A Downer woman who defrauded Centrelink of more than $13,000 was a repeat offender and was stealing from the community, a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Lynette Mary Stuart, 62, had pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court to one charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
The court heard Stuart failed to declare her full income to Centrelink and received three years' worth of extra payments.
Between 2007 and 2010, Stuart earned more than $41,000 from a cleaning job at the casino but told Centrelink her income was only about $16,000.
As a result she received $13,798 in extra Newstart allowance payments.
Stuart's lawyer said his client had struggled to make ends meet all her life and had not been ''living the life of Riley'' with the extra payments.
She had earned less than $500 a week and worked two jobs to pay the bills.
Stuart had already paid back $5000 to Centrelink and fully intended to pay the remaining debt.
The lawyer said Stuart's work hours fluctuated and she often did not know how much she would be paid from week to week, leading to errors when she declared her income to Centrelink.
The Commonwealth prosecution said Stuart had repeatedly under-declared her income over several years and had also received warnings from Centrelink.
At one point Stuart had earned $700 a week but only declared $200 to Centrelink, the court heard.
Magistrate Maria Doogan said Stuart had previously received multiple warnings about her social security declarations and had a prior conviction for defrauding Centrelink from 1990 to 1993.
She said that while the court could have some sympathy for people on low incomes, there was little to distinguish between crimes committed out of need and those committed out of greed.
Ms Doogan imposed a six-month suspended jail term and placed Stuart on a two-year good-behaviour bond with 12 months' probation.
She ordered her to perform 208 hours of community service.