Tag Archives: oceania

Major university under investigation after underpaying staff $1.25 million

The University of Adelaide is under investigation after admitting to underpaying more than 830 former casual academic staff $1.25 million over eight years.

The institution confirmed it uncovered underpayments to staff between March 2017 to May 2025 after ramping up its auditing and payment monitoring due to the prevalence of underpayments within the industry.

The audit found that hundreds of current and former casual academic staff with a PhD or in a course coordinator role were not paid the higher rates they were entitled to.

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This led to 838 staff being underpaid about $1.25 million. 

"While this represents less than 0.05 per cent of salary payments over that period, it is still unfortunate and very regrettable," a University of Adelaide spokesperson said.

"The university deeply regrets that the underpayments occurred and is remediating staff as quickly as possible.

"Impacted current and former staff have been contacted and repayments have started."

The university has notified the Fair Work Ombudsman.

"We will continue to implement, enhance, and strengthen our processes and controls," the spokesperson said.

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- the Old Classics Wing (Mitchell Building on North Terrace) of the University of Adelaide and the Goodman crescent

"The university's auditing and monitoring activities are continuing, and if any other instances of underpayments are identified, affected staff will be contacted by the university and remediated as quickly as possible."

The Fair Work Ombudsman said it is investigating the underpayments.

"We expect any employers that identify non-compliance to fully cooperate with our investigations," a spokesperson said in a statement.

"It is not appropriate to comment further."

Any staff from the university who may have concerns should contact the ombudsman.

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University Students

Fair Work began targeting systemic non-compliance in the university sector in 2022, which the National Tertiary Education Union has labelled as a "wage theft epidemic".

The ombudsman has entered into enforceable undertakings with the University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, University of Newcastle, La Trobe University, University of Melbourne, Charles Sturt University and Griffith University.

It has won court penalties against the University of Melbourne and has ongoing legal action against the University of NSW. 

The University of Wollongong has recently repaid $6.6 million to more than 5000 underpaid staff.

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‘Will not be returning’: Popular music festival announces sudden cancellation

An Australian music festival has been cancelled less than a month out, with organisers confirming there will be no future events.

Changing Tides, a self-described boutique music festival, was expected to attract hundreds to the clifftops of Kiama, south of Sydney, on November 22.

But in an email to attendees today, organisers said this year's event was cancelled and that it "will not be returning".

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Changing Tides has been cancelled less than a month out from the music festival, with organisers confirming there will be no future events.

"This decision has not been made lightly and follows careful consideration," they said in a statement to 9news.com.au.

"We're truly devastated, but also deeply grateful for the love, excitement, and support so many of you have shown along the way.

"While this chapter is coming to a close, we're incredibly thankful to everyone who believed in the vision of Changing Tides, helped bring it to life and made beautiful memories with us in Kiama."

All ticketholders will automatically receive a complete refund within the coming week. 

Changing Tides did not say what contributed to its decision-making. 

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The self-described boutique music festival was expected to attract hundreds to the clifftops of Kiama, south of Sydney.

The annual music festival, held by Harlow Events, has sold out in the past two years since it started in 2023. 

This year's event was seen as a major win for the region due to the major names included in the Australian and international line-up, headlined by UK singer Sam Fender.

Noah Cyrus, The Rubens, Skegss, MAY-A and Boy Soda were also booked to perform.

Organisers chose to host the music festival in Kiama to make it a "sought-after destination for acclaimed artists, music lovers and foodies which will also generate a nursery for home grown talent and business".

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Changing Tides has been cancelled less than a month out from the music festival, with organisers confirming there will be no future events.

Today's cancellation is yet another addition to the growing list of canned Australian music festivals, with the industry seemingly unable to recover from economic strains and the cost of living.

So far this year, Groovin' in the Moo, Souled Out, Good Life, Esoteric and Panama music festivals have been scrapped.

Most attributed the sudden cancellations to financial pressures. 

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