NAB pays $127m to underpaid workers
National Australia Bank (NAB) has entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and is completing payments of $127 million, plus $34 million in interest and $8 million in superannuation, to 65,999 underpaid workers, FWO announced today. The bank will also make a $2 million contrition payment to the Commonwealth Consolidated Revenue Fund, the largest ever included in an Enforceable Undertaking executed by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Scope of Underpayments
The underpayments affected workers in all states and territories over more than a decade. Back-payments to individuals range from less than $5 to more than $87,000, including superannuation and interest, with an average of about $1,934.
NAB first self-reported underpayments to the Fair Work Ombudsman in late 2019, after becoming aware of significant errors in implementing its then most recent enterprise agreement. A broader review of employee entitlements identified non-compliance dating back to 2012, and when the bank implemented a new enterprise agreement in 2024, it found it had not adequately rectified those issues and that underpayments had continued.
Root Causes Identified
The underlying causes included deficiencies in governance processes, compliance oversights, inadequate record-keeping, legacy payroll technology, and limited investment in specialist payroll capability.
The entitlements affected included minimum wages for ordinary hours, penalty rates, shift loadings, overtime, allowances, termination payments, leave, and superannuation, across casual, part-time, and full-time staff in a range of personal and business banking roles. NAB has rectified the large majority of the identified underpayments, which occurred between 2012 and 2026, and has so far paid at least $155 million to current and former employees.
Terms of the Enforceable Undertaking
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said an Enforceable Undertaking was appropriate because NAB had cooperated with the investigation, would fully rectify its underpayments, and had committed to improving its compliance and governance settings and controls. “We welcome however NAB’s extended efforts and reviews across many years to ensure it finds and rectifies all underpayments,” she said.
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Booth added, “The Undertaking requires NAB to address the underlying causes of its failures and to strengthen its compliance across its governance systems.” Under the undertaking, NAB will establish a steering committee chaired by its Group Executive People and Culture to oversee the planning and operationalization of any new enterprise agreement. It will also engage an independent auditor to assess the compliance of a new payroll platform and report the findings to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Union Reaction
The Finance Sector Union (FSU) said the underpayments were a systemic failure that continued across successive enterprise agreements and multiple CEOs. The union said it first raised concerns with NAB about staff underpayments a decade ago, but the bank rejected the allegations. The FSU said it assisted the FWO’s investigation.
FSU National President Wendy Streets said the underpayments should not have occurred. “Underpayment of wages is theft, pure and simple, and is unacceptable at any employer.” Streets added, “This was not an accident or a one-off, the bank knew there was an issue and didn’t act – NAB executives must be held accountable for that.”
Booth emphasized that complying with workplace laws is an organization-wide responsibility. “Complying with workplace laws is an organisation-wide responsibility, and planning for compliance with new enterprise agreement terms should begin early to ensure workers receive what they are owed.” Any entitlements owed to workers NAB cannot locate will be paid to the Commonwealth unclaimed monies account, which anyone can search to check whether unpaid wages are being held for them.
The FWO’s focus on large employers remains firm, with Booth stating, “Improving compliance among large corporates is a Fair Work Ombudsman priority. We’ve helped recover more than $1.2 billion for workers from large corporates over the past five financial years.”
