'Nepotism and cronyism': senior official found corrupt

Perth Now

2 days ago

A senior public servant who gave a relative's career a leg up while hiding their connection has been found to be corrupt by a federal watchdog.
Joanne Simeson helped her sister's fiance Mark Elbert get a job in the Department of Home Affairs by praising him to colleagues, creating a job requisition, approving it herself and forging a signature on paperwork to fast-track onboarding, all while concealing their family relationship.
She also helped her sister Melissa Simeson in another recruitment process by providing interview questions in advance, the National Anti-Corruption Commission has found.
"Nepotism and cronyism are among the most frequently observed corrupt behaviours," National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Paul Brereton said.
The case was first referred to the commission in January 2024, when Ms Simeson was the acting assistant secretary overseeing the Global Initiatives Branch of the department.
Though she was at one point asked how she had found Mr Elbert, the official said he was a "friend of a friend" before later emailing her sister and saying it was "technically not not (sic) true, he just needs to play along! Also I'm the boss so they will do whatever I say".
Ms Simeson later said the message was a "poor judgement call" and claimed it was a "joke between two sisters".
The watchdog found the conduct was serious due to Ms Simeson's seniority, the deception involved, the benefits of a public service role, her repeated behaviour, and widespread concerns about nepotism, cronyism and undeclared conflicts of interest.
Mr Brereton said the case highlighted the systemic risks in public sector recruitment and reinforced the need for strong corruption prevention measures including mandatory conflict of interest disclosures.
Nepotism, in particular, undermined the merit selection process and eroded morale, the commission's investigation report found.
Ms Simeson has since resigned from the public service, but the commission would have recommended her termination regardless.
However, her sister and Mr Elbert were not found to have engaged in corrupt conduct.