Senior public service executives score four per cent pay rise

Department heads and commissioners can now be paid up to $775,000 after the remuneration tribunal agreed to lift the salaries of high-ranking public servants by 4 per cent.

Senior public service executives in Victoria will be paid at least $8000 more per year after a decision that will see them take home a 4 per cent increase to their salary.

The Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal, which last week signed off on a 3.5 per cent pay hike for state MPs, has released a new ruling into high-ranking members of the public service.

Similar to politicians, senior executives have a base salary and maximum price which are set by the tribunal every year.

The government can also make special applications to pay some executives above the limit, which it has done repeatedly for agencies running its major projects.

On Thursday, the tribunal agreed these salary guidelines should be lifted by 4 per cent.

This means that the lowest ranked senior executive would earn at least $216,376, an increase of $7497.

Department heads and commissioners can now be paid between $577,716 and $778,492, taking home at least an extra $21,166 annually.

The tribunal was required to consider the state’s wages policy, the economic climate and the government’s financial position when making its decision.

But another key factor was to keep executive salaries ahead of other public servants to ensure the jobs “sufficiently attractive to encourage a steady flow of high-performing VPS employees”.