Back in March CDU announced an “issue” that may have led to casual staff being underpaid

An investigation would take 12 months to complete but any underpayments discovered would be “rectified,” was the word then,

Underpayments must have been easier identified than expected because CDU discretely reports (p65 of the Annual Report’s financial statements) an “initial estimate” of underpayments over six years of $2m to $4m.

The cause is staff being paid for one hour, when the minimum was three (it’s not stated but this is probably required under the university’s enterprise agreement). This particular problem is now fixed and CDU is reviewing records to determine “a more accurate underpayment liability and rectify the issue.”

It’s a common problem – most recently, Charles Sturt U and Newcastle U both admitted similar underpayments (CMM August 31).