Key facts

Executive median pay at June 2023

  • $255,000 for Victorian Public Service executives 
  • $267,446 for public entity executives 
  • $264,000 for overall public sector executives. 

Executive gender pay gap at June 2023

  • 7.9% for Victorian Public Service executives 
  • 3.1% for public entity executives 
  • 5.5% for overall public sector executives. 

Executive remuneration and pay bands

Executive remuneration is the total remuneration package (TRP) given to executives. The TRP includes: 

  • base salary 
  • superannuation contributions 
  • any employment benefits specified in the contract of employment 
  • the cost of non-monetary benefits paid by the employer, for example, fringe benefits tax. 

Read more about the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and executive remuneration. 

Executive remuneration bands

In 2020 the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal made remuneration bands for all public sector executives and public entity executives. The bands are updated each year. 

The remuneration bands in the table below came into effect from 1 July 2022, and have been further adjusted from 1 July 2023.


Executive remuneration bands at June 2023

Victorian public sector executive remuneration bands

Classification  Minimum total remuneration package ($) per annum  Maximum total remuneration package ($) per annum 
SES 1  207,116  267,445 
SES 2  267,446  384,540 
SES 3  384,541  511,862 

Number of Victorian public sector executives by band

 


Distribution of Victorian Public Service executive remuneration by gender

 


Distribution of Victorian public entity executive remuneration by gender

 


Median executive remuneration and gender pay gap

Between July 2022 and July 2023 median executive pay increased by:

  • $10,000 (4.1%) in the Victorian Public Service
  • $10,334 (4%) in Victorian public entities.

These increases reflect an adjustment to public sector executive pay of 3.5% plus an extra $1,589 to $1,919 to cover changes to superannuation entitlements at 1 July 2022.

How we work out the gender pay gap

Using Victorian Public Service executives as an example, this is how we measure the pay gap:

  • find out what the median pay is for men ($267,446) and women ($246,303)
  • work out the difference between those two numbers ($267,446 minus $246,303 equals $21,143)
  • express the difference as a percentage of the men’s median salary ($21,143 is 7.9% of men’s median salary of $267,446.

So the pay gap for executives in the Victorian Public Service is 7.9%.

We only report the gender pay gap in a binary way (men and women) because the number of employees with self-described gender identity is currently too small to analyse.

Remuneration and gender pay gap

Victorian Public Service median executive pay at June 2023:

  • $246,303 for women
  • $267,446 for men
  • $21,143 or 7.9% is the pay gap based on median pay.

Public entity median executive pay at June 2023:

  • $266,500 for women
  • $275,500 for men
  • $8,500 or 3.1% is the median pay gap.

The gender pay gaps continue to favour men, changing from:

  • 8.8% at June 2022 to 7.9% at June 2023 for Victorian Public Service executives
  • 0% at June 2022 to 3.1% at June 2023 for public entity executives
  • 6.2% at June 2022 to 5.5% at June 2023 for all executives in the overall public sector workforce.

The gender pay gap for executives at public entities rose to 3.1% from 0% at June 2022 primarily due to:

  • more men being employed in higher-paid roles
  • a rise in women promoted to executive roles at entry-level remuneration rates in emergency services.

 


 


 


Data sets and how we prepare data