Christina Georgiou, a 34-year-old Melbourne marketing graduate, was sentenced to a 12-month community correction order with conviction after pleading guilty to fraud totalling $50,421. She falsely obtained Austudy and claimed Covid and flood-relief payments, prompting a magistrate to describe the offending as “despicable” because it targeted public assistance schemes.

Between February 2022 and June 2024, Georgiou received $47,671 in Austudy despite never enrolling at Open Universities Australia, repeatedly providing false explanations to secure duplicate or reissued payments. She also claimed Queensland flood relief while living in Melbourne and falsely said she had been unable to work at Bras N Things after contracting Covid, although she had never worked there. The court noted her limited criminal record, remorse and relatively unsophisticated methods, but emphasised the planning and persistence involved.