The WA premier’s new go-to lawyer will be paid more than him

The Department of Premier and Cabinet’s new in-house lawyer will be one of the highest-paid public servants in the state, eclipsing the salary of the premier himself and taking home more than double the money general counsels at other government agencies are earning.

In a recent job ad, the government offered an annual salary of $414,749 at “senior legal officer band two,” equivalent to a deputy in the government’s legal firm, the State Solicitor’s Office.

The new DPC general Counsel will be one of the state’s best paid public servants.Credit: Louise Douvis

That is higher than Premier Roger Cook’s total remuneration ($392,584); the Department of Biosecurity, Conservation and Attractions director general Stuart Smith ($387,854); Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage director general Anthony Kannis ($405,120): and all WA magistrates ($378,750),

It is also far higher than the salaries of other senior in-house departmental lawyers whose salaries have been determined by the state’s public sector employment agreement and usually sit between $150,000 and $260,000.

The establishment of the new four person legal team in DPC has already raised the eyebrows of the opposition who in May criticised it as a wasteful duplication of resources and would mean less independent legal advice from the SSO.

“[The State Solicitor’s Office] are very highly regarded for the way they give advice, and they won’t be bullied by departments to give the advice that the department wants. They’re famous for it,” David Honey said at the time.

“Having in-house lawyers … it’s not a criticism of them as individuals, but when they’re embedded in the department like that, they’re going to be more inclined to give departments the advice they want to hear or their bosses the advice they want to hear.”

A state government spokesman said the new DPC general counsel was a dedicated resource to manage the complex legal issues that affected government policy and the delivery of the Cook government’s priorities.

“Several other government agencies have in-house General Counsel to support their core functions,” he said.

“The previous reliance by the department on senior State Solicitor’s Office resources was unsustainable and required reconsideration of a new model of provision of legal advice for the department.

“This position has been classified and remunerated through a Salaries and Allowances Tribunal determination.

“As an independent body with statutory responsibilities, the SAT sets remuneration for various senior public officers.”

The spokesman said the position’s salary was determined under the Salaries and Allowances Tribunal rather than under the public sector employment agreement on the advice of the Public Sector Commission.

“The submission to establish the General Counsel position was sent to the Public Sector Commission for assessment and classification,” he said.

“The commission determined that the position has the complexity and duties that require its remuneration to be set by the Salaries and Allowances Tribunal.”

The position is still being recruited.

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