All aboard Jacinta Allan’s gravy train: $419k salaries for Suburban Rail Loop jobs

Seven Suburban Rail Loop jobs with taxpayer-funded salaries of up to $419,000 are being filled as Premier Jacinta Allan doubles down on the controversial project.

Works underway on the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) site at Burwood. Picture: Mark Stewart

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Seven Suburban Rail Loop jobs with taxpayer-funded salaries of up to $419,000 are being filled as Premier Jacinta Allan doubles down on her government’s controversial project.

The positions advertised cover government relations, planning, economic development, strategy and investment, and will cost the SRL Authority up to $1.3m.

Leading the jobs bonanza is the role of deputy director for engineering and stations, carrying a ­salary of up to $419,000 which is being offered amid increasing questions about how the government will fund the SRL’s $35bn first stage linking Cheltenham to Box Hill.

Whoever gets this six-figure job will join the ballooning ranks of the SRL’s executives which, according to the SRL Authority’s last annual report, numbered 89 at June 2024, up from 52 in 2022.

Four of these executives earn more than $500,000 a year, eight earn more than $400,000, 24 are paid more than $300,000 and 52 pocket more than $200,000.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. Picture: Penny Stephens/NewsWire

Latest publicly available figures reveal that in June 2024, the SRL Authority employed 650 people, up from 544 in June 2023.

The SRL’s seven advertised jobs include a manager for government relations (with a salary up to $180,000), a senior economic development adviser (up to $132,000), a planning approvals adviser (up to $107,000), land officer (up to $107,000), principal lawyer (up to $180,000), strategy and investment manager (up to $180,000) and the deputy director of engineering, which carries a ­salary of between $290,000 and $419,000.

The gold-plated salaries have been blasted by Victoria’s opposition major projects spokesman Evan Mulholland who accused the Allan government of betraying taxpayers and being obsessed with the Suburban Rail Loop.

“It speaks volumes about the Allan Labor government’s warped priorities that it’s hiring yet more bureaucrats to prop up its vanity rail project in Melbourne’s east, while Victorians struggle with soaring living costs, crumbling roads, and rising crime – all crises of Labor’s own making,” he said.

“Victoria’s credit rating is hanging by a thread, with ratings agencies issuing clear warnings. If Labor barrels ahead with the Suburban Rail Loop without additional federal funding, a damaging downgrade is inevitable – and Jacinta Allan is blindly charging down that path.”

Suburban rail loop map SRL map Feb 2025

The Allan government’s funding model splits the cost three ways; with the Victorian government picking up about $11.5bn and the federal government pumping in the same amount. The remaining $11.5bn is projected to come from so-called value capture from associated developments along the new rail link.

But this strategy is under pressure, with the Albanese government so far failing to commit to its $11.5bn share and Infrastructure Australia slamming the business case as inadequate and recommending the government prepare “exit” plans in the event of the project being cancelled.

The Suburban Rail Loop Authority said the seven advertised jobs were existing positions and were not new. It did not respond to a question seeking updated data on how many people and executives the SRL currently employed.

“We are getting on with delivering this city-shaping project that will connect a train line to Australia’s largest universities and deliver 70,000 new homes for young Victorians and families close to jobs, services and where they grew up,” an SRL Authority spokesperson said.

“Early works, including construction of tunnel boring machine launch sites, road diversions and essential services relocations, have been under way across the sites since 2022, and by next year there will be 4000 workers delivering major construction as tunnel boring works also kick off.

“All of these roles are existing ones and salary bands are not determined by SRLA, they are set by the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal for executives and through enterprise bargaining agreements within the Victorian Public Service.”

Responding to questions about the high-paying jobs, an Allan government spokesperson said: “The Liberals want to sack 4000 workers, block 70,000 new homes for young Victorians and families and leave tunnel boring machines to sink in the ground.”

The Victorian Liberal Party has hardened its opposition to the SRL in recent weeks, with Opposition Leader Brad Battin calling on the premier to immediately cancel the project.

“Labor’s bungling of major projects isn’t just incompetence, it’s a direct threat to Victoria’s financial future,” Mr Mulholland said.

“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage major projects and Victorians are paying the price. The Liberals and Nationals are demanding that Premier Allan cancel the Suburban Rail Loop East before more damage is done.”

In the 2023-24 annual report, SRL chief executive Frankie Carroll confirmed there were more than 1400 people working on the Cheltenham-Box Hill first stage, including contractors working on the tunnels and new stations.

“Over seven million hours have been worked on the project so far, with crews preparing the launch sites for tunnel boring machines ahead of tunnelling in 2026 and moving critical underground services for excavation of the six new stations and twin tunnels,” he wrote in the annual report.

The annual report also promoted the SRL authority as a destination for employees, revealing it was promoting itself as focused on “attracting and retaining high-quality talent, investing in the development of SRLA people, and building SRLA’s culture so every member of staff feels safe and empowered to share their ideas and deliver great outcomes”.