$431k overpaid to resigned teachers, 2024 audit report reveals

The Ministry of Education overpaid resigned teachers more than $431,000 in a single year because their salaries were not stopped in time, the Auditor-General's 2024 report has found.

The report, tabled in Parliament this month, found that teachers who had resigned were continuing to receive pay because the ministry was slow to process their departures in the payroll system.

Auditors found the problem was partly caused by teachers leaving without giving the required 30 days' notice, and partly by the ministry's failure to stop payments quickly enough once resignations were received.

The ministry agreed with the findings, saying its human resources team would work to automate the teacher exit process.

However, it noted the automation was on hold pending confirmation from the Ministry of Civil Service on its whole-of-government HR system.

"Notification of overpayment has been sent and follow-ups on the recovery are being done and releasing of any official document is on hold until overpayment is cleared," the ministry said.

This is a recurring issue that auditors have flagged before.

Despite the salary overpayments and other concerns, including $1.76 million in unresolved trust fund balances carried over from previous years, absent risk registers and procurement anomalies at government schools.

The Ministry of Education received an unmodified audit opinion for 2024, meaning its overall financial statements were found to be free from material errors.