Auditor General identifies millions in Northern Territory public service overpayments

Territory public servants were overpaid more than $3.6m last financial year, including one who received almost an additional $100,000 in error.

TERRITORY public servants were overpaid more than $3.6m last financial year and almost $4.5m in overpayments to public sector workers have not been fully recovered, the Auditor General has identified.

One lucky bureaucrat copped an extra $93,771 in their pay-packet.

It’s not clear whether the money will ever be fully recovered.

Between July 1 2020 and June 30 2021 a total of $3,640,845 was overpaid with almost $2.7m recovered and $985,203 still outstanding.

Using NTG payroll data, Auditor General Julie Crisp identified 1443 individual employees had one or more overpayments in the last financial year.

There were 2365 overpayments of which 1958 had been fully recovered.

No recoveries had been recorded in 176 overpayments totalling $461,427.

The report also identified legacy overpayments not yet fully recovered totalling $4,482,827 to August 31, 2021.

So far 473 overpayments totalling $1,625,724 has been partially recovered, with $2,857,103 not yet fully recovered as at August 31, 2021.

NT Auditor General Julie Crisp identified 1443 individual employees had one or more overpayments in the last financial year. Picture: Supplied.

The Auditor General says the balance of $1,730,149 associated with these overpayments was still to be recovered at August 31 and 378 overpayments totalling $1,126,953 as yet had no recoveries being received from overpaid employees.

The Auditor General’s report identified multiple causes for the overpayments including the agency, the payee, payroll, employment services and workers compensation but that most errors were attributed to unknown or agency. The report also opens the door on legacy overpayments with 67 per cent of the overpayments outstanding for over 120 days with the oldest obligation date recorded as May 31 2010 for $36,807.

An overpayment of $81,939 dating back to June 2013 is being repaid by the employee at $100 a fortnight meaning the debt will be extinguished in 24 years. Of this overpayment $12,600 has been repaid and as at August 31, $24,207 remained outstanding, with the most recent repayment of $300 recorded on February 1 2016.

Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison said there was a lot of “complexity” with the public sector payments system.

“This is why you have auditing processes that happen right across different government agencies that can pick up issues with overpayments and they have processes to deal with that,” she said.

“I don’t think you can lump that all on at an individual OCPE Commissioner the payroll service and system it’s a very important part of Government but that’s why you have regular audits, regular processes to look at those payrolls.”

Public Employment Minister Paul Kirby has been contacted for comment.