Bosses of taxpayer-funded agencies to lose bonuses
New rules to be introduced this month will slash public service spending and result in the big bonuses for executives at dozens of taxpayer-funded agencies being scrapped.
VIC News
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The bosses of dozens of taxpayer-funded agencies will no longer be paid hefty bonuses as the state government tries to slash spending across the public service.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal new rules introduced this month will ban bonuses to executives working at agencies such as the Victorian Building Authority, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, the MFB and the CFA.
Extra payments will also be cut to senior staff — who are already on substantial six-figure wages — at the Environment Protection Authority, V/Line, VicForests and Visit Victoria.
Agencies affected by the crackdown have three months to make “bonus buyout offers” to executives, who will receive a one-off boost to their salary to make up for the future shortfall.
These payments will likely be worth tens of thousands of dollars each, with executives eligible for buyouts worth up to 10 per cent of their total pay package.
Bonuses to departmental secretaries and executives have already been scrapped, with the rules now extended to other government agencies.
It comes after Treasurer Tim Pallas revealed the government would slash spending by $4 billion over four years, with the state Budget in a perilous position amid major project cost blowouts, reduced GST and stamp duty revenue, and bushfire recovery and coronavirus costs.
Other agencies impacted by the change include the State Emergency Service, Parks Victoria and trusts in charge of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Shrine of Remembrance, the Arts Centre and the city’s stadium precinct.
But Premier Daniel Andrews is still allowed to tick off on bonuses for some executives at the Treasury Corporation of Victoria and the Victorian Funds Management Corporation.
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A government spokesman said the phase-out of bonuses was “expected to be cost neutral”.
“A review by the Victorian Public Service Commission recommended bonuses be phased out after it found that they generally are not effective in driving performance or efficiency,” the spokesman said.
Victoria’s independent remuneration tribunal — which last year handed a 12 per cent pay rise to Mr Andrews and his ministers — is also on the verge of locking in new pay grades for executives heading up public agencies.
Their wages have increased by 26.8 per cent over the last decade.