The University of Wollongong (UOW) is the latest Australian university to acknowledge that it has underpaid its staff.

The university has voluntarily reported itself to the Fair Work Ombudsman and pledged full cooperation with regulatory authorities in rectifying the issue, which involves thousands of employees owed an estimated $8 million.

An independent auditor has been appointed to determine the exact period during which the underpayments occurred. 

However, it is believed that approximately 6,000 current and former staff members have been affected by this discrepancy. 

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) asserts that the underpayment problem dates back to 2016.
Dr Andrew Whelan of the NTEU believes that the $8 million figure is likely an underestimate and anticipates that further underpayments will be uncovered as investigations progress.

UOW's Vice Chancellor, Professor Patricia Davidson has apologised to the affected staff. Underpayment appears to be systemic in Australian universities. 

Other institutions, such as Charles Sturt University, Macquarie University, and the University of Melbourne, are also undergoing remediation processes with their staff due to underpayment concerns.