report says.
The officer had claimed almost $15,000 of taxpayers' money to relocate. He had obtained an alternative quote at a lower price than the preferred supplier and told Customs he had a family connection to the company he wanted to contract and that it was not a registered removalist.
But questions were later raised about the legitimacy of the quote and how the work was done.
While the allegation that the man conspired to defraud the Commonwealth was not substantiated by an internal Customs investigation, it found there was an ongoing risk of fraud if their relocation policy continued to allow unregistered removalists to be used by staff.
A recommendation also said money should be paid direct from Customs to removalist contractors.
''The relevant administrative procedures were amended to ensure greater transparency, accountability and probity,'' a Customs spokesman said. ''As the officer had resigned from the Commonwealth prior to the finalisation of the investigation, no further steps were taken in relation to the Public Service Code of Conduct.''
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