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Employee Payment Review

We completed a detailed review into any unintentional underpayments to current and former employees as a result of the coverage and application of applicable Enterprise Agreements and Awards. The review assessed whether the pay received by approximately 5200 current and former employees over the past 11.5 years, was better off overall than what they would have received if they were paid strictly by reference to the terms of the applicable Enterprise Agreement or Award.

We worked closely with the Fair Work Ombudsman and Unions on the remediation approach and ways to ensure ongoing compliance, and we are now finalising remediation back payments to current and former employees who were unintentionally underpaid during their employment. 

We are sorry for this unintended underpayment. We have put stringent processes in place to minimise the risk of this happening again.

Key Facts

  • We review our payroll and operations to ensure it is up to date and employees are being paid correctly. During a review, we identified a potential issue relating to the coverage of the AusNet Services – ASU/APESMA Enterprise Agreement 2020 (and its predecessors dating back to 2010).
  • We made a voluntary self-disclosure to the Fair Work Ombudsman in June 2021.
  • We then commenced a detailed review and broadened the scope to include an assessment of all Awards and Enterprise Agreements that current and former employees of the companies listed below are covered by.
  • The review included relevant employees (permanent, fixed-term contractors and casuals) from 1 October 2010 to 31 March 2022, who were directly employed by:
    • AusNet Electricity Services Pty Ltd (formerly SPI Electricity Pty Ltd)
    • AusNet Gas Services Pty Ltd (formerly SPI Networks (Gas) Pty Ltd)
    • AusNet Transmission Group Pty Ltd (formerly SPI PowerNet Pty Ltd)
    • Mondo Power Pty Ltd (formerly Select Solutions Group Pty Ltd), or
    • Geomatic Technologies Pty Ltd and SPI Management Services Pty Ltd.
  • Historically, some employees were offered employment contracts on a Fixed Annual Remuneration (FAR) based arrangement, without necessarily considering the Enterprise Agreement or Award they were covered by.
  • This resulted in unintentional underpayments to approximately 220 current and 470 former employees. These people will receive a remediation back payment, including compounding interest at a rate of 4.5%.
  • This doesn’t affect:
    • employees covered by the ETU Enterprise Agreement 2022 (and its predecessors)
    • those paid in accordance with Clause 12.6(b) of the AusNet Services -ASU/APESMA Enterprise Agreement 2020 (and its predecessors)
    • those paid in accordance with Clause 37.1 of the AusNet Services (Gas) Enterprise Agreement 2017 (and its predecessors).
  • From September 2022, we’ve endeavored to contact all former employees who are entitled to a remediation back payment.
  • If you are a former employee and received a letter from us, please confirm your details through the online form so we can process this payment for you.

More information

If you have any questions about this review, please email us at employeepaymentreview@ausnetservices.com.au, or call our dedicated hotline on +61 3 8632 9165.