Victorian policies fail to protect taxpayers from disability fund embezzlement

Let me be clear.  The Victorian Individual Support Package disability program is a tightly-constructed, taxpayer-funded benefit entrusted to the care and responsibility of DHS.  And they are failing to do their job because DHS says their policies don't allow them to view private bank accounts, even though they are the source of the $16,000-a-month deposits made into the account.  Victoria Police can't proceed to audit the documents that would prove embezzlement without Karen's statement, which would put her in harm's way.  It's a double Catch-22 that fails to protect both Karen and the taxpayers that provide the $200,000-a-year in funding.    

I saw Karen a few days after she declined to make a formal police statement under the restrictions imposed on her.  Karen has weighed in on these communication restrictions before.  She contends that if she is not allowed to speak her mind in a confidential, free and non-coercive environment, then it is her right to refuse to participate in a process she considers flawed and discriminatory.  And even though this may produce unwanted consequences for her, I understand the ethics of her decision.  She wants the rights she is entitled to by law.  And she wants to be protected from harm.   

In our last conversation, I told Karen not to lose hope –hope that the rorting and punishment will stop; that her human rights will be restored; that she can attend university, start a career, and live the life that the State of Victoria DHS fund is provided to help her to achieve. 

If DHS policies prevent them from stopping the embezzlement, and Victoria Police are unable to pursue the case without Karen's formal statement, then perhaps someone in government who has a higher responsibility to taxpayers –a mandate to protect taxpayer dollars from rorting by non-disabled family members –will come forward to address this issue.  Karen certainly deserves better.  And so do taxpayers.