Almost 30 executives from across Western Australia’s five universities are paid more than the state’s premier, while their vice chancellors all earn more than the prime minister.

The National Tertiary Education Union’s Ending Bad Governance – For Good report was released late Wednesday evening, calling for greater transparency around university management and the ways money is spent.

It found universities nationally had an average of six executives who were paid more than their respective premiers.

In WA, two universities significantly exceeded that average, but all employed at least one taking home more than Premier Roger Cook’s salary in 2023.

Vice-chancellors across the state earned between $865,000 and $1,035,000. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, meanwhile, earned $587,000.

“The constant merry-go-round of newly appointed and highly paid vice chancellors, chancellors and senior executives have created inflexible, profit-driven bureaucracies at the expense of high-quality expert-led education and research,” the report warns.

“Opaque senior appointments, prolific wage theft, heavy reliance on a casualised workforce, course and job cuts, and wasteful and inefficient spending have all served to reduce trust in university managements to an all-time low.”

The report questioned “reckless spending” by universities to employ consultants and professional services that were “concealed from scrutiny”.

“Universities have been notorious consumers of paid management advice from large consulting firms, with very little transparency regarding how much has been paid out and to which firm for what advice, and if this represents value for the community,” it reads.