Two top corporate regulators earn more than $1m a year

Australia’s corporate regulators are among the highest profile and highest paid public servants in the country. Two of them pull in more than $1m a year in pay | SEE THE FULL LIST

Clockwise from top left: Gina Cass-Gottlieb, Joseph Longo, Michele Bullock and John Lonnsdale.

The boss of Australia’s banking services watchdog has eclipsed the nation’s other regulators as one of the country’s highest-paid senior executives, closely followed by the Reserve Bank governor and the competition tsar.

Meanwhile, only one of the country’s regulators – the Australian Taxation Office – paid some bonuses to of its executives.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chair John Lonsdale was paid a total salary of $1.08m up to June 30 last year, including superannuation contributions and long-service leave entitlements, an analysis by The Australian of the latest annual reports of the top regulatory bodies has revealed. An APRA spokesman declined to comment on Mr Lonsdale’s position on top of the list.

APRA chair John Lonsdale is one of the highest-paid corporate regulators in Australia. Picture: John Feder

During a panel debate at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission conference last year, Mr Lonsdale said APRA had a lot on its agenda in scrutinising the fields of banking, superannuation and insurance.

“We’re busy keeping the system safe, that’s our core job,” he told the conference.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock was the second-highest-paid according to The Australia’s analysis, with an overall $1.06m pay packet for a base salary of $811,108 plus superannuation contributions of $100,518.

Having replaced former governor Philip Lowe in September 2023, Ms Bullock faces delivering news that is likely to change the lives of many Australians in the coming months as the RBA board weighs a February rate cut.

The RBA held the cash rate target at 4.35 per cent in 2024, amid sticky underlying inflation.

The RBA did not respond to The Australian’s request for comment by deadline.

In third place is Gina Cass-Gottlieb, the high-profile chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Ms Cass-Gottlieb’s total overall salary last year was $846,066 from a base of $748,148 plus superannuation contributions worth $82,264.

The competition tsar dominated headlines last year as the ACCC launched twin consumer-focused court cases against supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths over allegations they promoted fake discounts while many Australians battle a cost-of-living crisis.

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb comes in third on the salary list. Picture: Aaron Francis

Those allegations have been denied, and will be defended by the companies in the Federal Court.

For comparison, Coles CEO Leah Weckert earned $4.7m the 2023-24 financial year while Woolworths chief Amanda Bardwell is reported to be on a $2.15m base salary.

An ACCC spokeswoman said remuneration for ACCC members is determined by the Remuneration Tribunal, an independent statutory body that gives advice on salaries including for federal politicians.

In fourth place is Australian Securities and Investments Commission chair Joseph Longo, who earned a total salary of $815,154 last financial year. This included a base salary of $777,345 plus superannuation contributions of $27,399.

ASIC’s latest annual report also shows deputy chair Sarah Court earned an overall pay packet of $647,278 to place her in seventh on the list, after APRA deputy chair Margaret Cole ($807,887) and ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh ($684,727).

ASIC chair Joseph Longo. Picture: John Feder

By contrast, some of the corporate executives whose companies ASIC regulates are paid millions more.

These include Macquarie Group’s managing director Shemara Wikramanayake, who earned $25.2m last financial year, Goodman Group’s CEO Greg Goodman, who earned $14.9m, and BHP’s Mike Henry, who brought in a pay packet of $13.1m.

An ASIC spokesman told The Australian: “The salaries for ASIC’s commissioners are set by the independent Remuneration Tribunal.”

The Australian Taxation Office appointed a new commissioner on March 1 last year, Rob Heferen, who earned an overall salary of $301,743 to June 30.

Second commissioners Kirsten Fish ($523,357) and Jeremy Hirschhorn ($518,559) were the only executives included in The Australian’s analysis who earned a bonus.

Both pocketed a bonus worth $65,860. The ATO’s annual report said “only second commissioners are eligible for bonuses”.

“The bonuses column reflects performance payments made in line with the

remuneration arrangements for second commissioner as set out in the relevant Remuneration Tribunal determination.”

An ATO spokesman said: “As principal executive office holders, ATO second commissioners are entitled to receive performance pay (bonuses) in accordance with the Remuneration Tribunal’s Guide to the PEO Structure.”