Policy & Reform
Senate inquiry calls for caps on university executive pay
The inquiry also found execs are blighted by a “culture of consequence-free, rotten failure”
A senate inquiry has recommended Australian universities cap remuneration for vice-chancellors and senior executives, finding they are rewarded too generously compared to other staff and international peers.
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I have recommended that VC pay does not exceed equivalents in the UK, where the roles are pretty similar and the cost of living mostly a little less outside London – eg Melbourne and Monash could be compared with several Russell Group universities in the UK where VCs touch about £400,000 including benefits [at Manchester for example]. The US is different, with a complex mix of private and state funded institutions and little federal government oversight or involvement in student fees, salaries, etc. £400k would place the upper salary in Australia at about $800,000, which is about three times the salary of a level E professor at my sandstone university. If this figure was accepted, many Australian VCs would be taking a big pay cut [not to mention paying more towards their free or reduced cost housing]. But $800k is still pushing it. The premier of VIC gets about $480k I believe.