The Australian Catholic University improperly paid almost 350 of its staff

Australian Catholic University apologised for underpaying staff in 2024. Now, it’s going to apologise again.

The death of Pope Francis on Monday night cast a pall over the usual activities of people all over the world.

In Italy, major sporting events were cancelled. In Australia, the election campaign was suspended, out of respect.

At the Australian Catholic University, where you’d expect a fuss, there was a press statement published and vice-chancellor Zlatko Skrbis posted a note of condolence on his personal LinkedIn page. A couple of hours later Skrbis posted to LinkedIn again, only this time it wasn’t about the Pope at all; it was about a university partnership with a health clinic catering to defence veterans, which seemed a bit soon to be going back to BAU.

Maybe give it a day?

Professor Zlatko Skrbis, vice-chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, loves a LinkedIn post

We are talking about the nation’s premier Catholic university and the death of its spiritual leader. Also, this partnership just happens to fall under the auspices of an ACU directorate run by Skrbis’s wife, Marta, which at least explains the VC’s alacrity for supporting it.

Meanwhile, even more pressing matters are afflicting the university.

ACU quietly disclosed on Wednesday to regulators that it has underpaid nearly 350 current and former Indigenous tutors to the tune of roughly $450,000 going back to 2018. Emails are being sent out to let them know.

The university is claiming to have discovered these discrepancies through an audit that was ordered as a result of an earlier underpayment scandal even larger in scope. ACU announced that unwelcome news in January 2024, revealing $3.6m had been underpaid to 1100 casual academic staff between 2016 and 2023.

Of course they regret this latest snafu, particularly as it affects the tutors working as Indigenous study assistants.

Nor will the repayments on top of the other repayments do much good for the university’s bottom line deficit of $35.7m, as reported in its most recent financial papers. An updated set of accounts isn’t due for another two months.

A university spokeswoman said the institution takes its entitlement obligations seriously and “sincerely regrets” this issue has arisen, which few would doubt.

“We are in the process of identifying the quantum of any underpayment,” she said.