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WA Uni Execs Earn Over $500k As Pay Skyrockets
8 Jul
Summary
- 16 executives earned over $500,000 in 2025 across WA universities.
- Total spending on key management staff exceeded $36 million statewide.
- Average executive pay increased by approximately 19% in one year.
In 2025, West Australian universities paid over half a million dollars to 16 key executives, with total spending on senior management staff across the state surpassing $36 million. This figure represents a substantial increase from previous years, with average executive pay jumping by nearly 19% in just one year.
The National Tertiary Education Union highlighted that executive pay has risen significantly since 2023. They argue that this trend shows a lack of restraint at the top, especially when compared to the salaries of academic and professional staff who are crucial to the universities' operations. Some vice-chancellors at WA universities earn around double the salary of the state's director general of education, who oversees a much larger public sector.
Concerns have been echoed in national reports on university governance, which emphasize the need for greater transparency, justification, and links to performance for executive remuneration. Recommendations include aligning public university executive pay with public sector benchmarks. The article suggests that executive pay at WA universities has become normalized at levels exceeding those of state premiers, with little connection to institutional performance or public accountability.
