Chief of PM department to earn $1m-plus
Parliamentarians and department secretaries will receive pay rises next month, with the highest-paid secretary set to earn more than $1m with the new changes.
The head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will become the first federal public servant to earn more than $1m a year after a pay rise for parliamentarians and departmental secretaries was announced on Monday.
The wage increase comes following the Remuneration Tribunal’s decision to raise MPs’ wages by 4 per cent last September, and the Fair Work Commission’s decision to lift the minimum wage by 3.75 per cent.
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Glyn Davis – the highest-paid secretary in the public service – will take home an extra $34,202 a year in line with the new changes that come into effect on July 1, bringing his annual salary up to $1,011,402.
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy will receive a $33,347 pay rise to $986,117, while level three department secretaries, covering departments including Attorney-General’s, Defence, Education, Finance and Home Affairs, will receive a $32,492 raise to $960,832.
Anthony Albanese is also set to benefit from a $20,543 pay rise, bringing his annual salary to $607,500, while Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will see a $16,197 increase to $478,983.
Changes to the Coalition’s salaries will also come into effect, with Peter Dutton receiving a $14,617 pay rise to $432,250.
Leaders of minor parties with more than 10 members of parliament across both houses, including the Nationals’ David Littleproud and Greens’ Adam Bandt, will take home $338,793 a year, after an increase of $11,457.
The base backbenchers’ salary will rise by almost $8000 to $233,650.
Pay rises for politicians have been “modest” in the past, the Remuneration Tribunal said in a statement, with the decision taking into account multiple factors including the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review and the federal government budget outlook. The tribunal did not lift politicians’ and public servants’ wages during 2020 and 2021, the two years of the Covid pandemic following four consecutive years of 2 per cent increases.
Both groups received a 2.75 per cent increase in 2022 and a 4 per cent increase in 2023, with politicians’ increases delivered two months after those of public servants.
“The tribunal is aware the remuneration increases it has awarded to offices in its jurisdiction over the past decade have been modest,” the Remuneration Tribunal statement said.
“Including the current decision, the cumulative total of remuneration increases awarded by the tribunal since 2015 amounts to 18.25 per cent.
“In contrast, remuneration increases more generally in the public and private sectors … have equated to 24.4 per cent”.
The decision was made to ensure the tribunal provided “competitive and equitable” salaries that are “appropriate to the responsibilities and experience” required in public offices, and to attract “people of calibre”.
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