$300,000 pay sweetener for top public servants

• Dennis Shanahan, Political editor
• From: The Australian
• September 27, 2011

FIVE of Australia's most senior public servants are expected to be granted pay rises of between $250,000 and $300,000 to bring them into line with other public service bosses and high-flying corporate executives.

Current salary packages for the new Chief of the Defence Forces, the Tax Commissioner, the Auditor-General, the Chief of Customs and the Australian Statistician are expected to be boosted soon beyond their current $500,000 a year to $800,000 in line with recent rises granted to corporate regulators.

The one-off boost to the senior pay packages of "specified statutory officers" comes on top of a 3 per cent rise all five received last month as part of a general Remuneration Tribunal review of public service pay. According to government sources, a decision is expected soon that will greatly lift the salary packages of the five key public servants to provide parity with other senior public service decision-makers and salaries available in the corporate world.

A spokeswoman for the Remuneration Tribunal declined to comment but confirmed the review for the five public service leaders and a review of department secretaries' salaries were under way.

Last month, the Remuneration Tribunal announced 22 per cent pay rises for the leaders of Australia's corporate regulators, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and the Solicitor-General, which took their annual packages to between $700,000 and $800,000.

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