❓ A WA parliamentary question seeks information on whether government agencies within the Mental Health and Child Protection portfolios have been victims of recent scams. The response indicates no direct impact on Child Protection, and WA Health (providing corporate services to Mental Health) has no reported incidents, but has reviewed processes following the scam report.
AnsweredQoN 5840Legislative 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 for Mental Health; Child Protection
Response time
35 days
Child Protection
a) The Department for Child Protection and Family Support advises it has not been effected by reported scammers.
b - e) Not applicable.
Mental Health
Parts (a) – (d)
The Mental Health Commission (MHC) advises it operates under a Service Level Agreement with WA Health for the provision of Corporate Services from Health Support Services including the management of payments from the MHC bank account and controls over Supplier details entered in to the Oracle Vendor data base.
WA Health has advised the following:
The Chief Finance Officer of the Department of Health has not been informed of an occurrence such as the scam outlined in the media report.
Part (e):
Following advice provided to the Department of Health by the Department of Commerce on 18 August 2016 in respect of the scam outlined in the media report, an internal review was undertaken of the processes and controls in place to change the bank account details of suppliers and contractors.
The review identified that:
a) The Department for Child Protection and Family Support advises it has not been effected by reported scammers.
b - e) Not applicable.
Mental Health
Parts (a) – (d)
The Mental Health Commission (MHC) advises it operates under a Service Level Agreement with WA Health for the provision of Corporate Services from Health Support Services including the management of payments from the MHC bank account and controls over Supplier details entered in to the Oracle Vendor data base.
WA Health has advised the following:
The Chief Finance Officer of the Department of Health has not been informed of an occurrence such as the scam outlined in the media report.
Part (e):
Following advice provided to the Department of Health by the Department of Commerce on 18 August 2016 in respect of the scam outlined in the media report, an internal review was undertaken of the processes and controls in place to change the bank account details of suppliers and contractors.
The review identified that:
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