The PM just got a pay rise. Here's how his salary compares to Trump and other leaders
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be paid more than US President Donald Trump from next month after the Remuneration Tribunal boosted federal politicians' pay by 2.4 per cent. But how does his salary compare to that of other countries' leaders?
While the US president's salary has been steady since 2001, the Remuneration Tribunal determines the change in salaries of Australian ministers – including the prime minister – every year.
The latest decision, which takes effect on July 1, lifts Albanese's salary from $607,500 to $622,071. That means he will now overtake Trump, who is paid $US400,000 ($617,000).
Albanese's latest pay rise is lower than the 3.5 per cent increase granted by the Fair Work Commission for minimum wage earners earlier this month, which the tribunal considered alongside economic conditions and past and projected movements in private and public sector pay.
While Albanese is among the highest-paid government leaders in the world, he falls short of some heads of state in neighbouring countries.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, for example, is the highest-paid government leader, collecting $SG2.2 million ($2.5 million) last year. Singapore's ministerial salaries were raised in the 1980s because the country's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, believed high salaries would reduce the temptation for corruption and attract the best people from the private sector to the public service.
The leader, or chief executive, of Hong Kong also earns more than Albanese. Last year, the Hong Kong Free Press reported that John Lee would be paid about $HK5.6 million ($1.1 million).
The Swiss president, who holds the position on a rotational one-year basis, received about 459,688 Swiss francs ($877,101) in 2024, placing the current leader, Karin Keller-Sutter, among the highest-paid in the world.
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