Serious frauds on the Commonwealth by employees in breach of trust under s 29D of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) ordinarily require a custodial sentence with at least part actually served, and this category of offending is treated more seriously than revenue or social security fraud. Mitigating factors including financial desperation, absence of prior convictions, plea of guilty, and family hardship (where children are approaching adulthood) are insufficient individually or collectively to constitute the substantial mitigating circumstances needed to justify immediate release on recognisance.
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