❓ A WA parliamentary question sought information on whether government agencies within the Planning and Disability Services portfolios were victims of business scams and what measures were in place to prevent future occurrences. The response indicated no agencies were affected and outlined preventative measures.
AnsweredQoN 5841Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the online news article published by the ABC online on 17 August 2016 in relation to scammers stealing $500,000 from West Australian businesses over the past two years as reported by the Department of Consumer Protection, and I ask: (a) have any WA Government agencies within the Minister’s
portfolio of responsibility fallen victim to these scams over the past two
years; (b) if
so which agencies have been impacted; (c) for each agency impacted, what was the nature of, and the
dollar amount lost in connection to each scam; (d) have
criminal charges been laid against any persons or entities in connection to
these scams; and (e) what
measures have you taken to ensure that public funds are not lost to scammers
via WA Government agencies?
portfolio of responsibility fallen victim to these scams over the past two
years; (b) if
so which agencies have been impacted; (c) for each agency impacted, what was the nature of, and the
dollar amount lost in connection to each scam; (d) have
criminal charges been laid against any persons or entities in connection to
these scams; and (e) what
measures have you taken to ensure that public funds are not lost to scammers
via WA Government agencies?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
19 October 2016
Responded by
Minister representing the Minister for Planning; Disability Services
Response time
35 days
Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (a) No (b-d) Not applicable (e) Changes to supplier bank account details are subject to a high level of scrutiny before being actioned. Detailed audit trails of any bank account changes are provided to senior Financial Management, including the Chief Financial Officer, as they occur.
Disability Services Commission (a) No (b-d) Not applicable (e) The Commission has the following processes in place to ensure that public funds are not lost to scammers: • Verification and authorisation of each invoice to ensure its validity, including the delivery of expected goods or services where applicable. • Routine cross-checking of Supplier Audit Trail reports by Senior Accounts Payable Officers prior to the processing of any payments. • Bank account details held on Disability Services Commission (the Commission) files are utilised for payment to known suppliers, irrespective of details provided on individual invoices. • Background checks are undertaken to verify the details of new suppliers, involving independent verification of the supplier’s Australian Business Number (ABN) and Bank / State / Branch (BSB) number, and contact is then made with the supplier to confirm bank details. Background checks are documented and signed by staff for audit purposes. • Senior staff personally contact suppliers’ senior personnel using existing, established contact details to confirm any requests for changes to bank account details. Where changes are requested, the Commission requires organisations to provide verifiable documentation to support the request. • The Commission has advised staff of the scam and directed employees to exercise increased diligence when processing payments
Department of Planning (a) No (b-d) Not applicable (e) Notices of scammer activities have been circulated among accounts payable staff to promote awareness of the issue. In addition, processes have been put in place to ensure that all requests to accounts payable staff are independently verified prior to any changes being made to account details.
Disability Services Commission (a) No (b-d) Not applicable (e) The Commission has the following processes in place to ensure that public funds are not lost to scammers: • Verification and authorisation of each invoice to ensure its validity, including the delivery of expected goods or services where applicable. • Routine cross-checking of Supplier Audit Trail reports by Senior Accounts Payable Officers prior to the processing of any payments. • Bank account details held on Disability Services Commission (the Commission) files are utilised for payment to known suppliers, irrespective of details provided on individual invoices. • Background checks are undertaken to verify the details of new suppliers, involving independent verification of the supplier’s Australian Business Number (ABN) and Bank / State / Branch (BSB) number, and contact is then made with the supplier to confirm bank details. Background checks are documented and signed by staff for audit purposes. • Senior staff personally contact suppliers’ senior personnel using existing, established contact details to confirm any requests for changes to bank account details. Where changes are requested, the Commission requires organisations to provide verifiable documentation to support the request. • The Commission has advised staff of the scam and directed employees to exercise increased diligence when processing payments
Department of Planning (a) No (b-d) Not applicable (e) Notices of scammer activities have been circulated among accounts payable staff to promote awareness of the issue. In addition, processes have been put in place to ensure that all requests to accounts payable staff are independently verified prior to any changes being made to account details.
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