ACT Government underpaid superannuation of 633 Cultural Facilities Corporation staff

The ACT Government has admitted to underpaying superannuation to 633 current and former staff members of the Cultural Facilities Corporation (CFC) for the last 13 years.

CFC, is an ACT Government enterprise, which mainly manages hospitality and ticketing staff at the Canberra Theatre Centre.

As reported by the ABC, an email sent to workers advised the underpaid staff that a “historical error” that occurred in the set-up of the CFC’s payroll software - installed in 2009 - had caused the issue.

The email specified that 63% of all staff who had worked for the CFC since then were impacted by the underpayments, which totalled over $315,000.

In a statement to the ABC, a spokeswoman for the CFC said “the problem was identified as a result of a routine internal audit”.

“The average underpayment over the entire period was less than $500 per affected staff member.”

Community and Public Sector Union ACT Regional Secretary, Maddy Northam said the CFC was made aware of the error in 2020, advising “that it took two years to let staff know and to let the union know, it’s pretty unforgivable.”

The CFC said the issue had been “very large and complex” to rectify, including reviewing 69,391 individual payslips, which it said had “taken considerable time and effort”.

However, Northam said staff members were “deeply concerned” and it was “pretty scathing on the organisation that they failed to pick up on it”, adding “of course, it’s disappointing that this is a government entity.

“However, the fact that it is a government entity means that we can work quickly with government to try and fix it, that’s the silver lining.”

The issue is in the process of being resolved, with the full amount plus interest set to be paid back to each affected worker.

Image: The Canberra Theatre Centre.