25 August 2025
The Greens are calling on Parliament to back a Greens push to cap Vice-Chancellor salaries as Universities reveal their salaries have increased over the last 12 months.
Key points:
- The new Adelaide University is refusing to disclose the salary of its new Vice-Chancellor and President, who will commence when the merged University opens next year.
- The salaries of the Vice-Chancellors of Flinders University, the University of Adelaide, and UniSA have each risen to over $1.3 million in the last year.
- Greens MLC Robert Simms has previously introduced a bill to cap VC salaries at the same level as the Premier.
- Mr Simms will reintroduce the bill into State Parliament and put it to vote before the election.
Quotes attributable to Robert Simms MLC:
“It is completely unacceptable that during a generational cost-of-living crisis South Australian university bosses continue to rake in exorbitant salaries. There’s simply no reason that Vice-Chancellors should be paid almost three times as much as the Premier.”
“It’s concerning that the salary of the incoming Vice-Chancellor is being kept secret. Universities are public institutions of huge importance to our state, and South Australians deserve to know how much the new boss will be paid.”
“It’s time to cap Vice-Chancellor salaries to ensure they are in line with community expectations.”
“I will reintroduce a bill to cap VC salaries and bring this to a vote before the election next March."
Quotes attributable to Lead Upper House Candidate Melanie Selwood:
“The current structure of our universities treats Vice-Chancellors like corporate CEOs chosen for their ability to cut costs and turn a profit rather than deliver world-class teaching and research that South Australia needs. Adelaide University has announced that it plans to cancel most in-person lectures when it officially opens next year.”
“Scrapping lectures puts jobs and student experience at risk, and it’s part of a broader shift from universities being places of learning to degree factories. The Greens stand in solidarity with students and staff at the University of Adelaide who are today staging a campus sit-in to oppose the University’s move to scrap in-person lectures.”