National Corruption Watchdog To Probe AU$100k Fund Misuse By Ex-Tourism Australia Employees

The National Anti-Corruption Commission will probe charges against three ex-staff of Tourism Australia, who allegedly spent AU$137,441 on personal holidays and invoiced the amount to the tourism board.

The three staff members, who booked the holiday package through Tourism Australia's corporate travel agent, were fired after the agency found out about the breach of travel policy and misuse of funds in October 2023. The incident was then referred to National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) in January, ABC News reported.

Appearing before the Senate committee in Canberra, Tourism Australia chief executive Phillipa Harrison confirmed that the three of them no longer work with the agency and that they refunded the full amount to Tourism Australia in December 2023.

"Tourism Australia demanded that the three individuals repay the full amount of the travel, and that full amount was AU$137,441, and that was fully repaid to Tourism Australia in December 2023," Harrison said.

When New South Wales Nationals senator Ross Cadell sought more information about the staff and whether the chief financial officer of the agency was involved, Harrison refused to give further details as the case was still under investigation.

"The NACC has advised me that I'm unable to provide the further details on the roles and the people involved until they have finished their investigations," News.com quoted Harrison as saying. "The legislation enacted by parliament intends to avoid that by requiring that investigations, generally, be conducted in private and that information concerning them is not to be disclosed."

Harrison stated that in 2021, Deloitte conducted an audit to comprehend the "full extent of the issue, but no further instances of wrongdoing were identified."