One of Melbourne’s largest Catholic schools is yet to fix its underpayment of hundreds of staff between 2009 and 2018, more than two years after learning it owed them.
Aquinas College in Ringwood was alerted in late 2018 that it owed staff superannuation on their annual leave loading for the past nine years, affecting 470 current and former employees.
Former Aquinas College teacher Paul Morgan. Credit:Scott McNaughton
While some staff were paid, the school has not yet personally informed all the affected people that they are owed, nor pay their outstanding super.
Last week, Aquinas principal Darren Atkinson wrote to a staff advocate to apologise for the serious delay – which has stretched to almost 1000 days – admitting that the school “continue[s] to struggle to finalise the relevant superannuation calculations”. He claimed this was, in part, due to a lack of staff resources and a change in school software.
“I apologise that we have failed to meet the deadlines that were initially established. [I] will endeavour to see the process completed as soon as possible,” Mr Atkinson wrote.
Under an Australian Tax Office ruling, the delay means the school also owes affected staff 10 per cent interest on top of their unpaid superannuation.
Paul Morgan, a religious education teacher at Aquinas between 2010 and 2017, who now works at another Melbourne school, has pressed the college on the issue since it emerged.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, he and other former Aquinas teachers have appealed in recent weeks to both Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli and the ATO, with whom they lodged a formal complaint against Aquinas earlier this month.
Mr Morgan was paid $1288 in April, but received no explanation from the school of how the superannuation sum was calculated or if that was all he was owed.
Many other employees are yet be told formally notification if they are owed any money at all.
“I’m not resting until every former and current member of Aquinas who worked there in those times actually gets what is due them,” Mr Morgan said.
Some former teachers died without being paid what was owed, he said.
“I worked with many people there; they’re hard-working people, and they’re entitled to this payment. For this to have dragged on for 32 months is unconscionable.”
The Melbourne Archdiocese for Catholic Schools has dismissed Mr Morgan’s call for an audit by the tax office, stating that the school commissioned professional services firm Deloitte to investigate.
“I am satisfied that the college, with the support of Deloitte, has undertaken a comprehensive audit of the superannuation payments received between 2009 and 2017 to ensure that any underpayments of superannuation are rectified,” executive director Jim Miles wrote in July.
Mr Miles also confirmed that all Catholic schools were notified in 2019 of their requirement to review superannuation paid on annual leave loading and to “rectify any underpayments”.
Mr Atkinson told The Age the school became aware in late 2018 of updated guidance from the tax office related to superannuation guarantee payments on annual leave loading.
This change in guidance affected multiple schools and organisations, he said.
“Since clarifying the legislated requirement, the college has worked in good faith, including with an external consultant, to ensure unpaid superannuation entitlements are identified,” he said.
“Most staff entitlements were paid in September 2020, and the ATO communicated with affected employees this year. Adjustments to payments for a further group of employees is anticipated to be finalised this month to complete the process.”
Victorian Independent Education Union branch president Deb James said it was “very concerning that superannuation underpayments involving so many staff could have continued for so long undetected”.
But she commended the college for acting quickly once the issue was identified and agreeing to a 10 per cent loading on back-pay as compensation for potential lost super growth.
“This should be a wake-up call to all employers to ensure that their payroll systems are operating correctly,” Ms James said.
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