NGV’s former IT chief accused of $8 million fraud from gallery

The National Gallery of Victoria’s former head of IT is accused of issuing hundreds of fake invoices over a number of years to steal $8 million from the institution.

Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission on Thursday revealed it had charged a “senior” NGV employee with eight theft and misconduct offences over the alleged misuse of their position.

A source with knowledge of the investigation, unable to speak publicly, said Telstra’s fraud squad alerted the NGV to the alleged fraud, involving fake invoices for mobile phones, in September 2025.

IBAC has not commented on the employee’s identity, but two sources not permitted to speak publicly have confirmed to The Age that the accused is the gallery’s former head of IT, James Hosking.

This masthead made repeated requests to Hosking for comment, but he did not respond.

Court records show that the IBAC case against Hosking is scheduled for a hearing in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on October 20.

One source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the alleged offences involved a staggering number of fraudulent invoices over a long period of time and described the scheme as an “old-fashioned” fraud.

They said the NGV’s $4.8 billion art collection was not affected and few people at the gallery know the details of what is alleged to have occurred, while those who do are under a strict gag order from IBAC.

An employee was fired in September 2025 after the alleged offending was reported to Victoria Police and IBAC, an NGV spokesperson confirmed on Thursday.

The year-long investigation remained a tightly kept secret among a select few of the NGV’s top brass until Thursday, when IBAC announced it had charged the man.

The ex-executive is now facing potential jail time if convicted.

The corruption watchdog alleged that between September 2019 until his sacking in 2025, the ex-employee used an NGV account to buy mobile phones, which he then sold for millions in personal financial benefit.

The Age is not suggesting that Hosking is guilty of committing these offences, only that he is suspected of them.

Two NGV staffers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Hosking’s sudden departure last September was not explained.

Almost all references to the former employee have been wiped from the NGV’s website, while Hosking appeared to have deleted his various social media accounts.

According to a now-deleted LinkedIn profile obtained by The Age, Hosking quickly rose through the ranks of the public gallery’s executive team after joining in 2017 as a service desk administrator.

He was appointed IT operations and projects co-ordinator in 2018, and a year later was promoted again to IT manager. In 2021, he became the gallery’s head of IT, a position he held until his sacking.

The father of two did not appear to flaunt the millions he is accused of stealing. In 2023, he and his wife took out a mortgage to buy a $750,000 apartment in Melbourne’s south-east.

When The Age visited the property last Friday, a woman answered the buzzer, and in response to questions about Hosking, replied: “Not today.”

A Telstra spokesperson declined to comment.

The missing millions have raised questions about the gallery’s accounting processes, with Liberal MP David Davis describing the alleged theft as “shocking” and “totally unacceptable”.

“The [government] must answer questions on how this extraordinary [alleged] fraud was committed, who reported this matter to IBAC and why these lax standards were tolerated by Labor,” he said.

The gallery, responsible for the state’s $4.8 billion art collection, has about 500 staff members, according to its most recent annual report.

Before the alleged fraud was uncovered, the gallery recorded an overall profit of nearly $80 million, a figure bolstered by non-operational revenue streams including investment returns and private donations.

It reported a $300,000 operational surplus and improvement on the $500,000 loss it posted the previous year.

Technology expenditure nearly doubled during the accused’s tenure as IT boss, rising from about $3.7 million in 2019 to $6.8 million last year — an increase that coincides with rising interest rates and inflationary pressures.

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