Case 23

The worker lodged an application for compensation in February 2006 for a major depressive disorder arising from her employment as a primary school teacher with Education Queensland. The application was accepted on 23 May 2006 and weekly compensation was paid from 19 October 2005 to 8 November 2005 and 7 April 2006 to 28 November 2008.

The worker returned to work twice during her compensation period with two separate employers and failed to advise WorkCover and was charged with fraud. The claim ran for almost three years of which almost two years was the offending period.

On 15 July 2011 she pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and three false and misleading charges. The worker was sentenced on 26 August 2011 to 12 months imprisonment for each of the frauds and three months each for the false and misleading statements to be served concurrently. The Court ordered that the worker was required to serve a period of four months term of imprisonment after which the sentence would be suspended for an operational period of 18 months. A conviction was recorded and she was ordered to pay restitution of $122,588 and significant costs.