By WILLIAM TON

A peak Indigenous body has admitted to underpaying more than 600 former and current staff more than $1.3 million due to incorrect legal advice.

The Kimberley Land Council, based in Broome in WA, disclosed the underpayment which occurred between July 1, 2016 to October 22, 2019 on Monday after a payroll audit revealed the $1.36 million error which excludes lost interest and superannuation.

The land council lays claim to being the peak Indigenous body in the Kimberley region where it works with Aboriginal people to secure native title recognition, conduct conservation and land management activities and develop cultural business enterprises.

It identified the underpayment for 630 staff under its 2014 enterprise agreement where payments fell below the mandated base rate compared to the the modern award rate.

Kimberley Land Council said it had received external legal advice in 2018 stating that its payments were compliant with wage obligations but subsequent legal advice contradicting the initial advice led to an in-depth audit which uncovered the error.

Current and former workers are being contacted by the land council which has sincerely apologised.

“Our priority is to pay the identified amounts to our current and former affected staff members in a timely manner and to ensure that this does not happen again,” chief executive Tyronne Garstone, pictured, said.

Kimberley Land Council is one of the biggest employers in the Kimberley region with about 130 staff across its divisions.

It voluntarily disclosed the error to the Fair Work Ombudsman which has been contacted for comment.

Employees who worked at the organisation between July 2016 and October, 2019 are encouraged to contact the organisation.

AAP