Latest news with #JusticeLink
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
New blow for disgraced real estate agent who fled Australia after $500,000 fraud
A former real estate agent director who misused half a million dollars of her company's money has been refused lost her appeal to appear before court remotely. Australian born Sarah Dougan, who lives in the US, pleaded guilty in 2020 and 2021 to fraudulent offences carried out while working as a director for Belle Property Byron Bay in far northern NSW. But last week, the NSW Supreme Court refused her appeal to appear for sentencing via an audio visual link, requiring her to return to Australia to attend in person. It follows a failure to appear in Parramatta Court in November 2023. The case followed NSW Fair Trading investigation in 2011 into the agency over complaints the business failed to 'account at settlement' when transferring ownership of a property. The court heard that Dougan provided investigators with false NAB statements for two trust accounts. They then discovered in June that year that $534,320.99 was missing from the trusts. NSW Fair Trading launched legal proceedings in 2013 over the offences, a year after Ms Dougan moved to the US. The court also heard that the former real estate agent was only made aware of the charges against her 'some time after May 2017' while applying for permanent residency. Since moving to the US, Dougan has rebuilt a new life as a chief executive of a medical testing lab, got married, raised five children, and now lives in a multimillion-dollar mansion. 'No one knew there was a warrant to issue,' Dougan's lawyer Omar Juweinat told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. At Paramatta Local Court in 2020 and 2021, Dougan pleaded guilty to offences which included the misappropriation of client funds and the creation of false documents to conceal that misappropriation. The court also heard that she paid at least $373,917 to the Property Services Compensation Fund in 2020. But the former real estate agent did not appear for sentencing in 2023 and a magistrate refused to sentence her by audio visual link. Dougan launched a leave to appeal at NSW Supreme Court, requesting the decision stopping her from appearing remotely to be overturned The request was refused last week and she was ordered to pay court costs. The consumer watchdog is determined to bring Dougan to justice. 'It is entirely appropriate the sentencing for those offences occurs in NSW in person,' NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann told Daily Mail Australia. 'NSW Fair Trading has patiently waited to bring this matter to a conclusion. 'Our persistence sends a clear message to real estate agents of how seriously the regulator takes cases where there has been a complete disregard for industry rules.' Dougan's appeal to have a previous warrant issued for her arrest quashed was successful after the Supreme Court ruled that it had been made by mistake. She was not formally convicted in 2023 and, as such, the recorded warrant in the JusticeLink was 'entered erroneously', the court judgement read. 'Dougan's appeal was partly successful,' Mr Juweinat said, referencing the ruling on the mistaken warrant. 'But unfortunately the parties are now asking the High Court to determine a question of law as to whether a defendant is an absent defendant if they are appearing in court remotely.' Daily Mail Australia understands that the case to the High Court is in the process of being filed.
SBS Australia
24-04-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Easy English 24 April 2025
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with . Coalition leader Peter Dutton has vowed to reassess the security clearance of Palestinians in Australia who have been granted visitor visas after fleeing Gaza. Mr Dutton will also recognise West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network says the policies would suppress what they have described as valid critiques of Israel. But Mr Dutton says it's about being tough on border security. DUTTON: "Our nation is the greatest in the world, and we welcome migrants coming to our country. We have the most successful migration program, but we're not going to compromise on those settings which provide screening on people coming in from a war zone." REPORTER: "Those people from Gaza though were vetted when they exited the Rafah border crossing by Israel, and then Home Affairs as well, so do you not trust our security agencies or our allies?" DUTTON: "Well, we'll take and advice and - but we'll conduct proper security checks." A man has been charged over a data breach that hit the New South Wales court system earlier this year. The 38-year-old man is accused of accessing the state's JusticeLink system which holds files for thousands of cases. But Acting Attorney-General Ron Hoenig says no personal information has been detected online or on the dark web. He also says no one protected by apprehended violence orders has been identified as being at increased risk of harm. Santos has been given final approval for its multi-billion dollar Barossa gas project, after years of delays and fervent opposition from environment groups. The green light has come from offshore oil and gas regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority - or NOPSEMA. Gas is now expected to flow from the Adelaide-based company's six wells in the coming months from its site off the coast of Darwin. Pipeline work on the controversial project had been halted in late 2022, after a court challenge from three Tiwi Island elders that the company eventually won last year. The latest snapshot of the Great Barrier Reef has found widespread bleaching across the northern regions of the marine park. