Charles Darwin University hit with $4 million wage theft bill affecting 800 staff

Charles Darwin University has been directed to backpay more than $4 million in wages after underpaying more than 800 professional and academic staff members between 2016 and 2022, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman. The university has committed to the backpay as part of an enforceable undertaking, with one employee receiving a backpayment of $242,000, highlighting the scale of the underpayment issue.

The discovery represents a significant governance failure at the Top End's largest higher education institution and raises questions about the university's payroll systems during a period when CDU was expanding its research and teaching portfolio. The backpayments will affect staff across professional roles and academic positions, many of whom may have moved on to other employment without knowing they were owed money.

For Darwin's professional workforce, the case underscores the importance of wage transparency and the enforcement mechanisms available to workers. CDU employs more than 2,000 people across the Northern Territory and is a major economic anchor in the city, making the underpayment issue particularly significant for local employment standards and the university's reputation as a major employer.

Sources: ntindependent.com.au, abc.net.au.

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