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A major Australian university has admitted it underpaid casual academic employees millions of dollars.
An extensive audit found Australian Catholic University (ACU) underpaid staff about $3.6 million across a seven-year period, the university said in a statement today.
The financial error is understood to have affected about 1100 casual sessional academic staff members between 2016 to 2023.
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ACU said the underpayments primarily related to "higher rates of payment where sessional staff have PhD qualifications or are undertaking subject/unit coordination duties or lecturer-in-charge duties".
The university said it was contacting all former and current staff who have been impacted by the underpayments, which ACU denied amounted to wage theft.
It assured affected staff they would be "paid in full, with interest, as soon as possible".
ACU said it has disclosed the matter to the Fair Work Ombudsman as well the National Tertiary Education Union and Community and Public Sector Union.
Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Zlatko Skrbis "sincerely and unequivocally" apologised to employees for the underpayment.
"ACU is committed to wage integrity, in accordance not only with our legal obligations but also with our dedication to upholding the principles of Catholic Social Teaching," he said.
"Our mission as a Catholic university commits us to treat every human person with dignity and respect."
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ACU has seven campuses across the country – Ballarat, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and three in Sydney – and one in Rome.
Last September, the public university announced plans to cut 113 full-time jobs to help address a $30 million budget deficit.
NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes said the university's admission pointed to a need for "major reforms tackling insecure work and governance".
"There's barely a university in Australia which hasn't been caught out stealing workers' wages," she said.
"It's extremely disappointing but not surprising that casual staff have once again been the victims of this egregious conduct.
"The Universities Accord has called on universities to become exemplary employers, this is yet another example of how desperately we need to realise that goal."