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's newest report says the bleaching is largely because of prolonged exposure to higher-than-average water temperatures. The report has emerged at the same time as a survey from the International Coral Reef Initiative. Caribbean Steering Committee co-chair Melanie McField says that report shows 84 percent of the ocean's reefs have experienced harmful bleaching. "We've just reached 1.5 degrees (Celsius) in the ocean and you see the repercussions... It's unprecedented... very alarming. So I think people really need to recognise what they're doing, you know, by the inaction. It's the kiss of death for coral reefs." The New South Wales government has pleaded with residents to get vaccinated against the flu. The call comes on the back of figures that show an uptick in influenza B cases this year, particularly in school-aged children and young adults. Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Terry Slevin says many people think the flu is a minor illness. But Health Minister Ryan Park says influenza can be very serious. "It is absolutely imperative that we do what we can as we track towards what is likely to be a difficult flu season. What we're observing in North America and Europe is a challenging flu season that they've come out. That normally trends for us in a similar way, so we can expect a significant impact on the community over the coming months." Food charities have reported a surge in people coming to them for help - including families with two incomes. 77 percent of the hundreds of free food providers surveyed in the OzHarvest network say they have seen an increase in people seeking food. But just over half of them say they have had to turn people away. Australian Council of Social Service CEO Cassandra Golding has told Channel 9 not enough is being done to help people in that position. "Food has become a really discretionary item for far too many people. Wow. We're still waiting to see what the major parties will offer. Well, look, we are still waiting for the major parties to offer to help people who are out there with the least." A group of First Nations youngsters from Western Australia have finished one of the world's most gruelling treks. Nineteen teens have hiked the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea as part of a leadership development program. 16-year-old Stanis Jack from Kalgoorlie was among the group. He says they were retracing the path followed by Australian soldiers to repel the Japanese army's advance on Port Moresby in 1942. "I've learned a lot from Kokoda. Leadership is one thing - talking to people and encouraging them. Then the other one is never giving up, always giving your best in everything you do."
The Guardian
27-03-2025
- The Guardian
Domestic violence survivors urged to take safety precautions after NSW justice department data breach
Domestic and family violence victim-survivors who are concerned their safety may have been compromised have been advised to take precautions after a major data breach at the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). The state attorney general, Michael Daley, said on Thursday that the hacker gained unlawful entry to part of the state's secure online court registry system via a registered account and accessed 9,000 files. The breach was detected during a routine maintenance and security check of the Justice Link system last week. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'What we don't know yet is which files were actually accessed, what the hacker did with them, whether he or she just viewed them or downloaded and shared them,' Daley told reporters. The exact contents of the breached NSW online registry files would not be known for about a week, the government said on Thursday. But they could contain the details of victim-survivors of domestic violence – including children. Acting Supt Jason Smith from the NSW police cybercrime squad said the data 'potentially' contained the details of both AVOs and of minors whose data was held by the department. He said victim-survivors who believed their safety was at risk 'certainly' needed to take precautions. 'There are potentially sensitive documents and if people have concerns for their safety, they need to put measures in place and, if necessary, contact their local police,' Smith said. Police were made aware of the breach on 25 March and it would be about a week until cybercrime detectives would be able to give exact details of the files that were accessed and what the hacker viewed, Daley said. 'People might be concerned about having their data accessed', he said. 'If they feel that their safety or security has been threatened, they should call the police straight away.' The hacker's motivation and identity were not known, including whether they acted alone, were based overseas or were a government employee, Smith said. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The hacker used a Python script to infiltrate a unit of the Justice Link system, with the breach initially appearing as changes to some data, Daley said. 'As soon as that breach was detected, the DCJ cyber experts moved quickly to shut down that user's account and to rectify the vulnerability, Daley said. 'As soon as they did that, the hack stopped.' A security patch was added to the system and tested on Wednesday evening, closing the vulnerability, he said. The attorney general added that no data from the breach had been found on the internet, including on the dark web. While confident the systems to detect cyber breaches had in this case 'worked', the minister admitted that sensitive details held by the DCJ should not be 'out there, and that's why the government spends a lot of time and money and effort and employs the best government and private sector experts to keep our system safe'. 'But, unfortunately, in a modern world, this happens sometimes,' Daley said.
