Torrens University prepares to defend the first known wage theft class action in the Federal Court over the underpayment of casual academics, with its American owner setting aside more than $20 million for compensation as lawyers for staff say the true bill could be far higher.
The class action was brought by lead plaintiff Tito Scohel. Lawyers for staff estimated more than 1,000 casual academic staff were not paid for marking student work and other routine tasks for at least six years, despite provisions in their award. The Fair Work Ombudsman, with support from the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), has already established in a case before the full Federal Court that Torrens staff were not paid for marking in breach of their award, and Torrens was declined leave to appeal to the High Court.
Lawyer Hayden Stephens, who is running the class action, said the $20 million figure Torrens acknowledged it owed in back pay appeared "grossly inadequate". "The devil is in the detail, and so far Torrens has given casual academics none of it. Will Torrens pay for the hours people actually worked? Will lecturers get access to the records they need to check their own figures?" Mr Stephens said. "Workers who have already been underpaid should not have to take the word of Torrens or its US owner. Any remediation of this scale should be independent and verified under the supervision of the court."
Torrens University declined to comment, citing the court action, but noted a statement on its website that said it was "working to remediate staff" and that staff had been paid for marking since March 2026. Strategic Education Inc, Torrens's American owner, told the market in earnings reports filed in the US that it intended to defend the claim "vigorously" but did not give an estimate of its potential liability in the class action.
Mr Scohel, who taught at Torrens between 2023 and 2025, said the failure to pay him for marking and other academic tasks left him struggling to pay his rent. “Most of the academics that I have, my colleagues, they are doctorate or having two or three masters. And, you know, the payment they received is very nominal. It's appalling,” he said.
Since problems were first revealed at four universities in 2020, they have been revealed across the sector. The NTEU said 205,235 staff had now been repaid $341,092,552. “We're really concerned about this conduct. I suspect Torrens is the tip of the iceberg,” she said.
Mr Stephens said the case should put the entire sector on notice. "It's significant for the brazen way in which Torrens chose to ignore this duty to pay casual academics. Our fear is that if one university is allowed to behave this way, others will," he said.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The case is the first wage theft class action against a university, legal experts say, setting a potential precedent for how underpaid casual academics seek redress.
- The estimated 1,000+ affected staff at Torrens are part of a wider pattern of underpayment that has seen more than $341 million repaid across the sector, indicating systemic issues.
- If the class action succeeds, it could encourage further legal action against private providers and increase pressure on all Australian universities to fix pay practices.
Background
Wage theft in Australian universities has been a persistent issue since ABC News first revealed problems at four institutions in 2020. Since then, the NTEU reports that more than 205,000 staff have been repaid over $341 million in underpaid wages. Most cases have involved public universities, but the Torrens class action is the first against a private provider, and the first to proceed as a class action in the Federal Court.
Key Perspectives
Hayden Stephens, lawyer for the lead plaintiff: says the $20 million set aside appears "grossly inadequate" and that any remediation should be independently verified under court supervision. He hopes the case puts the sector on notice.
Strategic Education Inc, Torrens's US owner: has budgeted more than $20 million for compensation but intends to defend the claim "vigorously" and has not estimated its potential liability.
Tito Scohel, lead plaintiff: says the underpayment left him and colleagues struggling to pay rent, describing it as "appalling".
Alison Barnes, NTEU president: says the conduct is a concern and suspects Torrens is "the tip of the iceberg", noting industrial-scale wage theft baked into business models.
What to Watch
- The Federal Court's ruling on the class action, which could set a benchmark for compensation and impose court-supervised verification.
- Whether other private universities face similar class actions, as the NTEU has flagged concern about the broader sector.
- The outcome of Torrens's claim that it has remediated back pay since March 2026, and whether the court finds the $20 million figure adequate.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedTorrens is preparing to defend the first known wage-theft class action in the Federal Court.Just In: “Torrens prepares to defend the first known wage theft class action in the Federal Court.”
- SupportedTorrens’s American owner set aside more than $20 million for compensation.Just In: “The American owner of Torrens also revealed it had budgeted more than $20 million to compensate casual academics for historic underpayments”
- Partly supportedLawyers for staff say the true bill could be far higher.Just In: “lawyers for the lead plaintiff saying the true bill could be far higher.”
- SupportedThe lawyer for the lead plaintiff said the $20 million figure appeared “grossly inadequate”.Just In: “Mr Stephens, who has interviewed dozens of casual academics, said the $20 million figure Torrens University acknowledged it owed staff in back pay appeared "grossly inadequate".”
- SupportedThe lawyer for the lead plaintiff hopes the case will put the sector on notice.Just In: “Hayden Stephens says he hopes the class action will put the sector on notice.”
- SupportedLawyers for staff estimated that more than 1,000 casual academic staff were unpaid for marking and other routine tasks for at least six years, despite award provisions.Just In: “Lawyers for staff estimated more than 1,000 casual academic staff were not paid for marking student work and other routine tasks for at least six years, despite provisions in their award.”
- SupportedThe Fair Work Ombudsman, supported by the NTEU, established in a full Federal Court case that Torrens staff were not paid for marking in breach of their award.Just In: “The Fair Work Ombudsman, with the support of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), has already established in a case before the full Federal Court that Torrens staff were not paid for marking in breach of their award.”
- SupportedThe lawyer said Torrens had given casual academics none of the detail and asked whether they would be paid for hours actually worked and get records to check their figures.Just In: “The devil is in the detail, and so far Torrens has given casual academics none of it. Will Torrens pay for the hours people actually worked? Will lecturers get access to the records they need to check their own figures?”
- SupportedThe lawyer said underpaid workers should not have to take Torrens’s or its owner’s word, and remediation should be independently verified under court supervision.Just In: “Workers who have already been underpaid should not have to take the word of Torrens or its US owner. Any remediation of this scale should be independent and verified under the supervision of the court.”
- SupportedTorrens declined to comment because of the court action, but cited a website statement saying it was “working to remediate staff” and staff had been paid for marking since March 2026.Just In: “Torrens University declined to comment, citing the court action, but noted a statement on its website that said it was "working to remediate staff". The statement said staff had been paid for marking since March 2026.”
- SupportedStrategic Education said it would defend the claim “vigorously” and did not estimate its potential liability in the class action.Just In: “Strategic Education did not give an estimate of its potential liability in the class action but told the market it intended to defend the claim "vigorously".”
- SupportedThe NTEU said 205,235 staff had been repaid $341,092,552.Just In: “the NTEU said 205,235 staff had now been repaid $341,092,552.”