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Charles Darwin University to Repay A$4 Mn After Staff Underpayments
CDU has entered into an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman after underpaying 823 staff more than A$4 million over six years, adding to a series of governance challenges facing the institution.
Charles Darwin University (CDU) is asked to repay more than $4 million after underpaying some 800 current and four employees between 2016 to 2022. The Australian Fair Work Ombudsman said CDU entered into an enforceable undertaking after self-reporting breaches of Fair Work Laws in 2022.
The underpayments affected casual employees working in both academic and professional positions across Northern Territory campuses. A total of 823 employees were impacted, while CDU is also reviewing payroll records for another 1,423 workers.
So far, 612 payment corrections have been completed. Affected staff have received an average back payment of $1,700, while some repayments reached as much as $242,000, including superannuation and interest. CDU said it expects all payment calculations to be finalised during the second half of the year.
Payroll Audits and Ongoing Concerns
As part of the enforceable undertaking, CDU must commission two independent audits of its payroll system to ensure compliance with Fair Work laws.
The university is also required to maintain a process for employee complaints and reviews. National Tertiary Education Union NT secretary Rajeev Sharma welcomed the undertaking but questioned why the matter took so long to resolve.
Ombudsman Says University Underpayments Are a Sector-Wide Issue
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said that staff under payments have become increasingly common across Australian universities. She noted that the regulator contacted 42 University and entered into 11 enforceable undertakings since 2020.
Booth also said that investigations uncovered underlying issues, like management oversight, payroll system and time recording practices.
She added that decentralised payroll systems meant some timesheets were not processed correctly, resulting in unpaid overtime and incorrect employee entitlements.
Comes After Recent CDU Administrative Issues
The undertaking comes as CDU continues to deal with the fallout from an administrative error that left more than 400 TAFE students without accreditation.
The issue resulted in the resignations of former vice-chancellor Scott Bowman and TAFE chief executive Michael Hamilton earlier this year. CDU also abandoned its plans for a London campus after spending $2 million on the project.
Source: ABC News
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