Thursday, June 6, 2024 Three employees of Tourism Australia have been dismissed after misusing nearly $140,000 of taxpayers’ money for personal vacations, prompting an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Tourism Australia, the government agency tasked with promoting Australia as a premier travel destination, found itself embroiled in controversy when it was revealed that three of its staff had used $137,441 for unauthorized personal travel. The agency’s chief executive, Phillipa Harrison, disclosed the misconduct during a Senate committee hearing in Canberra.
Ms. Harrison detailed how the breach was discovered last October. Staff members identified the unauthorized expenses, which were promptly reported and escalated.
“The three employees undertook personal travel booked through Tourism Australia’s corporate travel agent, invoiced to the agency,” Ms. Harrison explained. Tourism Australia demanded the full reimbursement of the misappropriated funds from the involved employees.
By December last year, the total amount had been repaid, and the three individuals were no longer employed by the agency. To ensure no further discrepancies, Deloitte was commissioned to conduct an extensive audit of the agency’s travel expenses dating back to 2021. Ms.
Harrison reported that the audit revealed no additional instances of misconduct. “Following the audit, I have implemented stronger travel policy processes to prevent any recurrence,” she stated. In ad.