A former National Gallery of Victoria employee accused of pilfering $8 million from the NGV is a hard-working family man who is facing the music, his lawyer said as the alleged thief faced court on Tuesday.
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thief → accuse → Tuesday
James Michael Hosking was recently charged with theft and misconduct in public office.
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Hosking → charge → office
Police allege that over six years, about $8 million in mobile phones were bought under an NGV account and then sold between September 2019 and September 2025.
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million → allege → September
Hosking’s lawyer, Josh Smith, told The Age his client had been “incredibly co-operative” with IBAC’s investigation.
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client → tell → investigation
“He’s led a really sort of ordinary, law-abiding life in every other aspect except for this [alleged offending],” Smith said.
“My client has been incredibly compliant and co-operative with the IBAC investigation to date and he intends on continuing to do so.
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he → lead → date
He is a hard-working family man who has found the whole process extremely difficult on him and his family, but he is facing the music and hoping to finalise the matter as quickly as possible.”
Hosking is banned from leaving the country after facing court for the first time on Tuesday and being ordered to surrender his passport to authorities.
Operation Sonder was established in September 2025 to investigate allegations of corrupt conduct in relation to theft and misuse of his position by the former senior NGV employee.
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission also alleges he misused his position to conceal the offending.
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he → work → offending
Seven charges of theft and one of misconduct have since been laid.
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charges → lay → misconduct
IBAC investigators raided Hosking’s apartment on September 13 last year and seized multiple devices.
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investigators → raid → devices
Smith told this masthead that following that raid, the father of two was “very forthcoming” during interviews, and responded to IBAC’s numerous emails and phone calls over the year until he was charged.
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he → tell → year
“It’s obviously a very serious crime, and happened over a long period of time.
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It → ’ → time
The allegations are very serious,” Smith said.
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Smith → say → ?
At Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tim Bourke gave the police until December to file their evidence with the court.
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Bourke → give → court
Hosking was released on bail on conditions including that he surrender his passport to police within 24 hours, not attend any points of international departure such as airports and shipping docks, and not leave Australia while the case remains before the court.
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case → release → court
He was ordered to face court again in January.
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He → order → January
The magistrate granted the release of charge details to the media in the form of documents shortly after 10am.
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magistrate → grant → am
But by close of court business six hours later, nothing had been released, despite repeated requests from this masthead to court staff.
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nothing → release → staff
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.
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squad → speak → September
One source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the alleged offences involved a staggering number of fraudulent invoices over a long period.
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offences → speak → period
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.
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who → say → IBAC
No new details of the allegations were aired in court.
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details → air → court
Melbourne’s NGV is Australia’s oldest and most popular gallery and was founded in 1861.
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NGV → found → 1861
The gallery has about 500 staff members, according to its most recent annual report.
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gallery → have → report
Almost all references to the former employee have been wiped from the NGV’s website, while Hosking appeared to have deleted his social media accounts.
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Hosking → wipe → accounts
An NGV spokesperson said the employee was fired in September 2025 after the alleged offending was reported to police and IBAC.
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offending → say → police
The Aporia
