Glyn Davis clears a million dollars in base pay, and Jan Adams becomes the first female secretary to clear a million in total remuneration.
The Mandarin has compiled its yearly list of what the federal department bosses make, according to their departments’ annual reports for 2023-24.
Which Australian public servant earned the most?
Excluding golden parachutes, this is the first year two public servants will earn more than $1 million in total remuneration.
Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) secretary Glyn Davis tops the total remuneration list for the first time at $1,086,842.
He replaces Greg Moriarty as the highest total earner from last year.
Davis is the second PM&C head with a total pay packet of more than $1 million, after Phil Gaetjens’ $407,940 severance package brought his total remuneration up to $1,264,538 in 2022.
The highest secretary pay to date is still Simon Atkinson, who received $1,635,068 the same year. This included $719,248 in severance
Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) secretary Jan Adams is the Secretaries’ Salaries List’s first million-dollar woman, taking out the second spot, with $1,025,301 in total.
Adams comes from fifth spot last year, with a total pay increase of $81,861. Last year, she replaced her DFAT predecessor Kathryn Campbell as the highest-earning female secretary.
Moriarty has fallen to third place on the list, with total remuneration of $16,676 lower than last year, reflecting a $19,371 drop in his base pay.
There are a number of caveats to making a direct comparison year to last year.
- Adam Fennessy, Stephanie Foster and Blair Comely were all appointed in the first half of this financial year, depressing their totals. Comely’s appointment started on July 17; Fennessy’s on September 18; and Foster’s on November 29.
- Fennessy’s predecessor Andrew Metcalfe‘s last day was August 4, 2023, and Blair Comely’s predecessor, Professor Brendan Murphy, only served six days in the 2023-24 financial year.
- Stephanie Foster’s predecessor, Mike Pezzullo, was sacked after the government legislated to strip bad bureaucrats of their golden parachutes in November 2023.
To allow more useful comparisons between this year and last, figures will focus on currently serving secretaries.
Before departing Home Affairs, Pezzullo took home $419,822 in total remuneration.
Metcalfe made $100,967 total remuneration in his month on the job, which does not include a severance package.
Murphy was paid $13,667.
Davis remains top of the heap and the only top mandarin to earn more than $1 million in base pay.
Jim Betts and Tony Cook leapfrog Adams with the second- and third-highest base salaries.
Defence secretary Greg Moriarty is the only secretary to have had a drop in base pay this year, from $872,682 to $853,311.
Moriarty’s accrued base pay dropped in 2023-24 because of different leave arrangements from the previous year.
Steven Kennedy and Natalie James’ base salaries are closest to the average and median, respectively.
Fennessy has collected the most in other benefits and allowances, at just under $100,000.
Alison Frame’s $203,304 in benefits is almost a quarter of her total remuneration. Of this, $86,883 is other benefits and allowances.
In both cases, this is likely a reflection of the greater need to travel in their roles.
Jenny Wilkinson, Greg Moriarty and Rob Stefanic collected no other benefits and allowances this year.
How do secretaries’ salaries stack up?
This is more than three times the total remuneration of the highest-paid public service secretary.
The two highest earners on the list, ResMed’s Mick Farrell and Newscorp’s Robert Thompson, were paid more than $40 million. Both companies are legally located in the United States.
The median for the lower-earning half of the list is still more than $2.2 million.
Documents tabled during the Senate inquiry into the PwC tax leaks scandal suggest those who joined or rejoined the public service from consulting likely took a pay cut.
Analysis of the documents shows the top 20% of partners at EY and PwC all took home more than $1.3 a year.
Davis would also have been better off financially trying to retain the vice-chancellorship of Melbourne University.
Gender pay gap
Using
WGEA’s approach, the gender pay gap among APS departmental secretaries is -1.74%.
Among secretaries who worked the full year, it was -1.86%.
Last year, the gender pay gap was -5.31% among secretaries who worked the full year.
The Mandarin recorded a gender pay gap among secretaries of 3.3% in 2022.
This comes with the additional caveat of working from a very small sample
This year’s list includes 53 senior leaders chosen from among the top earners and movers and shakers of 2024.
The Mandarin has compiled its yearly list of what senior public servants make, according to their departments’ annual reports for 2023-24.
This year’s list includes 53 senior leaders, chosen as the top earners and movers and shakers of this year.
Who made the most?Outgoing Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell tops the total remuneration list for highest paid government employee. His $1,135,524 total remuneration exceeds Defence secretary Greg Moriarty, and even the highest-paid secretary, Glyn Davis. Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chair John Lonsdale also earned over a million dollars in 2023-24.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb is the highest-paid woman on the list, earning $846,066.
Among those who served the full year, the biggest pay increase went to chief statistician David Gruen. His total remuneration rose nearly 30% to $866,679.
Public service commissioner Gordon de Brouwer ranked third on the list, taking home $936,278.
National anti-corruption commissioner Paul Brereton ranked eighth, earning $817,322.
How do senior public servants’ salaries stack up?
While only Campbell and Lonsdale earned more than the top-paid secretary, most earned more than the lowest-paid, Rob Stefanic.
Among those who served the full year, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant was the only person to earn less than him.
This is more than three times Campbell’s total remuneration.
The two highest ASX earners, ResMed’s Mick Farrell and Newscorp’s Robert Thomson, were paid more than $40 million. Both companies are legally located in the United States.
The median for the lower-earning half of the list is still more than $2.2 million.
Documents tabled during the Senate inquiry into the PwC tax leaks scandal suggest those who joined or rejoined the public service from consulting likely took a pay cut.
Gender pay gap
Using WGEA’s approach, the gender pay gap of our select list of senior public servants is 15.69%. This comes with the caveat that this is a small data set and may not reflect the actual pay gap among senior leaders.
When defence leadership is excluded from the list, the gender pay gap falls to 11.63%. Among defence leadership, it is 17%
This is partly because of the best-paid 20 defence personnel, only four are women.
READ MORE:
Secretaries’ Salaries 2023: What other senior bureaucrats made this year
The following is that list by total remuneration, based on their agency’s respective annual reports.
| Name | Agency | Title | Total remuneration |
| Chris Jordan | ATO | Commissioner | $915,680 |
| Gina Cass-Gottlieb | ACCC | Chair | $840,628 |
| Larry Marshall | CSIRO | Chief executive | $999,629 |
| Gordon de Brouwer | PM&C | Public sector reform secretary PLUS APS commission | $804,173 |
| Kathryn Campbell | Defence | Senior advisor AUKUS | $835,970 |
| Rebecca Skinner | Services Australia | CEO (former) | $806,315 |
| Rachel Noble | Australian Signals Directorate | Director-general | $775,031 |
| Reece P Kershaw | AFP | Commissioner | $762,125 |
| David Gruen | ABS | Australian statistician | $768,808 |
| Peter Woolcott | APSC | Commissioner (former) | $779,899 |
| Michael Brennan | Productivity Commission | Commissioner | $645,831 |
| Jody Broun | NIAA | CEO | $628,363 |
| Mike Burgess | ASIO | Director-general | $689,400 |
| Tom Rogers | AEC | Electoral commissioner | $622,969 |
| Nerida O’Loughlin | ACMA | Chair | $610,943 |
| Chris Fechner | DTA | CEO | $565,448 |
| Rosalind Croucher | Australian Human Rights Commission | President | $525,892 |
| Angelene Falk | OAIC | Commissioner | $528,559 |
| Iain Anderson | Commonwealth ombud | Commonwealth ombud | $494,530 |
| Julie Inman Grant | eSafety commissioner | eSafety commissioner | $448,054 |
