Universities face court action if they do not cooperate with probes into underpayment of their casual staff, according to Australia¡¯s workplace relations watchdog. And the Fair Work Ombudsman is turning to artificial intelligence to help manage a mounting investigation workload.

During questioning from senators, ombudsman Sandra Parker declined to name an industry with more ¡°wage theft¡± than higher education. ¡°We¡¯re not happy with the university sector,¡± she told a Senate estimates committee hearing. ¡°This is incredibly disappointing and it shouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±

Ms Parker declined to name 14 universities her office is currently investigating. But she acknowledged that the list could grow, after the National Tertiary Education Union claimed that 21 public universities ¨C almost 60 per cent of the sector ¨C were under external or internal investigation.

She said that while some institutions had ¡°self-disclosed¡± historical underpayments, her office had learnt about others through media reports. She warned the sector to be more forthcoming.

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¡°If universities¡­resist telling us how they¡¯re going about doing their calculations or don¡¯t show us what methodology they¡¯re using, we will if needed do a full investigation ¨C our own calculations, our own assessment. We will take them to court if we feel a penalty [is] appropriate.¡±

Ms Parker said that vice-chancellors had been slow to react when she wrote to them outlining her concerns in late 2020. Universities were ¡°taking the issue more seriously¡± now, ¡°but in the early days they didn¡¯t necessarily believe that it impacted them¡±.

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She elaborated on previously announced plans to use data analytics in large-scale compliance checks, saying her office was working with external companies to automate some of its assessments.

¡°That means [that] when we get a lot of information¡­we don¡¯t have to spend hundreds of hours going through spreadsheets line by line. Algorithms can be developed to assess whether or not it looks like there¡¯s underpayment occurring.¡±

Ms Parker said that her office had received few direct complaints from underpaid casual academics, but urged them to come forward ¨C anonymously if they preferred. ¡°We welcome the conversation.¡±

In September, Sydney, Melbourne and Monash universities revealed that they had repaid or were in the process of repaying a combined A$31 million (?17 million) in underpayments that in some cases stretched back seven years. Sydney has since been hit with a claim for a further A$2 million, while RMIT University faces demands for up to A$17 million.

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Sydney said that it had found no evidence to support the latest claim, but urged staff to come forward with concerns or complaints. RMIT said that it aimed ¡°to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible¡±.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com