Hundreds of workers unable to pay their bills after massive payroll blunder

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 07:22, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 07:22, 20 July 2026 Hundreds of workers at one of Australia's largest utility firms have been left scrambling after a payroll glitch left them unable to pay their bills. Sydney Water, run by the NSW Government, moved to a new payroll system called Dayforce earlier this month.  When staff received their first fortnightly pay packet, many were underpaid, or overpaid, others were paid late while some did not receive a cent. It is not known how many of the 4,885 staff were affected, but the Australian Services Union claimed the figure was in the 'hundreds'. The saga has caused 'mass-level anxiety' among staff. 'I have had colleagues on the phone to me in tears at 2am worrying about whether they will be able to make alimony payments to be able to see their kids,' one told NCA Newswire. 'We're all stressing about whether we'll be able to pay our rents, our mortgages, feed our children. 'When it came in, there was little to no training on how to use the [Dayforce] app and it feels as though nobody is really taking responsibility for what has gone wrong.' A payroll glitch left hundreds of Sydney Water staff unable to pay rent, mortgages and child support The ASU has lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission to get an assurance hat the problems are now solved and won't happen again. ASU NSW & ACT Secretary Angus McFarland said Sydney Water was warned not to switch systems, as testing showed it wasn’t ready.  'The workers in charge of testing and implementing the new system have been reporting problems for months right up until the day it went live, but management ignored them and us and now workers are paying the price,' he told Daily Mail in a statement. 'Workers right across Sydney Water are now stressed beyond tolerance about whether their mortgage, rent, credit cards and other bills will be paid, let alone whether they can feed their families.' Workers fear that the same pay issue will happen this week. 'Our members work hard every day to make sure that people everywhere from Sydney to Wollongong and across the mountains have safe, clean water to drink and a safe environment.  'This is an appalling way to treat any worker and so far no one at Sydney Water has taken responsibility, or is prepared to say that it will not happen again.' Sydney Water confirmed that 'some' employees have experienced payroll issues since the implementation of the new system, which brings together eight separate systems into one. The NSW government-owned Sydney Water recently transferred to payroll system Dayforce  'We sincerely apologise to those affected,' a spokeswoman told Daily Mail. 'Being paid correctly and on time is a fundamental expectation and our priority is resolving these issues as quickly as possible and ensuring affected employees receive the support they need.' She added the company was committed to working constructively with employees and unions. 'As with many large-scale technology transitions, issues have emerged as the system has been embedded,' the spokeswoman added. 'We are aware of payroll processing issues affecting some employees and are working directly with those impacted to rectify them as a matter of urgency.  'We are also providing assistance where employees have incurred additional costs as a result of payroll issues.' It comes after Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal revealed that the average Sydney water and wastewater bill will soar by 13.8 per cent this year, from $1,220 to $1,388. Annual bills will climb to a staggering $1,695 by the end of the decade.