![[Australia] University of Queensland’s $11 million underpayments scandal](http://gpa.net/cdn/shop/articles/bigstock-University-Of-Queensland-7448664_1200x.jpg?v=1788406933)
One of Australia’s biggest universities is contending with an $11 million wage underpayment scandal affecting more than 16,000 current and former staff, 7NEWS reports.
The University of Queensland (UQ) signed an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) after almost a decade of underpayments were uncovered across its Brisbane and Gatton campuses.
On September 1, FWO confirmed that the payroll errors had occurred between 2017 and 2026, affecting 16,382 academic and professional staff.
One employee was reportedly owed $41,643, including interest and superannuation. The smallest underpayment was under a dollar, while the average amount owed was $564.
The total includes around $9.2 million in unpaid wages, $1.02 million in superannuation, $427,000 in interest and about $315,000 in interest on superannuation.
Affected employees worked at UQ’s St Lucia, Herston and Dutton Park campuses in Brisbane, and its Gatton campus in the Lockyer Valley, east of Toowoomba.
Approximately a quarter of those affected came from the university’s Health, Medicine and Behavioural Science faculty.
To date, UQ has reportedly paid more than $9.6 million, including superannuation and interest, to 13,514 current and former employees. The undertaking requires payments to the remaining staff.
The university stated it proactively alerted the FWO in 2021 after identifying areas of “unintentional non-compliance” with its enterprise agreements dating back to 2017.
Speaking to 7NEWS, a UQ spokesperson said, “I would like to sincerely apologise again to current and former staff.”
A now-completed review reportedly identified underpayments relating to minimum engagement periods, overtime arrangements and rates for casual academic staff with a PhD.
“Although unintentional, this does not reflect our commitment to our people and the University will ensure that affected staff will receive all back pay, including superannuation and interest,” the spokesperson said.
According to UQ, the majority of repayments had already been made, with affected staff receiving back pay between 2019 and 2024. The university said it would contact staff still owed money in the coming weeks to remediate outstanding amounts.
The university alerted the regulator in October 2021 that it would launch an external review into whether it was correctly applying its enterprise agreements.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth reportedly said the case highlighted the importance of getting payroll systems right from the outset.
“The Enforceable Undertaking with the University of Queensland highlights the importance of universities improving their governance over payroll and administrative systems, to ensure employees are paid correctly from the start of, and throughout, the term of a uni’s own enterprise agreement,” she said.
As part of the undertaking, UQ will make a $175,000 contrition payment to the Commonwealth’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The university stated that it was implementing improved systems and processes, compulsory training, enhanced assurance checks and an independent audit to prevent similar failures in the future.
“We acknowledge that the University of Queensland reported these underpayments to us and has been dedicated in taking action to rectify them and prevent future non-compliance impacting their staff,” Ms Booth said.
Source: 7NEWS
(Quotes via original reporting)
One of Australia’s biggest universities is contending with an $11 million wage underpayment scandal affecting more than 16,000 current and former staff, 7NEWS reports.
The University of Queensland (UQ) signed an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) after almost a decade of underpayments were uncovered across its Brisbane and Gatton campuses.
On September 1, FWO confirmed that the payroll errors had occurred between 2017 and 2026, affecting 16,382 academic and professional staff.
One employee was reportedly owed $41,643, including interest and superannuation. The smallest underpayment was under a dollar, while the average amount owed was $564.
The total includes around $9.2 million in unpaid wages, $1.02 million in superannuation, $427,000 in interest and about $315,000 in interest on superannuation.
Affected employees worked at UQ’s St Lucia, Herston and Dutton Park campuses in Brisbane, and its Gatton campus in the Lockyer Valley, east of Toowoomba.
Approximately a quarter of those affected came from the university’s Health, Medicine and Behavioural Science faculty.
To date, UQ has reportedly paid more than $9.6 million, including superannuation and interest, to 13,514 current and former employees. The undertaking requires payments to the remaining staff.
The university stated it proactively alerted the FWO in 2021 after identifying areas of “unintentional non-compliance” with its enterprise agreements dating back to 2017.
Speaking to 7NEWS, a UQ spokesperson said, “I would like to sincerely apologise again to current and former staff.”
A now-completed review reportedly identified underpayments relating to minimum engagement periods, overtime arrangements and rates for casual academic staff with a PhD.
“Although unintentional, this does not reflect our commitment to our people and the University will ensure that affected staff will receive all back pay, including superannuation and interest,” the spokesperson said.
According to UQ, the majority of repayments had already been made, with affected staff receiving back pay between 2019 and 2024. The university said it would contact staff still owed money in the coming weeks to remediate outstanding amounts.
The university alerted the regulator in October 2021 that it would launch an external review into whether it was correctly applying its enterprise agreements.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth reportedly said the case highlighted the importance of getting payroll systems right from the outset.
“The Enforceable Undertaking with the University of Queensland highlights the importance of universities improving their governance over payroll and administrative systems, to ensure employees are paid correctly from the start of, and throughout, the term of a uni’s own enterprise agreement,” she said.
As part of the undertaking, UQ will make a $175,000 contrition payment to the Commonwealth’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The university stated that it was implementing improved systems and processes, compulsory training, enhanced assurance checks and an independent audit to prevent similar failures in the future.
“We acknowledge that the University of Queensland reported these underpayments to us and has been dedicated in taking action to rectify them and prevent future non-compliance impacting their staff,” Ms Booth said.
Source: 7NEWS
(Quotes via original reporting)
