Court rejects Ellis appeal
FORMER Member for Narungga Fraser Ellis has been convicted of seven counts of deception after the Court of Appeal rejected his bid to overturn four original convictions and upheld part of an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Ellis appeared before the court on Thursday, July 23, to hear the outcome of his appeal against the four convictions, as well as the DPP’s appeal against his acquittal on 19 other charges.
The seven convictions relate to claims totalling $7008 made under the Country Members Accommodation Allowance between May 2018 and June 2020. The original four convictions involved claims worth $2796.
The allowance is available to MPs who travel for parliamentary duties and whose usual place of residence is more than 75 kilometres from Adelaide.
The charges stemmed from a February 2021 prosecution by the DPP following an investigation by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption into more than $18,000 in allegedly fraudulent allowance claims.
In July 2024, Mr Ellis was found guilty of four counts of deception, and acquitted of 19 counts. The DPP appealed those acquittals and, on Thursday, three were set aside and replaced with convictions.
Mr Ellis had successfully applied to postpone sentencing while awaiting the outcome of the appeal. The sentencing process will now begin in the Adelaide Magistrates Court in September. Each offence carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment.
In September 2020, Mr Ellis told Parliament he had not intentionally claimed the allowance outside the rules. He voluntarily repaid more than $40,000 in allowance claims in July that year.
The invalid claims followed changes to the Country Members Accommodation Allowance, which had previously allowed MPs to claim $234 a night for up to 135 nights a year.
Under the revised rules, MPs staying with friends or family in Adelaide, as was the case for many of Mr Ellis’s claims, were no longer eligible to claim the allowance. MPs with a second residence in Adelaide could claim a reduced rate of $185 a night, while those using commercial accommodation could continue to claim the full $234, provided they supplied receipts.
Under a Remuneration Tribunal Determination published in December 2024, eligible MPs can now be reimbursed for the actual cost of commercial accommodation up to a maximum of $252 a night. Those with a second residence can claim up to $209 a night, while MPs staying in non-commercial accommodation with family or friends can claim $92 a night.
