Annual reports show four university administrators below vice-chancellor level cleared $1 million in total remuneration, counting salary, superannuation and other entitlements. One outgoing senior executive at the University of Newcastle received between $1.31 million and $1.32 million in 2025. Around half of the vice-chancellors across Australia’s 36 public universities also earned seven-figure sums in the same period.
Flinders University led the pack, with its vice-chancellor receiving between $1.48 million and $1.49 million, placing that package above what the leaders of Oxford and Cambridge reportedly earn. A growing list of governance scandals has hit the higher education sector. Critics argue these incidents show a disconnect between executive rewards and campus performance, particularly as universities continue to lean heavily on public funding and student fees.
The salary blowback has pushed the federal government to step in. The Education Minister has instructed the Department of Education to work with the Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal on national standards for university executive pay. Any framework that emerges is likely to target the upper tier of vice-chancellors and senior managers who currently out-earn the prime minister.
