Dear Colleagues,

As you are probably aware, in November 2022, the NTEU filed a dispute in the Fair Work Commission alleging that Deakin University had failed to pay sessional staff for all hours worked. The NTEU’s position is that for many years Deakin University has paid sessional academics for marking per a piece rate, frequently on the basis of 1 hour’s pay per 4000 words marked, in circumstances when it normally took significantly longer than this to perform the required work. We are providing this update to advise you of the progress of the dispute.

As part of the NTEU’s ongoing attempts to resolve this dispute on behalf of staff through, Deakin University has foreshadowed that it intends to implement a limited, individualised complaints process for sessional academics to submit evidence that they had been underpaid.

The NTEU views this resolution as wholly unacceptable. The NTEU:

• has not been involved in the design of the remediation process;
• has not been provided any insight into how Deakin will assess applications for underpayment remediation; and
• does not believe that an individualised, opaque process is a fair outcome for sessional staff who have been systematically underpaid.

As the union and our members have argued from the beginning, a systematic failure on the part of Deakin University to comply with its workplace obligations requires a systematic response. The NTEU also understands that whilst many sessionals know that marking took significantly more than the time allocated and paid for by the University, they may not have good evidence to demonstrate this was the case.

The NTEU has recovered over $80 million dollars in stolen wages since 2020 for casual academic staff. Deakin should do the right thing, and follow Melbourne, Latrobe, and RMIT by fairly compensating all sessional staff subject to its unfair payment practices, but have proven unwilling to do so.

That’s why the NTEU is actively considering its next steps, including initiating proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia to ensure that sessional staff are properly compensated for past underpayments, and that Deakin University is penalised for its failure to comply with its workplace obligations.

In Unity

Deakin NTEU Branch

Have a question? No worries! Email: deakin@PROTECTED