Frequently Asked Questions

Swinburne has identified unintentional underpayments to some casual employees at the university and at Swinburne College. 

The issues identified relate to: 

• minimum engagement for some casual PAVE/VET employees; 

• application of the incorrect rate for casual staff undertaking unit convening, who do not hold a PhD; 

• calculation of the rates for casual research assistants; 

• incorrect application of the repeat tutorial/repeat lecture rate for some casual academic staff.  

Once the issues were identified, the university has undertaken a thorough review of relevant payments to impacted casual employees, including information collection, complex analysis and assessment of time sheet records and pay data for relevant employees from 2017 to 2023. 

We are contacting all current and former employees who have been identified as being impacted. Our immediate priority is to ensure our people receive the payments they are entitled to, as soon as possible, together with interest and additional superannuation. 

No. The majority of the university’s employees are not impacted by these issues. 

Impacted cohorts of employees include: 

• Swinburne University of Technology: casual academic unit conveners, casual academic research assistants, casual VET teachers and some casual academics who deliver lectures/tutorials. 

• Swinburne College: casual teachers (including those who had been employed by Swinburne University pre-15 February 2020 and transferred to Swinburne College). 

Swinburne is contacting all impacted employees as soon as possible over the next four weeks using employee emails for current staff and the most recent contact information on file for former staff.  

We are contacting all current and former employees who have been identified as being impacted commencing 30 April. 

Current employees will receive either an email to their Swinburne email or a phone call from our People and Culture team. 

Former employees will be contacted using the most recently available contact information on file to verify payment details prior to processing payments. 

If you believe you may be impacted but haven’t heard from us by May 27, please email payupdate@swin.edu.au or call 03 9214 8600 and selecting option 2. 

If you are a current Swinburne College employee or have been employed by them since 15 February 2020, you will be contacted by them separately if you have been identified as impacted during your employment with them. 

Employees who have been impacted will be contacted by Swinburne.  

If you believe you may be impacted but haven’t heard from us by May 27, please email payupdate@swin.edu.au or call 03 9214 8600 and selecting option 2. 

We have identified 1,699 current and former employees who are impacted by this issue, who are owed $2.6 million by the University.  

There are also 114 current and former employees who are owed $245,610 by Swinburne College. 

The causes of the underpayments relate to discrepancies relating to misinterpretation and misapplication of clauses in the enterprise agreements.  

More specifically, the causes include: 

• Incorrect payments to staff who do not hold a PhD but who perform a unit-convening role. Staff who held a PhD were paid correctly. 

• Ambiguity in the enterprise agreement regarding casual academic research assistants.  

• Incorrectly applying a new minimum engagement clause that was introduced in the 2017 PAVE Agreement for Swinburne College and VET casual teachers. 

• In some cases, incorrectly paying the repeat tutorial or repeat lecture rate rather than the applicable initial tutorial/lecture rate. 

Our priority is ensuring employees receive their full entitlements as quickly as possible.  

Due to its complexity, external legal advisors and professional accounting and financial services firm KPMG were engaged to assist and independently calculate the amounts owing to each impacted employee and to validate the results. This ensures impacted employees receive the payments they are entitled to, as well as interest and superannuation.  

In each of the impacted areas, additional controls or changes in systems have been put in place to ensure ongoing compliance and that the issue does not re-occur. 

Swinburne is also undertaking a further pay compliance and assurance review to ensure that the same or similar issues do not arise in the future. If, during this process, any further underpayments are identified, they will be fully remediated as a priority.  

Swinburne is committed to ensuring that its employees receive their entitlements.  

Swinburne has taken immediate steps to ensure that the same or similar issues do not happen again. This includes: 

• Additional validation and configuration of our HR and pay systems to ensure checks in place to prevent a recurrence. 

• Additional training sessions to relevant managers have been conducted especially in VET for minimum engagement periods for casual teachers. 

