Former Labor MP Craig Thomson backflips on fighting fraud charges

A former federal politician has pleaded guilty to making fraudulent applications for natural disaster and Covid-19 support payments.

Ex-Labor MP Craig Thomson appeared at the Downing Local Court on Tuesday morning over the fraud charges.

The maximum sentence is up to 10 years imprisonment.

Police allege Mr Thomson made fraudulent applications totalling $25,000 in payments from the Small Business Covid-19 support grant and the Covid-19 Small Business hardship grant.

They also allege he fraudulently applied for $3000 in JobSaver payments – but was never approved – and attempted to obtain a reduction in rent.

The 59-year-old was initially set to fight the charges but entered two guilty pleas while in court on Tuesday.

In March 2022, police charged Mr Thomson with two counts of dishonestly ­obtaining financial advantage by deception and one count of making false document to obtain financial advantage will be dealt with at a later date.

A fourth charge of publishing false misleading material to obtain advantage has been withdrawn.

In the same week, Mr Thomson was arrested by police for allegedly breaching an apprehended violence order (AVO) involving his ex-wife.

It came just hours after he pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges.

In August this year, he was convicted of five breaches of the AVO and sentenced to two new conditional release orders for six months and nine months.

The AVO protecting his ex-wife was extended another 12 months until March 2025.He will appear again at the Sydney Downing Centre on February 7, 2024.

The former federal member for the seat of Dobell on the NSW Central Coast narrowly avoided jail time almost 10 years ago when he was found guilty of spending union funds on prostitutes and fine dining while national secretary of the Health Services Union.