Workplace that overpaid staff by $3.6 million

A shocking report has revealed that government employees in one place in Australia were overpaid by $3.6 million, with some of the money still not recovered.

One Aussie government worker received a whopping $93,000 extra in one go as part of a payroll error, yet the money has not been paid back.

The shocking finding was revealed in the latest report from the Northern Territory’s auditor-general, which showed an extraordinary $3.6 million was accidentally overpaid to government employees in the last financial year.

There were a total of 2365 overpayments, adding up to millions, made to almost 1500 employees during the 2020-21 financial year according to NT auditor-general Julie Crisp’s report.

The staff member who received the $93,000 was overpaid in January 2020 but as of August last year none of the money had been returned, the report found.

Another employee had an extra $76,269 paid to them but no money had been paid back and they had now left the NT public service, the report also revealed.

Want a streaming service dedicated to news? Flash lets you stream 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Some NT government workers have been overpaid by tens of thousands. Picture: iStock

One worker received a massive $82,000 in overpayment and while $20,00 had been recovered, the overall debt was not expected to be paid back for over 20 years.

“This employee pays $100 a fortnight to settle the debt thus the debt is expected to be extinguished in approximately 24 years,” Ms Crisp noted.

There was a pattern of huge overpayments with one employee receiving $82,246 they weren’t entitled to with just under $2000 recovered so far, the report showed.

That employee is paying back $482 a fortnight with the debt expected to be settled in six years.

While the majority of the most recent overpayments were paid back within four months, almost $1 million remained outstanding as of August last year.

There were also $2.8 million in historical overpayments that were also yet to be recovered.

The report found that 67 per cent of debts had been outstanding for more than 120 days with the oldest debt dating back to May 2010 for over $36,000.

Julie Crisp said better systems needed to be put in place to recoup money. Picture: Ian Currie

Only a third of the money from the May 2010 debt had been recovered with the last instalment made five years ago.

“My review of the data related to salary overpayments highlights the necessity for management to be vigilant at all times,” Ms Crisp said.

“Management has a responsibility to ensure financial losses are recovered in a timely manner.”

Other overpayments outlined in the report ranged between $54,556 and just over $44,000 with the money not expected to be paid back for between three and nine years.

Some of the reasons for the payment errors included staff being paid after they resigned, receiving money when on leave without pay, a change of working hours, overpayment of allowances and a contract creasing in the wrong pay cycle.

Some debts won’t be paid for up to 24 years. Picture: Getty Images

However, a reason for most historical overpayments was unknown.

“This suggests that better root cause analysis and recording is required in order for agencies to implement improvements to processes and controls to reduce the risk of overpayments and the resultant financial loss to the NT,” Ms Crisp said.

The largest overpayments were made to staff employed by the Top End Health Service, alongside the Education Department, the Central Australian Health Service and NT Police.

Originally published as Workplace that overpaid staff by $3.6 million