A 28-year-old woman has been found guilty of fraud after she forged children's attendance records at her Aussie Giggles family day care centre to rake in more than $3.6 million in taxpayer funding.
Melissa Jade Higgins allegedly falsified children's attendance at her family day care centre on the NSW-Victorian border to claim millions of dollars in Special Child Care Subsidies (SCCB).
The SCCB subsidises the full cost of childcare for children who are experiencing or are at risk of abuse or neglect.
Ms Higgins claimed the SCCB at an inflated rate of $180 per hour for up to 14 children and for children who did not attend her service.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions alleged Ms Higgins had been claiming child care benefits for services that were not provided at the Aussie Giggles centre.
Ms Higgins, who was the sole director of the company based in Wodonga, was found guilty by a jury in the NSW District Court on Wednesday of one count of dealing with money believed to be proceeds of crime worth $1 million or more, 14 counts of using a forged document and 66 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
The verdict was handed down more than 18 months after her bank account was frozen and $2,250,000 was seized along with other property, including a $90,000 car, during an arrest by the Australian Federal Police.
The arrest was part of a joint investigation that also involved the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education.
The federal government has cancelled or suspended 75 child care services since July 2015, while 15 have been charged by the Australian Federal Police as part of a crackdown on the sector.
On Thursday, Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said family day care operators were "on notice".
But critics of the government say dodgy operators are still reaping enormous amounts of funding due to a lack of oversight in the sector by both state and federal governments.
In October, a Fairfax Media investigation revealed the national Child Care Fraud Investigations Team had only four investigators and had been overwhelmed for months.
Foundations Family Daycare director Kathi Hewitson told Fairfax Media that operators were reaping "massive amounts of money" due to government inaction.
"The lack of oversight is astounding," she said.
In August, two men from Lakemba in Sydney's west were charged with fraud after they collected more than $27 million in Commonwealth childcare benefits since 2012.
NSW Counter-terrorism police announced they were investigating whether any of the money had been sent offshore without the knowledge of state or federal governments.
Mr Birmingham issued a warning to family day care fraudsters on Thursday.
"We will find you, we will take action to shut you down and you will be punished, including the possibility of being jailed," Mr Birmingham said.
