Deakin University is starting to repay hundreds of staff members who were underpaid approximately $3 million over the course of eight years.
The university announced on 11 November that it would backpay close to 440 current and former staff members affected by $2.9 million in underpayments that occurred between 2017 and 2024.
National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Deakin Branch president Professor Reece Walters said it was important to address wage issues across educational facilities.
“We’re encouraging all casual Deakin staff who believe they may have been underpaid to contact the NTEU for advice and support,” he said.
“There’s almost certainly more people affected than just this initial announcement, so we’ll be working hard to ensure every staff member, past and present, gets every cent they’re owed.
“This is a major victory for NTEU members at Deakin who have fought hard against wage theft over many years…and to management’s credit, they are working with the NTEU to repay the staff owed millions of dollars.”
In an email statement to Deakin University staff, which was shared with the Geelong Independent, vice-chancellor Professor Iain Martin said payments started to be issued to staff from 11 November.
“I am disappointed and sorry to be making this announcement, particularly given my commitment to helping rebuild trust in our universities,” he said.
“Last year, Deakin identified the inadvertent underpayment of some sessional academics due to the misapplication of marking formulas.
“We voluntarily disclosed this matter to the Fair Work Ombudsman and committed to remediate affected staff, improve our systems and strengthen compliance.
“I want to reassure colleagues that there continues to be a vast amount of work underway to ensure our systems are as robust as possible and that we comply with all our workplace obligations.
“This work includes updated contracts and information for sessional staff at the time of engagement, updated guidelines for sessional academics and supervisors, and mandatory timesheet declarations.”
