Rail workers on Melbourne's $14 billion Metro Tunnel project fabricated timesheets to line their pockets with taxpayers' cash, an investigation has found.
The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator has substantiated allegations of fraud on the mega project following an investigation into Morson International and potentially unsafe working practices.
The labour hire firm was stood down from the project in May amid claims of "ghost shifts", where shifts were not filled despite workers being rostered.
"The investigations did identify instances of rail safety workers acting above their qualification level between 31 January and 2 March 2023," a spokesman for the regulator said in a statement.
"However, it should be noted that all available evidence points to these instances relating only to the falsification of timesheets for financial reward."
No evidence was found of law breaches that posed "live" rail safety risks.
"While the allegations related to rail networks that were not 'live' at the time, ONRSR remains concerned by any allegations of this nature," the spokesman said.
"While the findings to date and actions taken have allowed for the closure of the formal investigation, the projects have been, and remain subject to, a rolling program of random audits and inspections - all of which to date have yielded positive results."
Government minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the rort was completely inappropriate and confirmed Morson remained banned from the project.
"Allegations of this kind are taken very, very seriously," she told reporters on Monday.
"As a government, we work hard every day to drive best value for Victorian taxpayers from the incredible projects that we are delivering."
The cost of building the Metro Tunnel, which will connect South Yarra to South Kensington via two nine kilometre tunnels, blew out in 2020 by $2.74 billion from its initial $11 billion price tag.
Another $281 million in COVID-related payments was tacked on in May.
It took the total cost to $14 billion, of which $12.6 billion will fall on Victorian taxpayers.
Tunnelling on the project began in 2018 and the line is scheduled to open in 2025.
Metro
