Former CSIRO executive Mark Wallis jailed for two years after defrauding government of $300,000

A former senior officer from the CSIRO has been sentenced to two years in jail for fraud, after he spent more than $300,000 of the agency's money on items including a washing machine, a jet ski and two cars.
Key points:

The court heard Mark Wallis has since paid back all of the money, although the cars were confiscated
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum recognised his depression, but said that did not excuse the crime
Wallis will spend 12 months behind bars, with a further 12 months on a good behaviour order

Mark Wallis, 47, was about to sign a redundancy package in 2017 when the fraud was uncovered.

At first, he denied the crime, saying others had used his work credit card.

But he then quickly admitted the offence and later pleaded guilty to three charges.

Chief Justice Lucy McCallum described the purchases as ranging between the "banal" and "luxurious".