A Melbourne woman has been accused of collecting more than $1.4million in salary working as a lawyer, despite not actually holding any degrees or qualifications.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, fronted court on Monday for allegedly obtaining $1,428,085 in salary across several Melbourne firms between 2019 and 2025.
The court heard the woman allegedly told employers she graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne in 2008.
She additionally lied about being an Australian Legal Practitioner under the ‘Legal Profession Uniform Law’, prosecutors alleged.
However, investigations revealed the woman did not hold a law degree or a practising certificate.
Both the woman’s name and the firms she allegedly worked at have been suppressed by the court despite opposition from prosecutors and the media, The Australian reported.
The accused fake lawyer allegedly secured $543,446 between January 2019 and August 2021 by allegedly lying about her qualifications and practising status.
She then allegedly committed a similar crime between September 2021 and March 2022 and obtained $125,693.
A woman allegedly claimed to have a law and commerce degree from the University of Melbourne (above), despite having neither
The Melbourne woman is accused of collecting more than $1.4million in salaries while working as a lawyer under fraudulent circumstances
The woman is also accused of receiving $61,598 between April and August 2022 by, again, allegedly lying about her qualifications from the University of Melbourne.
She allegedly collected another sum of $35,967 between August and September 2022.
The most money the woman allegedly received from $661,381 between January 2023 and August 2025.
A sixth charge alleges the woman engaged in legal practice in Victoria while not qualified between December 2022 and August 2025.
She allegedly performed as a Senior Legal Counsel.
Prosecutors claimed in every instance the woman lied about having the same qualifications from the University of Melbourne and being a legal practitioner.
She was arrested by Financial Crime Squad detectives last week and released on bail.
Her case will return to court on March 25.
