Deakin University admits it has underpaid its casual academics

In a growing scandal, Deakin University is the latest higher education institution to admit that it has underpaid its casual staff.

Deakin University vice-chancellor Iain Martin. Picture: Alan Barber

Deakin University vice-chancellor Iain Martin has admitted that the university underpaid casual academics in the Arts and Education Faculty and agreed to expand a review into the issue across the university.

In a message sent to university staff on Wednesday, Professor Martin said the underpayments had stemmed from the “misapplication of marking formulas used to calculate the pay of sessional academic staff” and should not have occurred.

“This meant Deakin did not pay some sessional academics for the actual hours they worked,” he said.

“Some former and current sessional academics at Deakin, who performed marking and associated duties, are potentially impacted.”

Professor Martin said he sincerely apologised on behalf of the university.

He said the university had voluntarily disclosed the matter to the Fair Work Ombudsman and was engaging with the National Tertiary Education Union about it.

The NTEU alleged nearly two years ago that Deakin University was paying some casual academics per student assignment marked – a piece rate – rather than on the hourly basis specified by the university’s enterprise agreement.

The union said that hourly payments underestimated the time it took to properly mark assignments and it lodged a dispute about the matter in June 2022 and referred it to the Fair Work Commission in November 2022.

At the time the university said the NTEU’s evidence did not support the claim that casuals were being underpaid for marking assignments.

NTEU Victorian division secretary Sarah Roberts said Deakin’s “refusal to admit a clear-cut case of wage theft for two whole years is a disgrace”.

“As late as February this year, management was still insisting the piece rate used to fleece workers didn’t exist – despite staff presenting rock solid evidence,” she said.

In his staff message Professor Martin said “extensive work” had been undertaken to review the university’s practices and processes for paying casual academics using law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth and financial services firm Deloitte.

So far the review had “primarily focused” on parts of the Arts and Education Faculty but would be expanded to other areas of the university.

“We are also improving our marking and remuneration systems and processes to prevent a recurrence and ensure Deakin casual employees are paid according to the law,” Professor Martin said.

He said the university was also working to “enhance” its marking and remuneration practices.

Deakin is the latest of many universities to admit it has underpaid staff.

The NTEU said in its Wage Theft Report in November last year that universities across the nation had underpaid over 97,000 university staff by $159 million.

The report said there was a not yet finalised, “wage theft” issue at Deakin University that involved “serious underpayment”.

Universities to admit major underpayments include the universities of Melbourne, Sydney, Wollongong, Queensland and Tasmania, as well as UNSW and Monash University.

NTEU national president Alison Barnes said it was “absolutely shameful that just one day after the University of Queensland admitted to $8m in wage theft, Deakin has been added to the ever-growing list of university wage thieves”.

“The spiralling wage theft epidemic needs urgent action from state and federal governments,” she said.

“Unaccountable vice-chancellors and their senior executives are making a mockery of education ministers who clearly said universities should be exemplary employers.”