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Accused fraudster Annalouise Spence has been granted bail following her husband’s offer of a $1 million surety.
Spence, 51, is accused of misappropriating almost $1.7 million from her former boss, billionaire philanthropist Judith Neilson.
Since her arrest in April, Spence has spent the last two months at the Dillwynia Correctional Centre near Windsor, a maximum security facility for female offenders.
Appearing via audio-visual link from the jail, Spence began to cry as the court heard that her husband, Adam Spence, had offered the $1 million surety to secure bail.
Supreme Court Justice Paul McGuire told the bail hearing that Spence was about to be hit with another 46 counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception, bringing the total fraud charges she is facing to 128.
Spence is alleged to have impersonated her boss to obtain an additional black American Express card, which she used to fund her lavish lifestyle, including purchasing luxury designer goods, cosmetics, jewellery, artwork, homewares, holidays and first-class travel.
Spence’s first alleged purchases on the black Amex card in March 2023 were tickets to see the Cure in Seattle, first-class flights to Seattle, via Los Angeles, and baseball tickets. The total of these items was $29,118, according to the court documents.
Two months later, she was allegedly treating herself to a five-night stay at New York’s famous Carlyle Hotel, which cost $38,757.
As part of her bail conditions, Spence has been ordered not to approach or attempt to make contact with Neilson or any of her staff.
Neilson, 79, employed Spence for eight years until September 2025, when Neilson’s foundation restructured the office and Spence took a redundancy package.
The judge noted the Crown opposed bail. However, he said that despite the strength of the Crown case, which involved an extensive paper trail and admissions by Spence herself, Spence did not have a criminal history and that he was satisfied that the stringent bail conditions would mitigate any flight risk.
Spence’s bail conditions include that she be taken straight from jail to a mental health facility in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. If released from the clinic, Spence cannot leave her Erskineville house except for legal or medical appointments. She also has to report daily to the Newtown police.
The former secretary was ordered to not drink alcohol and not take any illegal drugs.
“The applicant is not to engage in any employment involving financial management, access to accounts, or credit cards, or positions of financial or personal trust,” the judge also said.
The Irish-born Spence has also surrendered her passports.
Her matter will return to court on July 16.
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