The federal court has ordered Damien Matcham, former head of the Katungal Aboriginal Corporation Community and Medical Service, to pay more than $1 million in compensation.
It is the biggest penalty in the history of the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC).
In 2013, ORIC came under intense scrutiny after it failed to bring charges to the Jawoyn Association CEO.
Now, it will receive record-breaking compensation.
Of the $1.2 million penalty, $700,000 will be paid back to Katungal Aboriginal Community and Medical Service and a 500 thousand-dollar fine will be paid to the government.
Mr Matcham will also be disqualified from running a corporation for at least 15 years and will be forced to pay the ORIC legal bill.
It’s taken two years for this case to go through court, and other cases with more witnesses and evidence could take longer.
