Queensland Department of Health Acts in Fraud Awareness Month

In its bid to prevent another fake Tahitian Prince scandal, the Queensland Department of Health is adoping a zero tolerance approach to fraud, misconduct and corruption in Fraud Awareness Month.
Acting Health Minister Scott Emerson said that staff would take part in a variety of activities to discuss ways to identify, prevent and report it.
“The month is all about staff and their supervisors understanding accountabilities and being responsible for their actions,” Mr Emerson said. “Although staff already complete mandatory training, the month really brings fraud prevention into focus.
Mr Emerson said Queensland public servants were fully aware of their obligations to report fraud and would be held accountable for their actions.
“We promised at the election to revitalise frontline services, but fraud, misconduct and corruption can erode confidence in our healthcare system and undermine the good work carried out by our staff,” he said.
Mr Emerson said the Crime and Misconduct Commission’s Fraud, financial management and accountability in the Queensland public sector report had identified five main areas to be vigilant.
“These included financial management, managerial standards and accountability, acceptance of gifts and benefits, managing risk in a context of organisational change and fraud awareness and prevention,” he said.
“The importance of early detection and ‘red flags’ have also been brought to the attention of all staff.”
Since July 1 2012, the Ethical Standards Unit had delivered 83 ethics and fraud awareness sessions to around 4,000 employees across the Department of Health.