• We have made several process and system preventative improvements and have communicated and trained relevant managers and staff on these. 

Separately, Swinburne is undertaking a further full pay compliance and assurance review to ensure that issues do not arise in the future. If further issues are discovered, they will be fully addressed as a priority.   

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) sets out a 6-year limitation period. The University's review extended beyond this period generally back to 1 January 2017 and for VET/PAVE employees to when the relevant new clause was inserted in the Swinburne 2017 EA, 27 December 2017. 

Yes. Swinburne voluntarily self-reported this matter to the Fair Work Ombudsman and will work constructively with them. We have also notified other regulators. 

Yes. Swinburne notified both the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and the Australian Education Union (AEU) when we notified employees. Swinburne will continue to ensure both unions receive relevant information. 

Professional accounting and financial services firm KPMG were engaged to independently calculate the amounts owing to each impacted employee and to validate the results. This ensures impacted employees receive the payments they are entitled to, as well as interest and superannuation. 

Interest at the applicable RBA cash rate plus four per cent has been applied to any underpayments, together with superannuation on those amounts.  

If you have worked at Swinburne in the last 12 months, you will receive full back-pay of wages, including interest on wages in an out of cycle pay run on the 7th of May 2024. 

The applicable Superannuation Guarantee contribution will also be processed later in May, in line with employers' obligations and associated time frames for making such payments. 

Former employees who are owed less than $500 will have their payment made into their last bank account on file.  

Those receiving more than $500 are being contacted by Swinburne using the most recently available contact information on file to verify payment details prior to processing payments.  

Current Swinburne employees will be contacted using their Swinburne email. If necessary, current employees can update their details via Workday. 

If you are an impacted former employee, and you are concerned that Swinburne does not have your current contact details, or if your details have changed, please contact us by emailing payupdate@swin.edu.au or calling 03 9214 8600 and selecting option 2.  

The email sent to you by Swinburne includes a link to a digital form which will ask you to confirm your current details. 

You will receive a separate pay slip detailing the amounts paid. Please contact us if you have any queries by emailing payupdate@swin.edu.au or calling 03 9214 8600 and selecting option 2.  

We have mobilised additional support from People and Culture and set up a dedicated contact centre to assist impacted employees. They can be reached by emailing payupdate@swin.edu.au or calling 03 9214 8600 and selecting option 2. 

If you are a current Swinburne College employee, or worked for Swinburne College post 15-February, please contact Swinburne College for information relating to your employment by emailing SCsessionals@swin.edu.au. 

Staff members who have queries at any time in respect of their pay and entitlements or who consider they may have been underpaid can email payupdate@swin.edu.au or call 03 9214 8600, selecting option 2. 

Yes, superannuation contributions will be made on these remediation payments.  

Yes. Interest will also be added to the underpayments and additional superannuation calculated based upon those amounts.  

The email sent to you by Swinburne includes a link to a digital form which will ask you to confirm your current superannuation fund details.  

While there is no rate set out in the legislation, the university will be applying interest consistent with previous approaches adopted by the Fair Work Ombudsman.   

Interest at the applicable RBA cash rate plus four per cent (compounded) will be applied as part of the remediation, together with superannuation on those amounts. 

Employees should seek individual advice regarding their personal taxation circumstances. 

Swinburne will withhold tax on the additional salary payments made as part of the remediation. 

Where the additional payments relate to work undertaken in prior financial years, the ATO has clear guidance for employers on how to manage this. 

• Scenario 1: If the total amount payable is <$1,200 (and it relates to a period greater than 12 months from date of payment) then it is taxed in the current financial year. 

• Scenario 2: if the total amount payable is >$1,200 (and it relates to a period greater than 12 months from date of payment) it is known as a Lump Sum E payment. 

Our payroll team will ensure relevant information is provided to the ATO outlining the breakdown of the amount according to tax years. 

Swinburne is unable to provide personal tax advice. Please contact the ATO or your personal tax advisor for assistance.