Grand Prix boss cashes in after government ignores salary advice

Grand prix boss Travis Auld was paid nearly $100,000 more in taxpayer money than the amount the state’s independent body determined was an appropriate salary.

The new Australian Grand Prix chief executive pocketed as much as $690,000 last financial year, despite the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal capping his pay packet at $600,000.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Travis Auld earned as much as $690,000, the same year taxpayers forked out a record $130 million to fund the body.Credit: Joe Armao

Government-controlled agencies like the Australian Grand Prix Corporation must seek advice from the tribunal if they want to increase an executive’s pay beyond the salary band.

However, they are only required to consider the advice, and the final decision is made by the organisation with approval from the relevant minister – in this case, Sports and Major Events Minister Steve Dimopoulos.

The tribunal signed off on a request from the Grand Prix Corporation’s board in June 2023 to bump the job’s salary over its maximum band of $512,000. At the time, the organisation was in the final stages of securing a candidate to replace outgoing chief executive Andrew Westacott.

The tribunal, tasked with setting the salaries of those in public office, determined a maximum $600,000 salary was appropriate for the new grand prix boss, who would oversee the staging of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne and the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

The tribunal recommended the salary bump because of the skills and experience required for the top job and the organisational changes the incoming boss would need to make, and so that the corporation could offer a competitive salary to secure a suitable candidate.

Several of Australia’s top sports executives earn seven-figure salaries, including Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley and Victorian Racing Club chief executive Kylie Rogers.

The discrepancy between the $600,000 pay packet approved by the tribunal and the $680,000 to $690,000 Auld is paid was revealed in the corporation’s 2024 annual report, tabled to parliament in November.

It also detailed that Auld earned as much as $179,000 more than his predecessor, Westacott – the longest-serving Australian Grand Prix chief – earned the year before.

The corporation referred questions about Auld’s salary to the government. A government spokesperson did not answer questions about the increased salary or why it went against the advice of the tribunal, but said: “Getting the best people is essential to remaining the major events capital of Australia – these events bring people from across the globe, boosting jobs and businesses and contributing to our $39.2 billion in tourism spend.”

The sweetened pay packet for the former AFL chief financial officer follows revelations that Victorian taxpayers forked out a record $130.1 million to fund the Grand Prix Corporation, up from $120.2 million in 2022-23.

New Coalition deputy leader Sam Groth questioned why the government approved the salary increase while it wrangled the biggest debt pile in the state’s history.

“With the grand prix running a more than $100 million loss last year, the Allan Labor government must explain why the new CEO will receive tens of thousands of dollars in top-up salary payments.

“Whilst frontline Victoria Police officers are being denied a fair pay rise, some of Victoria’s most highly paid executives continue to score pay deals well above the standard salary bands.”

The most recent budget update forecast Victoria’s net debt would hit $155.2 billion this financial year and $187.3 billion by June 2028.

In his first year as chief executive, Auld improved the corporation’s net operating balance, posting a $4.7 million loss. In 2023, the corporation reported a $35 million loss.

An analysis of its annual reports reveals that in the past 10 years, taxpayers have forked out more than $1 billion to fund the body.

The state government has defended the amount it spends on staging the F1 Grand Prix for nearly as long as it has hosted the event, which it nabbed from Adelaide in 1996.

In 2023, a government-commissioned report conducted by auditing giant EY found the event delivered direct expenditure of $144 million for the state.

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