Australians who work as charity bosses typically earn more than $300,000 a year and are in the top one percent of income earners.
Despite the nonprofit sector existing to help the needy, the nonprofit sector offers some very generous salary packages, at least at the executive level, recruiting firm Hays revealed in its new 2023-24 salary guide.
Directors of charities and non-profit organizations typically receive $350,000 in Australia if they process more than $50 million in revenue, mainly from tax-deductible donations.
The non-profit sector offers CEO salaries ranging from $300,000 to $430,000 if they have revenues of $50 million to $500 million.
Chief financial officers in the nonprofit sector are also typically paid $300,000, with a salary range of $250,000 to $400,000 in a similarly sized charity.
By comparison, Treasurer Jim Chalmers earns $406,988 making budgetary decisions that affect Australia’s $2 trillion economy during a cost-of-living crisis.
Directors of charities and non-profit organizations are typically paid $350,000 in Australia if they handle more than $50 million in revenue, recruitment firm Hays has revealed (stock image)
Figures from the Australian Revenue Service for 2019-20 – the most recent detailed data available – show those earning $352,719 or more are in the top 0.8 per cent of income earners.
The highest paid usually earn triple the Australian average full-time salary of $94,000.
The Hays report also revealed that commercial CEOs of midsize companies typically earn $600,000 in the $50 million to $500 million revenue segment, with compensation ranging from $450,000 to $700,000.
Chief financial officers typically earned $450,000 with a salary range of $350,000 to $600,000.
The top is more than Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s $564,356 salary excluding travel allowances.
The company’s base salaries, as outlined by Hays, do not include generous entitlements such as short- and long-term incentives, a fully serviced company car, additional pension and health insurance.
Excluding organizational executives, salaried law firm partners had average high salaries of more than $350,000, but only when based in Sydney.
Outside of organization executives, salaried law firms had a typical high salary of over $350,000, but only when based in Sydney (pictured is a NSW Law Society event)
They earned more than Sydney-based personnel directors at $300,000, in companies with 1,000 or more employees.
Matthew Dickason, Hays’ Asia-Pacific CEO, said all employers should be transparent about staff compensation, with confidentiality clauses in new contracts banned since Dec. 7 last year.
“We expect these numbers to rise in the coming months, with the abolition of wage secrecy in Australia prompting more employers to monitor salaries, investigate discrepancies and make adjustments as necessary to ensure fair and equal pay,” he said. .
Hays surveyed 14,295 professionals across 6,903 private sector, public service and registered charitable organizations in Australia and New Zealand.
It found that 95 percent of employers wanted to offer pay raises, with a nearly 48-year unemployment rate of 3.7 percent.
Two-thirds plan to offer increases of more than three percent, but workers would still face a cut in real wages as monthly inflation hit 6.8 percent in April.
Defense and human resources had the largest skills shortages, followed by policy and strategy, health care and construction.