The Serious Fraud Office closed its investigation into Kidicorp earlier this year, saying there was insufficient evidence to prosecute and that matters of legitimate concern were over Ministry of Education funding and claims processes.

To read ChildForum's news item on this at the time click here ...

The Herald on Sunday newspaper filed a request under the Official Information Act for more information and today published what they learnt.

The newspaper reports "Ministry staff were told business managers listed themselves as working at daycare centres "when it was known they had not actually been at the centre". They stated: "Business managers, when confronted, admitted putting themselves on the records, for funding purposes, or to achieve a higher funding band".

However, "there was no credible evidence that this was orchestrated by Kidicorp's senior management, and there was not enough evidence for a prosecution".

Though the SFO investigation is closed Education Minister, Anne Tolley is reported as saying that "the issue was not finished and the ministry would pursue Kidicorp for money".

Reports on this case give a sense that Kidicorp is being unfairly singled out. The SFO investigation highlights that it may be possible for any service to fudge time sheets for recording staff contact time with children to achieve a higher funding band.  The Ministry of Education is to upgrade its computer system to record information better according to The Herald on Sunday.