CrimTrac recognises the responsibility of all Commonwealth agencies to develop, encourage and implement sound financial, legal and ethical decision-making and agency practices. In response to the Commonwealth’s initiatives in fraud management, CrimTrac has implemented a comprehensive fraud control plan that covers prevention, detection, investigation and reporting strategies. CrimTrac undertook a fraud risk assessment in 2009 and subsequently developed the CrimTrac Fraud Control Plan 2009–2011. CrimTrac’s Fraud Control Plan represents the agency’s commitment to effective fraud risk management and control. The desired outcome of this commitment is to minimise the potential for fraud on CrimTrac’s programs or activities whether by employees or persons external to the agency. The implementation of the Fraud Control Plan will assist the Chief Executive Officer in making a statement to satisfy the requirements of the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines and section 45 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.
CrimTrac has adopted the definition of fraud as given by the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines. Fraud against the Commonwealth is defined as "dishonestly obtaining a benefit by deception or other means". Fraud can be perpetrated by staff (internal fraud) or by persons external to the agency (external fraud), or by a combination of both. It can involve financial and non-financial incidents that have an impact upon the operations and the reputation of the agency. Fraud against the Commonwealth is an offence under various provisions of the Criminal Code Act 1995. Internal fraud also constitutes misconduct under the Public Service Act 1999.