Frequently Asked Questions about ACU’s remediation of underpayments program for employees

ACU has identified underpayments to some casual sessional academic staff who were employed across the university from 2016 to 2023.These primarily relate to unpaid or underpaid entitlements for staff with doctorate qualifications (PhDs) or where staff were undertaking subject/unit coordination (organisational duties) or Lecturer-in charge duties.

Sessional academics are entitled to a higher rate of pay when they have a PhD qualification, or they are undertaking subject/unit coordination or Lecturer-in-charge duties. These higher rates apply to most relevant work activities in accordance with the Australian Catholic University Staff Enterprise Agreement (the Agreement) in force at the time when the work was performed.

A review has identified that the application of these rates has, in some circumstances, been inconsistent with the provisions of the Agreement. As a result, some sessional academic staff have been underpaid.

Total underpayment is approximately $3.6 million, affecting a total number of approximately 1,100 people.

No. The identified issue affects sessional (casual) academic employees only.

A comprehensive review of payments to sessional employees during the remediation period has identified that this issue has affected approximately 1,100 current and former sessional academic employees who were employed across the university from 2016 to 2023.

The causes relate to the incorrect application of employee entitlements.

Sessional academics are entitled to a higher rate of pay when they have a PhD qualification, or they are undertaking subject/unit coordination or Lecturer-in-charge duties. The higher rates should be applied to most relevant work activities in accordance with the Enterprise Agreements in place at the time.

Our review identified that, in some circumstances, an employee was entitled to a higher rate for some activities, but they were not being consistently paid at the higher rate. For example, a sessional staff member with a PhD may have been paid correctly at the higher rate for all tutorial work initially offered to them at the beginning of the semester, but the PhD rate was not paid for some marking or other activities that were added to their contract later in the semester.

Payroll and information systems, and related processes for engaging and paying sessional staff, are being improved to ensure that we can clearly identify when an entitlement to the higher rate exists, either due to a PhD qualification or performance of subject/unit coordination or Lecturer-in-charge duties, and payroll controls put in place to ensure that all relevant work activities are paid at the higher rate consistently and in accordance with the Agreement in place at the time.

Yes. All impacted staff will be paid any wage shortfall identified, together with interest and as relevant superannuation contributions.

For current staff who are impacted, ACU will commence making remediation payments in February 2024. Further details, including confirmation of the individual amounts and date of payment, will be provided to impacted current employees via their ACU email address.

For former staff who are impacted, in the first instance we will attempt to make contact via the personal email address that we have on record for them. These staff will be provided with information on how to confirm their identity and update their banking, tax and superannuation details via a secure portal. Once all required information is received and verified, we will make payment within 28 days.

ACU initially became aware of this issue in late 2022, when an internal review of wage payments identified that some casual sessional academic employees in the School of Allied Health, in the Faculty of Health Sciences, had not consistently received the correct pay rates for subject/unit coordination duties and for PhD qualifications in accordance with the applicable Enterprise Agreement. Throughout 2023, with the assistance of external experts, we conducted a broader employee assessment to thoroughly identify the scope of the issue and what needed to be done to address it.

Since identifying the issue, we initiated a major project in late 2022 to conduct a comprehensive analysis of our compliance with the employee entitlements in our Agreements. The Chief Operating Officer, Provost and Chief People Officer have been leading a steering committee to assess and address the situation, with close oversight from the Senate. Due to its complexity, the university has engaged external advice from Deloitte and Minter Ellison to advise us on the application of all entitlements under the Agreements. 

Payroll and information systems, and related processes for engaging and paying sessional staff, are being improved to ensure compliance with our obligations. Additional assurance measures and payroll controls have also been implemented to ensure that our systems and processes that relate to employee wages and entitlements, are providing accurate pay outcomes. We will continue to test these controls with regular ongoing audits.

It was important to make sure we took time to thoroughly investigate and identify all staff that were impacted. The initial assessment identified that the issue had the potential to exist more broadly than just the School of Allied Health. In 2023 we conducted a broader, more detailed assessment of compliance with employee entitlement obligations with the assistance of external experts. 

This has been a major project. Due to its complexity, ACU has sought expert independent advice about the interpretation and application of the entitlements under the Enterprise Agreements. Our broader employee entitlement review is still ongoing.

ACU is committed to wage integrity. This is about doing the right thing to address the underpayments issue, both in terms of what we do and how we do it. In addressing this issue, we are demonstrating sound ethics and values, and we are seeking to re-earn the trust of our staff and the wider community by demonstrating that we are taking appropriate steps.

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.  Our mission as a Catholic university commits us to treat every human person with dignity and respect. 

No. The university unintentionally underpaid some current and former employees. ACU is very apologetic for its error. Wage theft generally arises where there is an intentional underpayment. The university did not intend to underpay employees at all.

We have undertaken an extensive analysis across all sessional staff over the last seven years with the support of independent external advisors to ensure that our approach is correct.

We have worked hard to complete our investigation into the identified issue. While this investigation is complete, our broader review of employee entitlements is still ongoing.

The review goes back to about seven years ensuring we cover our legal obligations.

Payroll and information systems and related processes for engaging and paying sessional staff, are being improved to ensure compliance with our obligations and to guarantee our staff are paid correctly for the work they do.

Additional assurance measures and payroll controls have been implemented in 2024 to ensure that our systems and processes that underpin wage payments are providing accurate pay outcomes that are compliant with our obligations. We will continue to test these controls with regular ongoing audits. Effective from 1 July 2024, further controls and improvements to the Sessional Employment System (SES) and related systems were introduced to ensure that the appropriate pay rates are applied when contracts of employment for sessional staff are being made.

