Convenience chain 7-Eleven sacked an independent panel which was repaying ripped-off workers because it heard rumours some employees were trying to "game the system".
New 7-Eleven chief executive Angus McKay says employees will need to meet a higher standard of proof to have their claim accepted under a new internal "secretariat" set up to replace the disbanded wage panel headed by former ACCC chairman Allan Fels.
"If people have got the information needed by the secretariat to get a claim through, it will go through," Mr McKay told 3AW on Thursday.
"(But) I am absolutely going to listen to any intelligence I get out there that says people are trying to game the system."
The chief executive said the panel was sacked because the company couldn't agree over the standard of evidence needed to prove claims "in light of what we could see was fraudulent activity beginning to emerge".
Mr McKay admitted claimants would now need a higher standard of proof and revealed the internal process would take months to be finalised.
Prof Fels was hand-picked to run an independent process reimbursing workers after it was revealed some franchisees systematically underpaid international students on threat of deportation.
But on Wednesday he accused 7-Eleven management of "welshing" on public promises to pay staff back after he was sacked as the independent judge of workers' claims.
Mr McKay, asked on Thursday if the bandit was essentially now setting its own punishment, told 3AW: "I object to the characterisation that we are the bandit here."
"On our watch we were not good enough to see what was going on with our franchisees," he said.
"But we are now stepping in to make restitution for that."
The company will still encourage employees to come forward with new claims and "where those are valid claims we are going to pay them", Mr McKay said.
The so-called independent secretariat within 7-Eleven will report direct to the chief executive.
Mr McKay wouldn't be drawn on whether payments determined by it would be equivalent to those previously set by Prof Fels' panel.
So far about 400 employees have been paid a combined $12 million with around 1900 existing cases still to be assessed.
The union for the ripped-off workers is worried 7-Eleven may be trying to make the scandal disappear from sight.
"You've really got to question what 7-Eleven's motives for doing this are," SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said in a statement on Thursday.
"The panel has determined payouts to exploited workers of around $10 million so far and we know there's more to come.
"It would be incredibly disappointing if the company was found to be trying to sweep the whole horrific saga under the rug."
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