SA Governor Hieu Van Le, lowest-paid governor in Australia, set for pay rise after Remuneration Tribunal review

SA’s governer is the lowest-paid in Australia – and even turned down a pay rise last year. Now a review into his salary could see a huge bump.

The Governor of South Australia is in line for a huge pay rise, as the Remuneration Tribunal moves to conduct a comprehensive salary review.

The position, held by Hieu Van Le since 2014, commands $351,015 a year, which is the lowest amount for a governor in the country.

Queensland Governor Paul de Jersey, with an annual ­salary of $421,218, is the next lowest paid, while NSW Governor Margaret Beazley earns the most in the country, at $503,590 per year.

The average salary for an Australian governor, excluding SA, is $467,764.

The Remuneration Tribunal reviews the SA position’s salary each year, with the most recent review being tabled in State Parliament this week.

SA Governor Hieu Van Le and wife Lan Le. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Mr Le last year requested he not be given a pay rise, due to the economic and social circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also turned down a pay rise in the tribunal’s first ­review of his salary five years ago.

But tribunal president Matthew O’Callaghan wrote in his most recent report that a more comprehensive assessment of the role’s salary was needed.

“The tribunal is conscious of the level of the Governor’s salary when compared against the salaries of governors in other jurisdictions,” Mr O’Callaghan wrote.

“The tribunal considers that this is one of a range of factors which mitigate in favour of a more comprehensive review of the Governor’s salary.”

Submissions will be considered before the review is carried out in mid-2021.

In 2015, legislation passed by state parliament gave the Remuneration Tribunal power to set how much the SA Governor earnt.

It ended the traditional method of automatically giving the Governor a pay packet equivalent to 75 per cent of a Supreme Court judge.

Mr Le, pictured, was given a two-year extension as Governor after his five-year term ended in 2019.

His term now expires on August 31.

Australia’s former ambassador to China and current secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Frances Adamson, has been widely tipped as the next SA Governor.

Ms Adamson’s pay packet in 2019 was $936,442, including superannuation contributions and benefits. Should she become the next SA Governor, Ms Adamson would take a huge pay cut. However, she would gain the benefit of ­living in arguably Adelaide’s best address – Government House on North Terrace.

[e-mail]