Kathy Jackson, the former head of the Health Services Union, is facing 70 counts of theft and deception-related offences, as part of an ongoing investigation, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) says. Jackson, 49, will appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on September 19. The charges were laid by Taskforce Heracles, including the AFP and Victoria Police, which was established to investigate matters arising from the Royal Commission into Trade Union Corruption and Governance. In August 2015, Jackson was ordered to pay $1.4 million to her former employer after the Federal Court, in civil proceedings, found she used union money to fund a lavish lifestyle. She declared bankruptcy just before the Federal Court trial and chose not to attend. The HSU sued Jackson in a civil case in the Federal Court alleging she had set up a slush fund using the proceeds of a union settlement with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
