A Victorian university has referred itself to Fair Work Ombudsman after underpaying some of its sessional academics.
Deakin vice-chancellor Iain Martin told staff of the move in an email on Wednesday.
"I sincerely apologise on behalf of the University and particularly to those affected. This should not have occurred," he wrote.
"We are working hard to identify the extent of the issue across the university, fully remediate affected staff and improve our systems and processes."
Professor Martin said the pay error relates to the misapplication of marking formulas used to calculate the pay of sessional academic staff.
This meant Deakin, which has its main campus at Burwood in Melbourne's east and a regional campus in Geelong, did not pay some sessional academics for the actual hours they worked.
Former and current sessional academics, who performed marking and associated duties, are potentially impacted.
The extent of underpayment remains unknown.
Law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth and financial services firm Deloitte have been brought on board by the university to avoid similar errors.
Staff impacted by the underpayments are expected to be contacted by Deakin in due course.
