One of Australia’s leading universities has admitted underpaying workers by approximately A$7.6 million (£3.8 million), in the latest twist in the sector’s “wage theft” scandal.
Monash University said that an internal review had found that some casual academic staff had been paid “incorrectly”, with the average shortfall per individual standing at A$760 over an almost five-year period.
The ongoing review has so far analysed more than 3.4 million timesheets, with 3.6 per cent of those examined to date requiring “remediation”.
“While the review is ongoing, the university expects the amount of underpayment to be approximately A$7.6 million by the end of 2024,” Monash said.
The university said that the review would be finalised early this year and that in March all current and former staff identified as having been underpaid would receive compensation plus interest and superannuation.
The National Tertiary Education Union said that the latest revelations were additional to A$10 million in previous underpayments at Monash, and “millions more” in alleged “wage theft” relating to consultation hours that the union is pursuing in the Federal Court.
The cases disclosed by Monash’s internal review relate to casual academic staff being paid incorrectly, either in relation to the minimum engagement period they were entitled to be paid for, or because they were paid at a “repeat” rate for a lecture or tutorial when they should have been paid at the higher “original” rate.
And they come after Australia’s Fair Work Commission dismissed in 2023 Monash’s attempt to retrospectively change its enterprise agreement, in relation to the consultation hours case.
The NTEU said that the national tally of underpayments across the sector now stood at A$265 million, with a further A$159 million set aside by universities to cover further suspected cases. More than 140,000 staff are thought to have been affected.
Last month alone the University of Melbourne agreed to pay almost 26,000 current and former staff A$72 million, with the University of Sydney repaying around A$23 million.
The NTEU has called for an independent investigation of governance at Monash, and a federal parliamentary inquiry into sector-wide issues.
“These are wages and superannuation unlawfully withheld from hard-working teachers. Monash’s executive and governing board have broken the law and stolen from their own staff,” said Ben Eltham, president of the NTEU’s Monash branch.
Susan Elliott, Monash’s provost and acting vice-chancellor, said that the university was introducing an improved scheduling and attendance system to “provide our staff and regulatory bodies of the assurance they deserve in this important area”.
“These incorrect payments were unintentional and are deeply regrettable. As a university we apologise to all staff, past and present, who have been affected,” Professor Elliott said.
