Parker said it was fair to say the watchdog was a “small-to-medium enterprise regulator” when she began there in 2018,adding there was a view that big companies and universities could regulate themselves.

“There was an assumption they were getting it right ... it has been really disappointing,” she said in an interview with this masthead.

There have been widespread revelations of underpayments in the tertiary education sector in the past few years,with sandstone institutions including theUniversity of Sydney andMelbourne University revealing tens of millions of dollars were owed to staff.

According to the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU),more than $25 million has been recovered so far from 23 universities.

“What has been surprising is the fact that it does look reasonably systemic,” Parker said. “It’s a trend – it obviously starts with poor governance,poor management oversight and a lack of centralised HR.”

Swinburne casual lecturer David Harris told the Senate inquiry earlier this year the university threatened to send out debt collectors after trying to contact him once during the Christmas period over a $333 overpayment.

He told this masthead the university later did not pay him for almost two months because of a system error. “It was extremely frustrating to have been chased down like a dog or a thief in the night and then have to chase them back for my money,” Harris said.

A Swinburne spokesperson said the university could not discuss individual employees’ pay but was reviewing its systems to ensure casuals were reliably paid.

In its March 2022 compliance report,the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency said it was engaging with 15 universities over underpayments.

The report said while some had been proactive,“a number of universities either do not appear to recognise the seriousness of the issue or are not responding in the way TEQSA would expect of a well-governed and well-managed quality higher education provider”.

NTEU national president Dr Alison Barnes said wage theft in universities was “out of control”.

“The proliferation of insecure work in the higher education sector has fuelled this crisis. Due to the high rate of casualisation in the workforce,it is difficult to ensure correct wages are paid without exploitation,” Barnes said.

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