Staff Payment Updates

Regarding the payroll errors announced late last year, we are pleased to update you that 50% of the current local staff records have been recalculated, and repayments have been received by affected staff. All remaining affected current staff will be notified and receive their payments within the next 4-6 weeks. The team are methodically working through the staff data, one area at a time, and we appreciate everyone’s patience during this process.

Once the current staff data is processed, we will begin analysing the records of previous staff. This could take up to 12 months to complete, as there are over 1,000 past staff pay records that need to be thoroughly checked for any payment errors. Affected individuals will be contacted, and repayments will be processed accordingly.

Superannuation payments are under review. Any underpayments identified will be notified in writing, and payments will be made by the ATO. This process could also take up to 12 months.

We appreciate your continued patience during this time.

If you have any questions, please review the FAQs on this page. Any additional questions can be directed to questions@chorus.org.au

Last week we began communication to previous employees impacted by the pay remediation, with first payments to be processed this week. The communication and payments will continue as we work through all previous employees. We once again appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding and will keep updating the website as we progress through this process. 

If you have any questions, please review the FAQs on this page. Any additional questions can be directed to questions@chorus.org.au

Chorus has recently undertaken a proactive review of our payroll practices, and through that process we have discovered a small number of errors in the system which have resulted in underpayments to some current and former Chorus employees.    

I sincerely apologise that these errors have occurred, and I want to reassure you that we will repay any underpayment in full. Errors in entitlements and remuneration are not at all reflective of how we want to operate and look after Chorus people.   

The errors relate to how the work of some employees has been classified against the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award (SCHADS Award) and how we have interpreted some aspects of the Award.  

To ensure the process of identifying who has been impacted is fair and transparent, we have engaged two reputable, independent, external service providers (Payroll Edge & HLB Mann Judd) to undertake a full audit to comprehensively identify issues and affected people, to calculate any underpayment and to assist with the correction and remediation process.  

We are working as quickly as possible to rectify these errors and repay money to affected people. This is a complex process, and it will likely be some time before we address your specific circumstances. Our goal is to complete the process as soon as possible, however, may take up to twelve months.

This site will keep you up to date with timely information and progress updates, along with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) which will be updated as new information comes to hand. 

If the web page and FAQs do not address your query, please direct specific questions to questions@chorus.org.au.  

We are also focusing on improvements to systems and processes across Chorus to ensure we remain current and compliant with changes to the SCHADS Award.  

We have today informed the Fair Work Ombudsman of the situation, including how we plan to remediate any underpayments, and ensure we avoid such errors in the future. 

I am proud of Chorus’ commitment to being a great place to work and again I apologise that these errors have occurred. I very much appreciate your patience and support as we work through the process of correcting them.   

Kind regards 
Dan