Harper Sercombe
An airline service operator in Tullamarine has been convicted and ordered to pay back $124,000.
Andy Tiet was caught working as a storeman whilst receiving workers compensation payments. The court heard Tiet injured his back at work after slipping on stairs in August 2018.
The man’s compensation claim was then accepted by his employer, Qantas, and he began receiving weekly payments.
In June 2021, Qantas arranged surveillance of Tiet, which showed him attending a supermarket warehouse in Laverton for extended periods.
An investigation by WorkSafe revealed that from August 2018 to July 2021, Tiet had obtained $119,457 in compensation payments and $4865 in superannuation from Qantas while secretly working as a storeman and earning a gross income of almost $200,000.
Tiet never reported any injuries or physical restrictions to his warehouse employer, yet continued to sign certificates of capacity declaring he was not working.
The 49-year-old pleaded guilty in the Sunshine Magistrates Court last week to one rolled-up charge of obtaining financial advantage by deception and two rolled-up charges of fraudulently obtaining payments.
He was sentenced to a two year community corrections order, requiring him to do 220 hours of unpaid community work.
