In order to spend New Year’s Eve with another woman instead of his partner, Paul Iera from Wollongong in New South Wales (NSW) devised the plot.

For their investigation work, NSW police were ordered to pay the 35-year-old A$16,218 (£8,506; $10,334).

In his verdict, the Wollongong magistrate said Iera was motivated by the least compelling reason he had ever heard.

Iera sent his partner a text message claiming to be from his kidnappers on 31 December 2022. According to the text, the imagined kidnappers would keep him “until morning”.

The following morning, police in the Lake Illawarra district found Iera in his van in Dapto, his hometown.

Police investigated Iera’s claim of kidnapping for more than 200 hours, spending $16,218 on wages and obtaining phone records.

Initially, Iera claimed he was taken by a group of unknown Middle Eastern men and later released, according to the Illawarra Star.

After being arrested in January, he was charged with making a false accusation with the intent to subject another person to an investigation, which carries a seven-year prison sentence.

A three-year community correction order was issued to Iera, along with 350 hours of community service and compensation to the police.

Additionally, he pleaded guilty to three unrelated charges of possessing an unauthorised firearm, a prohibited weapon without a permit, and ammunition without a license.

According to Australian outlet 9News, Magistrate Michael Ong described Iera’s actions as “abhorrent”.

Iera’s lawyer, Abbas Soukie, said he was “pleased” to have avoided jail time.

In an interview with 9News, the attorney said his client has made “tremendous rehabilitative progress” since the offence and is “looking forward to moving forward in his life as a productive member of society”.