Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 section 251

False statements and offences, including offences relating to bodies corporate

Section 251 deals with offences relating to false statements, fraud, and failure to disclose changes in means, and sets out the consequences for individuals, employers, and corporate bodies.

• It is an offence to knowingly make false or misleading statements, conceal material facts, or produce false documents in order to obtain benefits, inflate entitlements, or avoid repayments under the Act.
• Employers (or their servants or agents) who help an employee commit such an offence are also guilty; a conviction relating to child benefit triggers an automatic three-month disqualification from that benefit.
• Where an offence by an employer results in benefits being paid to an employee who was not entitled to them, the Minister may recover the overpayment, up to the amount of benefit the employee was not entitled to receive.
• A person receiving or claiming assistance must notify the Minister in writing within the prescribed period if their means increase; failure to do so is an offence.