Fair Work Ombudsman says that CSU has signed an enforceable undertaking committing it to paying staff by early next year

The Fair Work Ombudsman has announced that CSU has signed an enforceable undertaking committing it to pay $3.2 million, plus superannuation and interest, by early next year.

Underpayments have become a systemic problem across the Australian university sector and the Fair Work Ombudsman announced earlier this year that it would be a priority area of investigation.

In other news:

The ombudsman has confirmed investigations into 11 universities in recent times and is making inquiries into, or investigating, several other universities not yet publicly named.

A spokesperson for the Fair Work Ombudsman said CSU and the University of Newcastle are the first two universities to enter into enforceable undertakings.

Earlier this month, CSU admitted to underpaying thousands of current and former casual staff members after an independent audit launched by the university revealed 2526 casual staff had missed out on pay and superannuation since July 2015.

The ombudsman said the underpayments ranged from $2 up to $58,229.

The enforceable undertaking requires CSU to pay all missed wages, plus more than $628,000 in interest on wages and about $476,000 in superannuation, by February 2023.

A CSU spokesperson said that by "the end of this week more than 80 per cent of total funds will have been paid".

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said CSU had taken the initiative to self-report the underpayments and had fully cooperated.

But local National Tertiary Education Union branch president Dr Helen Masterman-Smith said the amount reported by the university might not accurately reflect the full extent of the underpayment.

She said the university is making repayments on easily detectable errors, such as the correct lecture rate, and more complicated aspects of the job, such as the amount of time staff are paid for working, have not been addressed.

"I think casual employment, which is very high in our sector compared to others, creates a landscape that enables exploitation," she said.

A CSU statement said feedback from contacted staff about the expediency and accuracy of the remediation payments had been overwhelmingly positive.

"The university's main priority through this process has been ensuring all impacted staff receive their owed money," the spokesperson said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: