Audit This: the Australian true crime podcast about fraud and corruption
Somebody was supposed to be checking.
Australian fraud and public money. One story an episode, followed to the end of it, built entirely from the public record.
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Taken To Be
Under one line of federal law, a spare room in Canberra counts as a hotel. Not like a hotel. “Taken to be commercial accommodation”, whether it is or not.
This episode reads the rules that decide what federal politicians are paid and what public money they can spend: the salary, the electorate allowance, the car, the travel allowance, the office budget’s shopping list, and the authority that was built in 2017 to watch over the expenses.
The register
Every episode
Each one has a case file: the video, the chapters and every source it was built from.
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EP 05
Federal parliament · Canberra · IPEA
Taken To Be
Under one line of federal law, a spare room in Canberra counts as a hotel.
$349 a night
The rate for any bed in Canberra
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EP 04
Mount Penny · Bylong Valley, NSW · Operation Jasper
The Vast Majority
In 2008, a new shape appeared on a map of New South Wales. A coal exploration area called Mount Penny, in the Bylong Valley.
$30 million
Received by the family
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EP 03
Plutus Payroll · Sydney · Operation Elbrus
Free Because It Should Be
Go and find your last payslip. There is a line on it you have almost certainly never checked. It says tax.
$105,625,304
Workers’ tax it kept
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EP 02
Family day care · Western Sydney · 2017
Two Thousand Children, None of Them Real
Between January and July 2017, two family day care services in western Sydney looked after 2,132 children.
$9,274,016
Paid by the Commonwealth
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EP 01
Department of Communities · WA · Operation Taurus
27 Million Dollars, Nobody Asked
In 2011 a finance officer at Queensland Health sat down to do the most boring job in government.
$27 million
Taken from public housing
How it is made
Three rules, every episode.
Who we name
No finding, no name.
When an episode is about a crime, the people at the centre were convicted by a court. Nobody is named for what they did unless a court or an official body has published a finding about it. News reports alone are never enough.
Where it comes from
Built from the public record.
Court judgments, sentencing remarks, integrity commission and auditor-general reports, Hansard and government data. Every episode lists its sources on its own page.
How it looks and sounds
Drawn, not filmed.
The narration is an AI voice made from the host’s own voice. Every picture is an illustration made for the episode, never a real person’s face, and each one carries a label saying what it shows.
About the show
An Australian true crime podcast about public money.
Audit This is an Australian true crime podcast and YouTube documentary series about white-collar crime: fraud, corruption and the misuse of public money.
Something goes wrong. Money disappears, or a project blows out, or a claim turns out not to be true. And there is always a moment, somewhere back down the line, where a person was supposed to be checking. Audit This finds that moment.
Every episode is built from the record: court transcripts, sentencing remarks, corruption commission findings, Hansard, auditor general reports, annual reports, contracts, and the documents that were sitting in plain sight the whole time. No speculation. No dramatisation.
The cases so far:
- Politicians’ pay and expenses · Federal parliament · Canberra · IPEA
- The Mount Penny case · Mount Penny · Bylong Valley, NSW · Operation Jasper
- The Plutus Payroll tax fraud · Plutus Payroll · Sydney · Operation Elbrus
- The family day care fraud · Family day care · Western Sydney · 2017
- The Paul Whyte case · Department of Communities · WA · Operation Taurus
Questions
6What is Audit This?
Audit This is an Australian true crime podcast and YouTube documentary series about fraud, corruption and public money. Each episode takes one case and follows it to the end, built entirely from the public record: court judgments, sentencing remarks, corruption commission findings, auditor-general reports and Hansard.
Where can I watch or listen?
Full episodes are free on YouTube. The audio version is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iHeartRadio, and in any podcast app that takes an RSS feed. Clips go out on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.
How often do new episodes come out?
Weekly. The simplest way to catch each one is the free email: one message when a new episode is out, and nothing else. Sign up here.
Are these real cases?
Yes. Every case is Australian and every episode is built from the public record. When an episode is about a crime, the people at the centre were convicted, and we name a person only where a court or an official body has published a finding about what they did. Some episodes are about the rules themselves, and name nobody.
Is the narrator an AI voice?
Yes. The narration is an AI voice made from the host’s own voice, and every picture is an illustration made for the episode. Nothing is presented as footage.
How do I suggest a case?
Email auditthismedia@gmail.com with the case name, the court and the year. We look for Australian cases about public money where the people at the centre were convicted.
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Send a case
Know a case that went all the way to court?
We look for Australian cases about public money where the people at the centre were convicted and the record is public. Send the case name, the court and the year if you have them.
We can’t use allegations about anyone who hasn’t been charged, so please don’t send them. The same address takes corrections.
auditthismedia@gmail.com
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