University of Canberra vice-chancellor Bill Shorten said the sector should treat casual staff on par with permanent workers after it was revealed casual academics were underpaid by almost $250,000.
A review of payments to casual academic staff at the University of Canberra between July 2019 and December 2025 found that 255 current and former staff were incorrectly paid a total of $243,979.95, excluding superannuation and interest.
The university has already paid about $1.5 million in underpayments for casual professional staff over the six-year period.
