Freda completed her PhD, MCom and BCom in Accounting and Finance at the University of Wollongong. Freda joined the School in 2006. Prior to that, she lectured in Hong Kong and worked in the private sector. She is a FCPA and a Councillor of CPA Australia (Illawarra Division).
<p><strong>Centrelink Prosecutions at the Employment/Benefit Nexus: A Case Study of Wollongong<br /><br /></strong>The study examined Centrelink social security fraud prosecutions dealt with by Legal Aid NSW Wollongong office for the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2010. Wollongong provided a typical demographic profile of Centrelink prosecutions in New South Wales. </p><p>The report examines the effects of unpredictable and fluctuating pay on the recipients of income at the employment/benefit nexus. The uncertainty of insecure work increases the risk of under-declaring income and, therefore, Centrelink recipients are vulnerable to criminal prosecution for social security fraud.</p><p><strong></strong>What started as a request to provide evidence of the hardship faced by casual and part-time employees navigating insecure work and the social security system actually had impact. Following publication of our report <a href="http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/5719839" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Centrelink Prosecutions at the Employment/Benefit Nexus"</a> and written and oral submissions to the<em> ACTU Independent Inquiry into Insecure Work in Australia, </em>we made a difference to the millions of Australians seeking permanent work.<em> </em></p>
<p>A message arrived in our inbox from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) almost five years after embarking on a collaborative research project with the NSW Legal Aid office in Wollongong.</p><p><em>In 2012 you made a submission through the ACTU to the Independent Inquiry Into Insecure Work. Now, after a long fight for change run by unions, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ruled that casual workers who work for twelve months on a regular pattern of hours can request to convert to permanent employment and that request cannot be unreasonably refused. This makes a difference for the thousands of casuals who want permanent work.</em></p><p><em>Your support over the years has made a difference. Make no mistake, you helped pave the way for this decision by the Fair Work Commission and it has re-opened the debate in the wider community about the need to change the rules in order to get jobs you can count on.</em></p>Our report in 2011 examined the effects of unpredictable and fluctuating pay on the recipients of income at the employment/benefit nexus. The uncertainty of insecure work increases the risk of under-declaring income and, therefore, Centrelink recipients are vulnerable to criminal prosecution for social security fraud. Insecure work has implications beyond the individual worker to both government and community. Social Security debt overpayments are not confined to one jurisdiction: Centrelink is a Commonwealth agency; it is prosecuted by another Commonwealth agency, the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions; defendants are represented by state legal aid bodies or private solicitors or defend themselves; the costs associated with the assigned court and magistrate are of the state; those found guilty can be incarcerated in a state or privatised prison; costs of enforcing bonds lie with the local jurisdiction; and costs of counsellors and other social support agencies are often born by the Third Sector of the economy. Some ‘knock-on’ costs such as disruptions to both the housing and schooling of children in affected families and the associated emotional trauma and social stigmatisation cannot be measured, but nonetheless consume resources in terms of ancillary services.<br /><br />The Report has been quoted in a number of academic journals, submitted to independent inquiries, used in organisations submissions to Government Committees and has received media attention.<br /><br /><p></p>
<p><strong>Centrelink Prosecutions at the Employment/Benefit Nexus: A Case Study of Wollongong<br /><br /></strong>The study examined Centrelink social security fraud prosecutions dealt with by Legal Aid NSW Wollongong office for the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2010. Wollongong provided a typical demographic profile of Centrelink prosecutions in New South Wales. </p><p>The report examines the effects of unpredictable and fluctuating pay on the recipients of income at the employment/benefit nexus. The uncertainty of insecure work increases the risk of under-declaring income and, therefore, Centrelink recipients are vulnerable to criminal prosecution for social security fraud.</p><p><strong></strong>What started as a request to provide evidence of the hardship faced by casual and part-time employees navigating insecure work and the social security system actually had impact. Following publication of our report <a href="http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/5719839" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Centrelink Prosecutions at the Employment/Benefit Nexus"</a> and written and oral submissions to the<em> ACTU Independent Inquiry into Insecure Work in Australia, </em>we made a difference to the millions of Australians seeking permanent work.<em> </em></p>
<p>A message arrived in our inbox from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) almost five years after embarking on a collaborative research project with the NSW Legal Aid office in Wollongong.</p><p><em>In 2012 you made a submission through the ACTU to the Independent Inquiry Into Insecure Work. Now, after a long fight for change run by unions, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ruled that casual workers who work for twelve months on a regular pattern of hours can request to convert to permanent employment and that request cannot be unreasonably refused. This makes a difference for the thousands of casuals who want permanent work.</em></p><p><em>Your support over the years has made a difference. Make no mistake, you helped pave the way for this decision by the Fair Work Commission and it has re-opened the debate in the wider community about the need to change the rules in order to get jobs you can count on.</em></p>Our report in 2011 examined the effects of unpredictable and fluctuating pay on the recipients of income at the employment/benefit nexus. The uncertainty of insecure work increases the risk of under-declaring income and, therefore, Centrelink recipients are vulnerable to criminal prosecution for social security fraud. Insecure work has implications beyond the individual worker to both government and community. Social Security debt overpayments are not confined to one jurisdiction: Centrelink is a Commonwealth agency; it is prosecuted by another Commonwealth agency, the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions; defendants are represented by state legal aid bodies or private solicitors or defend themselves; the costs associated with the assigned court and magistrate are of the state; those found guilty can be incarcerated in a state or privatised prison; costs of enforcing bonds lie with the local jurisdiction; and costs of counsellors and other social support agencies are often born by the Third Sector of the economy. Some ‘knock-on’ costs such as disruptions to both the housing and schooling of children in affected families and the associated emotional trauma and social stigmatisation cannot be measured, but nonetheless consume resources in terms of ancillary services.<br /><br />The Report has been quoted in a number of academic journals, submitted to independent inquiries, used in organisations submissions to Government Committees and has received media attention.<br /><br /><p></p>
