Joanne Harrison, also known as Joanne Sharp, is accused of defrauding taxpayers of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A Ministry of Transport staffer who defrauded the Crown of $723,000 has pleaded guilty to the charges against her.

Joanne Harrison, also known as Joanne Sharp, a former senior manager at the ministry, admitted her offending when she appeared in the Manukau District Court before Judge Sanjay Patel on Wednesday.

The 50-year-old pleaded guilty to three representative charges of dishonestly using a document.

According to documents she used invoices to pay entities linked to her.

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An investigation was launched by the Serious Fraud Office earlier this year after Harrison left the country for Canada.

She returned to New Zealand voluntarily to face charges in August and has been in custody since her arrest.

The 50-year-old previously worked for an insurance company and the Far North District Council.

In 2013 she was appointed to a Ministry senior leadership team.

Criminal Proceeds action has been taken in the High Court in an attempt to recover the money Harrison took.

The ministry previously declined to comment on the matter while it was before the courts.

Harrison will reappear in court in December.