Nearly a dozen federal public servants were paid more than $1m last year, with one receiving a $1.5m package worth more than double Anthony Albanese’s base salary.
The generous remuneration – which includes bonuses and allowances – has been criticised as insulting during a cost-of-living crisis and amid job cuts across the public service.
The 11 staff are employed by Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, and have direct oversight and responsibility for its investments, worth $350bn.
One Future Fund manager employed at an “executive level 2” rank was paid $1.5m of taxpayer money last year, which is significantly more than the prime minister’s $622,000 salary.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailAll 11 staff are paid more than federal cabinet ministers and all but one department secretary, including the heads of Australia’s domestic intelligence agency and the federal police.
Their pay emerged after Greens senator Barbara Pocock asked the minister for the public service, Katy Gallagher, to justify the high remuneration in a question on notice in August.
A response from Gallagher’s office, tabled in parliament this week, said the fund operated in a “highly competitive global market” and the generous wages were needed to attract the best possible talent.
“The Future Fund delivered a return of 14.8% in the 12 months to June 2026, adding $37.4bn to increase the value of the investment portfolio to over $350bn,” the spokesperson said.
In the private sector, senior managers at major Australian banks commonly receive annual bonuses of more than $1m. But these salaries remain controversial with shareholders.
The spokesperson said the salaries were within government rules that state performance bonuses can only be used in limited circumstances.
“This includes positions that involve significant, at-risk investment outcomes and for Commonwealth entities and companies whose primary purpose is to operate in commercial markets – both of which apply to the Future Fund.”
Pocock was not satisfied by the response, and said “most taxpayers would be questioning if these payments are good value for money”.
“In a cost-of-living crisis, Australians are suffering and many would be outraged to learn that a dozen public servants are earning over a million dollars, and in some cases double what the prime minister earns,” said Pocock.
“What kind of public service work warrants a salary of $1m or 1.5m dollars? We’re not talking about secretaries running government departments but employees. How can the government justify this?”
The Future Fund declined to comment.
It comes amid budget pressures that last month resulted in the National Disability Insurance Agency announcing voluntary redundancies for the first time since its 2013 creation.
Several other government departments have also announced job cuts in recent months, including in the prime minister’s own department, home affairs and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
In December, the Future Fund was criticised for spending $20,000 to send the chief executive’s then-assistanct on a scoping trop to assess hotels in the US and negotiate rates.
The fund told a Senate estimates hearing the trip led to annual savings of $30,000. The executive assistant and another person flew business class to the US.
