Huge public servant salaries linked to cancelled 2026 Commonwealth Games revealed
Victoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games collapsed in financial ruin — but public servants still won gold. Their eye-watering taxpayer-funded salaries can now be revealed.
Dozens of Commonwealth Games fat cats were pocketing gold medal taxpayer-funded salaries with ten earning more than $300,000 and one pulling in at least $500,000.
The pay packets for 32 executives leading Victoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games have been blasted as “extravagant” by the opposition which described them as emblematic of Labor waste that helped doom the event.
The Commonwealth Games annual report tabled in parliament on Wednesday reveals the overall annual cost of employing the executives soared through $11m by June 30.
The event’s sensational axing by former premier Daniel Andrews has cost taxpayers $380m in compensation to Commonwealth Games authorities and at least another $200m in public money already invested in preparing for the games which were to be staged in five regional cities including Geelong and Bendigo.
Games chair Peggy O’Neal and chief executive officer Jeroen Weimar, in a joint message in the annual report, described the team of employees recruited to run the event as “world class”.
“The first responsibility ... was to deliver a robust, credible, and fully costed plan for delivering the first ever multi-city Games,” they wrote.
“A world class team was recruited and they worked tirelessly to build, test and cost a strong delivery program. This program was presented to the OC Board and to the Victorian Government without fear of favour.”
The Commonwealth Games chiefs said that while staff and directors all “share a sense of disappointment” about the collapse of the event they are “proud of the team assembled, the plan that was built, the local people they learned from and the hope they felt”.
A table listing the “annualised total salaries” for 32 executives revealed that six were earning between $180,000-$199,999. Three were on $200,000-$219,999. Two were on $220,000-$239,999. Six were on $240,000-$259,999 and four were pocketing between $260,000 to $279,999.
The report revealed 11 executives were raking in more than $300,000 with two on up to $319,999, six were being paid between $320,000-$359,999 and two were earning between $380,000-$419,999. One game’s boss was being paid more than $500,000.
While the report doesn’t detail the cost of termination payments for taxpayers for the executives, details previously released to a parliamentary inquiry have confirmed the cost was about $3m.
The annual report for the organisation that reported through to Premier Jacinta Allan when she was Commonwealth Games Minister, reveals that a remuneration committee to manage salaries was created in June 2023, the same month lawyers were called in to advise on axing the event.
It also reveals that in addition to the executive salaries, the annual cost of payments to 2026 board members was about $700,000. The annual report also revealed that total transaction expenses for the games organisation totalled $21m in 2022-23.
The Commonwealth Games annual report states the organising committee “worked to define the aspirational high-performance culture” needed to build an “agile and high-performing workforce” and that underpinning this was the “development of values that all employees believed in and upheld”. The government has been approached for comment.
Shadow minister for sport Sam Groth said Ms Allan had misled Victorians. “She squandered more $600m dollars of taxpayers money. Money that could have been spent on hospitals, schools, roads and other vital services at a time when Victorians are doing it tougher than ever,” he said.
The Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions annual reports details “commitments for future expenditure” on the Office of Commonwealth Games totalling $19.3 million, including $7.2m in the coming 2023-24 financial year, and $12.1m over the next 2-5 years.The DJSIR report also references a $13.9M grant which was provided to the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.
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