The money paid to Perth private schools’ top earners revealed

The most expensive private schools in Western Australia have for the first time revealed how much they are paying their top staff and principals.

Under a shake-up to Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission rules, private schools are now forced to disclose the total sum paid annually to their biggest earners.

However, schools are not required to give a breakdown on this number and are also not required to disclose the amount if there is only one person in its “top earners” bracket.

WA’s high-fee schools – all independent schools – pay between $650,000 and $2.4 million in remuneration to top staff, including principals, but the amount is split across a different number of people, depending on the school.

“Charities will be required to disclose the total remuneration and the number of staff that applies to. It can choose voluntarily to disclose a breakdown [of salaries], but it is not required,” a commission spokesman said.

All charities earning more than $3 million annually will be bound by the same regulation changes.

Wesley College in South Perth pays its top earners, also described as key personnel, a total of $2.4 million but there are 10 people included in this figure. The breakdown of how this money is distributed is not clear.

At Scotch College, there are only two key personnel, earning $1.07 million between them.

Christ Church Grammar and St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School have both stated they do not have more than one key personnel and have not disclosed an amount.

An Association of Independent Public Schools of WA spokesman said they were not involved in discussions surrounding pay.

“Independent schools are governed by individual boards and all decisions concerning personnel remuneration are at the discretion of the schools,” he said.

“Leading a school is an incredibly important, complex, multi-faceted and time-consuming position.”

The Australia Institute chief economist Richard Denniss said Australia had one of the most privatised school systems in the world, and welcomed the changes to the rules given the “significant taxpayer funding to private schools”.

He said it was only fair the public had a better understanding of how the schools were spending their money.

WA schools are charging parents annual fees well past the $30,000 mark and almost double that for children who are boarding.

The highest fee is now $33,460 at Presbyterian Ladies’ College, including compulsory fees, while the median cost across Perth now sits at $9442.

with Lucy Carroll

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