Australian Government payment programs such as the Medicare Benefits Schedule, Child Care Subsidy and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are increasingly targeted by serious and organised crime groups aiming to exploit vulnerabilities for financial gain. Protecting these programs requires intelligence-led collaboration between agencies to identify threats, disrupt criminal networks and safeguard public funds.
The multi-agency Fraud Fusion Taskforce (FFT) is co-led by National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and Services Australia and has grown to include 25 Commonwealth agencies. The FFT identifies and prosecutes unscrupulous individuals and networks who have exploited Government Payment Programs (GPP). The FFT continues to make significant progress in improving the Government’s capability to better detect, prevent and respond to fraud against GPP.
Hosted by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), the Fraud Fusion Centre (FFC) provides the intelligence capability underpinning the task force, bringing together the expertise and capabilities of multiple government partners to identify, understand and disrupt complex fraud networks. Operation Ivory demonstrates the value of the FFC's intelligence-led approach to identifying and disrupting fraud against government programs.
From referral to investigation
Operation Ivory was triggered when NDIA information relating to suspected NDIS fraud was referred to the FFC for assessment. ACIC intelligence identified a high-priority target believed to be controlling a criminal syndicate involved in large-scale NDIS fraud. The FFC developed a clearer understanding of the network's alleged offending, its methods and the scale of its activities.
The ACIC identified alleged cash kickbacks being paid to NDIS participants and helped reveal how the network was operating within the scheme. The ACIC passed this intelligence to partner agencies, supporting further investigation and enforcement action.
Turning intelligence into action
As a result of the intelligence provided, the NDIA and Australian Federal Police (AFP) executed search warrants across multiple locations in Western Sydney in June 2023. Mobile phones, computers, banking records and other documents were seized as part of the investigation. In September 2023, a Sydney woman was arrested and charged with defrauding the NDIS of more than $2 million. Following the arrest, regulatory action by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission was taken against NDIS providers allegedly linked to the offending, prohibiting them from being involved, directly and indirectly, in the provision of NDIS supports or services for a period of 2 years.
In May 2026, the offender was convicted of 5 counts of fraud and one count of dealing in the proceeds of crime, and on 11 September 2026, was sentenced to 7.5 years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 4 years.
Financial analysis conducted by the ACIC also identified that the network had claimed more than $11.3 million from the NDIS since 2018. A significant portion of those funds allegedly invested in property, withdrawn as cash or retained in accounts controlled by this individual. This intelligence supported a referral to the AFP Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce to pursue potential proceeds of crime action and resulted in an NDIS banning order. Two properties and two bank accounts have been restrained, and an AFP operation is underway to seize assets allegedly obtained fraudulently.
ACIC acting Executive Director Wendy Darling said that Operation Ivory highlights a broader challenge facing government payment programs.
“Fraud and non-compliance do not occur in isolation, but often form part of a wider criminal ecosystem that seeks to exploit public funds for personal gain. Increasingly, authorities are identifying ‘scheme-hopping’ networks, where offenders move between government programs and exploit vulnerabilities across multiple systems.”
Protecting government programs designed to help the Australian community
Operation Ivory demonstrates how intelligence can be used to identify criminal networks, uncover complex fraud methods and support coordinated action across government. Through the FFC, the ACIC works with FFT partners including, NDIA, Services Australia, the Department of Education and the AFP to identify emerging threats, collect and share intelligence and coordinate disruption activities. By uncovering patterns, networks and connections that may otherwise go unnoticed, the FFC helps partners take targeted action, strengthen protections and safeguard the Australian community from criminal exploitation.
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