We cite only what the source says. A charge is not a conviction; where an article gives no outcome, the log says so.
| Date | Source | What was documented | Outcome stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2016 | ABC News | Sydney man arrested at Kellyville; allegedly sold about 400 fraudulent white cards at about $150 each, by sitting online exams for clients with a Queensland RTO | Charged with four counts of fraud; bail to Parramatta Local Court on 2 Nov 2016; no outcome in the article |
| 14 Dec 2023 | Ahpra | Gold Coast woman with no nursing qualifications held herself out as a registered nurse to doctors and a pharmacist to access prescription medications | Convicted on two counts at Southport Magistrates’ Court; no additional punishment because of a concurrent District Court sentence for fraud |
| 4 Feb 2025 | Medical Board of Australia | Man submitted a forged university nursing degree certificate and a false CV to an alcohol and drug rehabilitation organisation; resigned after the employer found he was not on the register | Pleaded guilty to four counts; fined $4,000; magistrate called the offences serious, with a breach of trust and a degree of planning |
| 5 Feb 2026 | Consumer and Business Services SA | At least one website acting as an intermediary to obtain certificates at a significantly higher cost; registry charges $72 standard, $122 priority | Public warning |
| 6 Feb 2026 | Queensland Government | Third-party service charging almost $160 for a certificate costing $56.20 direct | Public warning |
| 16 Feb 2026 | WA Government | Sites styled to look official charging more than twice the standard fee and collecting identity documents | Public warning |
| 24 Apr 2026 | Scamwatch | Standing alert on scam birth, death and marriage certificate websites (first issued 25 November 2011) updated to remove outdated information | Alert |
| 26 Jun 2026 | Scamwatch and the ATO | Impersonation of the ATO and myGov by phone, email, text and fake websites, to steal sign-in details | Alert |
| Reported | Daily Advertiser, quoting IDCARE and the National Anti-Scam Centre | IDCARE reported a 76 per cent surge in passport and visa scam activity last year; scams that began online accounted for around half of Scamwatch losses in the first quarter of 2026 ($38.3 million) | Press report of agency figures |
What is missing
We found no Australian case on file for a driver licence sold online, a counterfeit passport sold to a buyer, or a forged birth certificate. The pillar guide says so. If you know of a primary source such as a court judgement or agency notice, send it through the contact page.
What the log shows
Three patterns repeat. First, the 2016 white card cards were not forgeries: they came from a real training organisation and the fraud lay in who sat the exams, which is why checking the card by eye would not have helped. Second, the 2025 nurse forged a paper certificate and was found out by the register, not by examining the paper. Third, the 2026 registry warnings all describe intermediaries: sites that stand between you and a registry, charge more and take your identity details. In each case the safe move was to go to the issuer.
How to read an entry
A charge is an allegation. A conviction with “no additional punishment” is still a conviction, as in 2023, because the court took account of another sentence. A fine is the outcome of a case, not a guide to the maximum penalty. A public warning shows that an agency saw a pattern, not that anyone was prosecuted.
Source types in this log
The entries come from four kinds of source: regulator releases (Ahpra and the Medical Board), a news report of police charges (ABC News), government warnings (Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia) and agency alerts (Scamwatch and the ATO). The press item on IDCARE and the National Anti-Scam Centre figures is the weakest because it reports agency figures second-hand; we cite it as reported and no more.