Payroll error stalls pay
- Thousands of North Canberra Hospital staff were left waiting for their fortnightly pay after a payroll error. - The failure prompted an internal review and emergency efforts to fix the missing paychecks. - Payroll reliability problems can quickly erode staff trust and destabilize hospital services if not rapidly corrected. ( )
Thousands of North Canberra Hospital staff missed their fortnightly pay on Thursday, April 23, after a payroll file failed in processing. (abc.net.au) Canberra Health Services deputy chief executive Liz Lopa said the issue was fixed around midday on April 23 and staff pay was processed again that afternoon. She said payment timing would vary by bank, with some workers likely waiting until April 24. (abc.net.au) Union officials said the problem started when an extra character was added to the file sent to Westpac, which led the bank to reject it. A second payment attempt was then flagged as a duplicate and rejected again before the government asked for both files to be deleted and resent. (abc.net.au) The workers affected were reported to include nurses, midwives and aged care staff at the Bruce hospital, with employees saying online that payslips had arrived but money had not. Unions ACT secretary Maddy Northam said the error was affecting “thousands of people.” (region.com.au; abc.net.au) Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said emergency arrangements would be available for workers in hardship while the payroll problem was being resolved. Canberra Health Services also apologised publicly to staff and said formal updates would be sent directly to affected employees. (region.com.au) The disruption hit one of the Australian Capital Territory’s main public hospital services. Canberra Health Services runs North Canberra Hospital alongside Canberra Hospital, Clare Holland House, community health centres and five nurse-led walk-in centres. (act.gov.au) North Canberra Hospital has been part of Canberra Health Services since the ACT government took over the former Calvary Public Hospital in Bruce in 2023 and renamed it. The government said in September 2025 that the full takeover cost was just over A$150 million. (abc.net.au) Lopa said Canberra Health Services was still determining whether the fault sat with its own upload process or with the bank, but said an internal review would examine exactly what went wrong. By late April 23, the immediate task was simpler: get the wages through and make sure staff were paid. (abc.net.au)
