Derryn Ladson pleaded guilty to obtaining financial advantage by deceit and paying or offering secret commission.

The Bendigo-based Ladson escaped conviction for paying $21,245 in commissions.

Former council sports and recreation officer Lukas Peter Carey awarded contracts to Ladson on 10 occasions in return for seven secret commissions between 2013 to 2015.

Ladson initially quoted $1500 to complete OH&S reports, but inflated this amount at the request of Carey.

The carpenter then paid the extra money in cash to Carey after he received payment from council for the work.

When Ladson told Carey his fee would be $1500, Carey replied, ‘well bill me for this and then the balance is for getting the job’, according to court documents.

The Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission investigated the pair, and other co-defendants, after a notice was issued in November 2015, on behalf of Ballarat City Council.

Another council staff member told investigators some of the work being completed by Ladson could have been done by council staff.

He also said council could have contracted the work for much less than the amount that was eventually paid.

Magistrate John Klestadt said Ladson would have known the deal offered by Carey was not above board.

“In my view any reasonable person would have known it stank to high heaven,” he said.

“You were being asked to pay money to an employee of a local authority in return for work.

“The fact you continued to engage in this conduct over two years makes your culpability high.”

Ladson was the third person who has pleaded guilty in relation to the matter.

A co-defendant was fined $8000 and sentenced to 200 hours of community work earlier this month.

Carey will appear in the Ballarat County Court next month after an application for the matter to be heard in the magistrate’s court was refused on June 22.

An investigation found Carey had engaged several suppliers despite a conflict of interest, including his wife Jasmine Finnigan and Ladson.

The court heard Ladson and Carey knew each other through the Bendigo sporting community.

During the investigation Ladson said he had just been trying to support his family.

“I felt I was doing my job and writing reports,” he said.

“I just saw it as a friend’s commission for helping me out.”

Ladson’s defence counsel said his client had fully complied with the investigation and offered to give evidence in court against Carey.

“He did not play the most central part of the piece,” he said.

“Significantly, my client has assisted authorities – he is not principle offender.”

Defence counsel also said Ladson had a good prospect for rehabilitation, with the support of his family and employer, who provided a character reference.

“He provided assistance and entered an early guilt plea,” he said.

The prosecution did not oppose the fine without conviction, however they did say there should have been no doubt there was something ‘fishy’ going on once secret commissions were being paid.

“While this amount is not huge, it is not an insubstantial amount,” the prosecutor said.

“This breeds distrust in those who hold public office.”

Magistrate Klestadt said he agreed Ladson’s assistance had helped save the community the expense of a trial for Carey.

“Your decision to make a statement has contributed to the principle offenders pleading guilty,” he said.

“This has saved the community the time and money of a trial.”

Carey faces 55 fraud and corruption charges for the offences. His wife Finnigan also faces a string of obtaining financial advantage charges.

The pair to appear in court for a plea hearing on August 22.

Magistrate Gregory Robinson said Carey and Finnigan’s offending was a “quite serious fraud against the City of Ballarat”.