The University of Canberra (UC) has completed the processing of payments for affected current and former casual professional staff identified through its payroll review, as announced in 2025.
At that time, the Vice-Chancellor committed to making sure that all UC staff were repaid any monies previously owed no matter how small, and the University initiated a review into casual academic staff payments, which commenced in October 2025.
The checks were undertaken for the period from July 2019 to December 2025 and identified that 255 current and former casual academic staff were incorrectly paid at instances over the previous six years. The total value of identified underpayments is $243,979.95, excluding superannuation and interest.
The University has affirmed that casual staff payments made since January 2026 have been verified and paid correctly.
The University has commenced remediation and affected current and former staff are being contacted. Affected current casual academic staff should receive payment from 6 October 2026, and former casual academic staff will be provided with the necessary advice and support to ensure their remediation is swift.
These underpayments arose where:
- PhD qualifications were not recognised in payment rates.
- Unit Convenor responsibilities were not reflected in payment rates.
- Lecture and tutorial payments were incorrectly classified as repeat rather than initial rates.
A separate review of casual academic marking practices is underway to determine whether staff have been appropriately paid for marking activities. The University will provide updates as this work progresses.
Commenting on the most recent payroll review checks, UC Vice-Chancellor and President Professor The Honourable Bill Shorten said the University sincerely apologises to current and former casual academic staff affected by these underpayments.
"It is disappointing. I deeply regret that these historic errors occurred. On behalf of the University, I sincerely apologise to everyone who has been affected."
“The University has taken the process very seriously and our checks have been thorough. We are committed to making sure that every affected staff member receives the money they are owed as soon as possible."
Alongside remediation, the University has implemented or commenced a range of compliance improvements to record-keeping and governance arrangements to prevent further errors.
Professor Shorten said transparency and accountability would remain central.
"We have self-reported these findings to the Fair Work Ombudsman and continue to work constructively with the Ombudsman throughout this process."
"My focus is on supporting affected staff, addressing identified issues and building stronger systems that give our people confidence that they are being paid one hundred percent correctly."
Further information is available on the UC Pay Review webpages.