Australia¡¯s public universities would be forced to slash their vice-chancellors¡¯ salaries by an average of A$594,000 (?300,000) a year or risk losing their registration, under a private member¡¯s bill tabled by an independent federal parliamentarian.

The ¡°there for education, not profit¡±?, tabled by straight-talking Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, would restrict vice-chancellors¡¯ remuneration to no more than A$430,000 ¨C 58 per cent below the public university average of about A$1.026 million in 2023, and 16 per cent below that year¡¯s lowest package of A$515,000.

A separate bill would set the same maximum on federal departmental secretaries¡¯ salaries. Lambie said a ¡°big stick¡± was needed to constrain the earnings of university executives and particularly vice-chancellors, whose pay was ¡°in the stratosphere¡±.

¡°We need to put an end to the culture of obscene entitlement at the top of our universities,¡± she told the Senate. ¡°Vice-chancellors are supposed to be there to put the education of Australians first. But what do you know? They put self before service.¡±

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Her bill would amend the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act to impose a A$430,000 statutory limit on vice-chancellors¡¯ pay. Higher amounts could be specified by the education minister, but only through legislative instruments that could be disallowed by either house of parliament.

This would give parliament ¡°ultimate authority¡± over the maximum remuneration available to the heads of substantially commonwealth-funded institutions, according to an explanatory document. Universities that exceeded the limit would risk ¡°administrative sanctions¡± including curtailment or cancellation of their registration.

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Amendments to the Australian National University Act would enforce similar provisions on the sector¡¯s only federally governed entity.

Lambie said her ¡°arbitrary¡± threshold was marginally below the A$438,113 salary of the treasurer, Australia¡¯s third best-paid federal politician. ¡°This is a reasonable and proportionate remuneration benchmark that reflects the responsibilities of university chief executives within the broader context of the Australian public sector and democratic governance.¡±

Private members¡¯ bills rarely pass Australia¡¯s parliament, and Lambie¡¯s legislation may never be debated. It is not listed on the current ¡°notice paper¡± of the Senate, which has only a few remaining sitting days before parliament is dissolved in mid-April ¨C or sooner ¨C for this year¡¯s general election.

Lambie conceded that her proposals were unlikely to be realised before the election, but said she would seek support from all senators. ¡°This overpayment of our vice-chancellors and our top bureaucrats has to stop. It is completely and utterly out of control.¡±

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She said university bureaucrats had ¡°blown away¡± their social licence by pocketing ¡°huge salaries¡± while students were ¡°doing it tough¡± and ¡°poorly paid¡± teachers experienced ¡°wage theft¡±.

The government has announced members of an?expert university governance council?to examine issues including executive salaries. Lambie described it as a ¡°bureaucratic cop-out¡±?that lacked enforcement mechanisms and would seek to bring salaries in line with the top echelons of the public service.

¡°All but two department heads get paid more than A$900,000,¡± she said. ¡°Vice-chancellors are already in that cohort of salaries.¡±

Separately, a Senate committee has begun an?inquiry?into quality of governance at Australian universities.

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john.ross@timeshighereducation.com