Yes. ACU voluntarily disclosed these issues to the Fair Work Ombudsman and is working constructively with the Ombudsman.

Yes. As the unions are parties to the current Enterprise Agreement, it was important we notified the NTEU and CPSU when we notified all staff. Updates about this issue will be a standing item for ACU's Staff Consultative Committee (ACUSCC) throughout 2024.

Yes. ACU has informed the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and other regulators.

The university made provisions in the 2023 budget to make sure we can repay affected staff.

For current staff who are impacted, ACU will make remediation payments during February. Further details, including confirmation of the individual amounts and date of payment, will be provided to impacted current employees via their ACU email address.

It is a priority for us to ensure these payments are made as soon as possible, however, we need to verify the correct details for payments first.

We will attempt to contact former staff who are impacted via the personal email address that we have on record for them.  If no response is received, we will also attempt contact via phone and/or post if we have these details.

Impacted former staff will be provided with information on how to confirm their identity and update their banking, tax, and superannuation details via a secure portal.  Once all required information is received and verified, we will make payment within 28 days.

ACU has used SMS to contact staff and former staff about this issue.

If you received a text that looks like it came from ACU, it may be genuine, but please note that ACU will not send web links about this issue via text.

If the SMS you received included a link for further information, do not click on the link. Contact the university directly to verify the information.

In order to proceed with processing a pay correction, we will ask you to provide an email address where we can send further information about the pay correction and a personalised link to our secure document submission portal.

To update your details, please email entitlements@acu.edu.au or phone Service Central on +61 7 3623 7272 and select option 4 to speak to a member of the People and Capability team.

If you have clicked on a link in an SMS message which asks for your banking details and you think your banking details have been compromised, contact your bank immediately and also report it to Scamwatch.

I received a letter about payments that said it was from ACU. Is it genuine and what should I do?

ACU has sent a letter via Australia Post to contact former staff about this issue. 

In order to proceed with processing a pay correction, we will ask you to follow the instructions in the letter and provide correct contact details by sending an email to entitlements@acu.edu.au or phoning Service Central on +61 7 3623 7272 and selecting option 4.

Once the university has your current email address, we can send further information about the pay correction and a personalised link to our secure document submission portal.

This issue only impacts some sessional academic staff who hold a PhD qualification or who performed subject/unit coordination or Lecturer-in-charge duties, who were not consistently paid at the PhD/Coordination rate for all relevant work activities.

ACU will contact you if you are an impacted by the review.

To correct this pay error, ACU engaged assistance from independent external advisors to analyse sessional pay records for the remediation period. Where our records indicated that a staff member was entitled to receive a higher rate of pay than they actually paid, the difference has been remediated. Interest and superannuation contributions are also paid as required.

If you have any questions about how the amount of the underpayment was calculated, please email entitlements@acu.edu.au or phone Service Central on +61 7 3623 7272 and select option 4.  A member of the People and Capability team will then respond to your questions and/or contact you for further information. 

This review did not assess whether staff were paid at a higher pay rate than they were entitled to under the provisions of the Agreement. If there is any ambiguity about a payment, the university will honour the higher payment.

Remediation payments have been calculated using the relevant rate of pay at the time the work was performed.

In some instances, our records were incomplete or inconsistent. If you are contacted about a possible underpayment on the basis that our records indicated you may have had a PhD or performed LIC duties but that was not the case, please email entitlements@acu.edu.au or contact Service Central on +61 7 3623 7272 and select option 4.  You will then be contacted by a relevant member of the People and Capability team.

You can email entitlements@acu.edu.au or contact Service Central on +61 7 3623 7272 and select option 4. You will then be contacted by a relevant member of the People and Capability team.

If you are a current staff member you can update your contact details via Staff Connect at staffconnect.acu.edu.au. 

If you are an impacted former sessional staff member, and you are concerned that the university does not have your current contact details, or if your details have changed, please email entitlements@acu.edu.au with your name and details of your period of employment.  You will be contacted by a relevant member of the People and Capability team to verify your identity and confirm if you have been impacted by this issue.

You can email entitlements@acu.edu.au or contact Service Central on +61 7 3623 7272 and select option 4 to submit a query about your payment amount. You will then be contacted by a relevant member of People and Capability team.

All superannuation contributions payable have been calculated and will be paid into your nominated superannuation fund.  

Superannuation contribution have been calculated at the current rate of 11% (applies to payments made before 30 June 2024. Payments made from 1 July 2024 will be calculated at 11.5%). An additional 10% on top of the identified superannuation owed will be paid in compensation for lost earnings on superannuation.

Superannuation contributions for impacted current staff will be made to the same superannuation fund as their existing regular superannuation contributions.  Current staff can log a request in Service Central if changes are required to their superannuation fund.

Former sessional staff who were impacted will be contacted with information on how to provide us with their current superannuation fund details, together with other personal details, through a secure portal.

Concessional superannuation contributions that are above yearly limits, currently $27,500, are included in your assessable income and may affect how much income tax you pay. If you may be at risk of exceeding the superannuation concessional contributions cap for this financial year, refer to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website for information on options available to you. You may ask the ATO to apply the superannuation amount to prior financial years. Based on the ATO rules, we are unable to request this on your behalf.

Remediation payments will be taxed in accordance with ATO requirements and will be reported to the ATO.

For most remediation payments, interest has been calculated to 31 March 2024.

Where there have been delays in payment interest is calculated up to the end of the quarter during which payment has been made eg 30 June 2024, 30 September 2024, etc.

Interest is calculated in accordance with the Federal Court Pre-judgement Guidelines.  Further information can be found at https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/forms-and-fees/interest-rates.