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

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.