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In People

Pay for Australian CEOs is down, but it’s still too high

Compared with the money mere mortals take home, chief executive pay in Australia is the lowest it has been for 11 years. It is also far below the amount CEOs receive in the US.

It is still high enough to severely handicap the ability of companies to participate in the debate about what sacrifices should be made to ensure Australia grows and prospers, however. You just cannot expect everyone to take you seriously when your top spokesperson pulls an eye-watering 63 times average earnings.

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors’ 2013 CEO pay survey is the 13th governance adviser Ownership Matters has compiled for the industry fund group, and that is a long enough period to show the corporate world has at least emerged from a period when it totally lost its moral compass.