But Fayrouz Abou Chacra, a teacher at a public high school in south Sydney, and her builder husband Shadi, were allegedly building their future on the back of a $1 million scam.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is investigating allegations that the couple, in their late twenties, were involved in rorting the NSW justice department with the help of family members on the inside.

The commission has heard lucrative contracts to upgrade courthouses across the state were awarded to Mr Abou Chacra’s fledgling companies by Anthony Andjic, a senior bureaucrat in the justice department who was in a relationship with Ms Abou Chacra’s sister Fatima Hammoud.

The ICAC has heard that Mr Abou Chacra’s companies made a $1 million profit from the contracts, some of which were grossly inflated or involved no work at all.

But Mr Abou Chacra insisted yesterday the profits were “not that much” and denied suggestions by Commissioner Megan Latham that he was involved in a scheme to defraud the justice department.

“It’s not a scheme, I did the work,” Mr Abou Chacra said, although in many cases he said he could not recall the work that was done.

He said the couple had spent about $550,000 building a new house using money that flowed to one of the companies. 

The ICAC has heard one of the 17 contracts awarded to Mr Abou Chacra’s companies – to refurbish an office in a building in Spring St in Sydney – was valued at just $10,000 but his company was paid an extra $105,905.

Similarly, in Tamworth, the company was overpaid by $47,000.

Paul Richardson, the managing director of a construction company, gave damning evidence that some of the figures charged for project management were “extremely over the top”.

Ms Abou Chacra has previously given evidence about how the couple spent the alleged $1 million profit.

“Building a home together, getting married, going on a honeymoon,” she said. 

“We spent it on a lot of things. It could be furniture.”

In their five-week honeymoon they “travelled the States and Mexico”.  

“Ultimately you’ve done very well out of the department. That would be fair to say, wouldn’t it?” counsel assisting the commission, Grant Brady, asked earlier in the week.

“No,” Ms Abou Chacra said.

“What, you don’t regard a million dollars over a period of something less than a year to be a rather advantageous financial outcome?” Commissioner Megan Latham said incredulously.

“Well, you’ve got to factor in my husband’s hard work and him being away from home and everything like that,” Ms Abou Chacra said.

The inquiry continues.