The story is being covered with updates as of March 25, 2026, including reporting in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Detective Superintendent Peter Foley stressed that abusing public office undermines fair processes and harms the wider WA community, and police will pursue justice through the Financial Crime Squad.

Police say Smith, arrested at her Clarkson home, formed a relationship with a social housing applicant and created a housing offer designed to skip many applicants on the wait list.

Shelter WA highlighted unprecedented demand for homelessness services and community housing, underscoring the vulnerability of applicants, including those experiencing homelessness or domestic violence.

The alleged conduct breached public trust and undermined fair administration of public resources, according to Detective Superintendent Foley.

A Perth public servant, 55-year-old Nadine Marie Smith, appeared in Perth Magistrates Court charged with acting corruptly in the performance of her public duties for allegedly helping her intimate partner bypass a social housing wait list.

The alleged scheme involved the public officer working in Mirrabooka and issuing a housing offer to an applicant with whom she was intimate, enabling them to bypass a substantial number of wait-listed people.

WA Housing Minister John Carey said the agency is taking the matter seriously given breaches of public trust and fairness in the housing system.

Details on charges, timelines, or outcomes were not provided in the excerpt, but the focus remains on alleged abuse of power and its impact on applicants.

Western Australia’s public housing wait list stood at about 23,237 applicants, with over 8,000 on the high-priority list; average waits were around 166 weeks overall and about 100 weeks for the priority group as of December 2025.

By December 2025, the average wait for a social housing home in WA was nearly three years, with roughly 23,110 applications on the waitlist, including about 8,000 high-priority ones.

Reports identify Mirrabooka as the location and note the relationship described as a lover involved in the alleged scheme.