WA university vice chancellor joins ‘million-dollar club’

Vice chancellors at two West Australian universities are now part of the “million-dollar club”, the latest annual reports show.

Curtin University and the University of Western Australia now both pay their vice chancellors more than $1 million in total remuneration for the year.

UWA was a new addition to the club for 2024, while Curtin’s vice chancellor’s annual remuneration passed that mark in 2023.

The UWA pay packet, which includes accrued annual leave and long service leave entitlements, was a significant increase on the 2023 salary – around 17 per cent – while at Curtin, it has remained relatively stagnant.

Murdoch University also raised its vice chancellor salary slightly, from between $860,001 and $870,000, to between $870,001 and $880,000.

The new figures were included in the 2024 annual reports, released on Thursday.

But at Edith Cowan University, the roles were seemingly reversed – with the highest salary listed at $500,001 to $510,000 compared to 2023, where the highest amount paid was listed at between $950,001 and $960,000.

ECU Vice Chancellor Clare Pollock took the reins from predecessor Steven Chapman in September 2024.

The university refused to comment on the dramatic change in the highest payment made to key management personnel, and would not confirm if the listed amount only included payment to Chapman until September.

WAtoday understands this to be the case, and that Pollock’s payment from September to December is listed separately.

Western Sydney University Vice Chancellor George Williams recently revealed he asked for a pay cut when he took the job and believed that vice chancellors’ salaries, which exceed $1 million at more than half of Australia’s universities, should be aligned with public servant wages.

“I actually asked for a pay reduction. I was going low and [the chancellor] went high. We negotiated and came around in the middle in the end,” he said, noting he had taken a pay cut of “about 20 to 25 per cent” from his predecessor.

“I’m not crying poor here, I’m still paid very well,” he said.

“But it’s benchmarked to about where the lowest paid secretaries of a [federal] public sector department would be paid, and that’s where they should be benchmarked.”

WA’s annual reports also showed none of the universities’ budgets were in the red for the first time since the pandemic.

ECU recorded a net gain of more than $256 million, while UWA recorded a gain of $198.1 million.

Murdoch University recorded more minor growth – $36 million – but higher than their 2023 and 2022 figure, which was in the red.

In 2023, Curtin recorded a net operating loss of $13 million. Their latest data for 2024 shows a profit of almost $71 million.

UWA Vice Chancellor Amit Chakma said the main challenge the university faced was the proposed caps on international students, while Pollock, from ECU, said 2024 had been a year of “significant policy reforms”.

Murdoch University Vice Chancellor Andrew Deeks said domestic and international student recruitment numbers were “affected by forces largely beyond our control”.

“The economic situation remains challenging for WA universities, resulting in ongoing delays in recovery of domestic intake, while international student intake decreased dramatically in the second half of the year due to changes (in) federal government policies and discussion of caps on visas,” he said.

“This directive will potentially limit our 2025 international student intake to levels similar to 2024, a decrease of approximately 1700 on 2023 international student commencements.”

Curtin University Vice Chancellor Harlene Hayne said she had always believed the recruitment of international students should be done judiciously.

“Although they make a significant financial contribution to the University, the primary purpose of international students is to give Australian students the opportunity to study alongside their peers from around the world,” she said.

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