# Woman jailed after faking the birth of a baby to pocket $51,000 in Centrelink payments to live the high life

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/woman-jailed-after-faking-the-birth-of-a-baby-to-pocket-51000-in-centrelink-payments-to-live-the-high-life/
- Published: 2026-11-12T00:22:45+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-12T00:34:07+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16285405/athena-murray-fake-pregnancy-centrelink-fraud.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Athena Murray was jailed for claiming benefits for a non-existent child.
- The fraud brought in A$51,760.46 between 2009 and 2017.
- A public tip-off led to a review that uncovered the scheme.

## Summary

Athena Murray, 63, has been jailed after admitting to fraudulently claiming Australian Centrelink benefits for a child who did not exist. The Tasmanian Supreme Court found she had fabricated a pregnancy and birth, then used the false registration to claim payments over eight years.

Murray told Centrelink in 2009 she was due to give birth, registered a baby girl named Hayley and added her to her Medicare card and Newstart claim. The court said the scheme brought in A$51,760.46 in Family Tax Benefit and Baby Bonus payments; it came to light after a public tip-off prompted a review in 2017. Murray later gave conflicting accounts about the baby’s birth and death, and involved her eldest daughter in a false statutory declaration.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.