Uni vice-chancellors average salary package hits $890,000

Vice-chancellors were paid an averag­e salary package of $890,000 last year, with 11 earning more than $1m.

University of Sydney vice-chancellor Michael Spence has a salary package of $1.4 million. Picture: Renee Nowytarger

The nation’s 38 public university vice-chancellors were paid an averag­e salary package of $890,000 last year, with 11 earning more than $1 million.

Michael Spence, from the University of Sydney, topped the list with a $1.4m salary package, equating to an increase of 56 per cent over five years.

Dr Spence was followed by Australian Catholic University head Greg Craven who, even with a $90,000 pay cut, took home $1.25m last year.

University of NSW head Ian Jacobs received a salary just shy of that, with $1.22m.

Swinburne University’s Linda Kristjansen and the University of Technology Sydney’s Attila Brungs were all handed bonuses in excess of $200,000.

As remuneration packages continue to climb to record levels, federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham has urged restrain­t, saying salaries should reflect community expectations.

Senator Birmingham has previously pointed to excessive senior executive pay packets as part of his justification for $2.8 billion in funding cuts. “Universities are big, complex institutions that require­ specialist skills that their VCs should be recognised for, but some of these numbers would surprise many people,” he said.

“Taxpayers foot the bill for around 58 per cent of university revenue so VCs should ask themselves whether their pay meets the expectations of students, staff and everyday Australians.”

At the lower end of the spectrum was Brian Schmidt, a Nobel laureate for physics who took over as head of the Australian ­National University at the beginning of last year. Professor Schmidt’s package was listed at $618,000 — the fifth-lowest in the country and $360,000 less than his predecessor Ian Young.

The Weekend Australian under­stands Professor Schmidt benchmarked his salary against similar institutions overseas and professorial salaries inside the university. The average salary for a full professor nationally is about $180,000.

Oxford University’s vice-Chancellor, Louise Richardson, is paid £350,000 ($577,000), or £410,000 including pension, and has come under intense criticism this week for her high pay. The vice-chancellor at Cambridge received only £349,000 in 2015-16.

National Tertiary Education Union president Jeannie Rea said Australian vice-chancellors took home more in a week than many casual staff earned in a year.

“Their huge pay packets are causing an outcry from staff and the broader community because people are aware of tight univer­sity budgets, job cuts and a lack of secure employment for academic staff,” Dr Rea said.

However, she said the government’s finger-pointing at executive salaries was a smokescreen to distract from it stripping billions from university budgets.

UNSW economist Gigi Foster said one of the problems with fat salary packages was the lack of transparency.

“With publicly listed companies we can point to stock prices and profits,’’ Dr Foster said.

“But with universities there is an ­unusual situation where it is very difficult to measure outputs because things like graduate salaries are a product of the entire university, not just the vice-chancellor.”