Market forces have been cited as the reason for the Victorian government paying 25 transport infrastructure project bosses more than $12 million a year in combined salaries.
A leaked report, published by the Herald Sun on Sunday, shows some public sector road and rail executives are earning twice as much as those in equivalent department roles.
Government Services minister Danny Pearson wrote to the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal in 2021 to request advice on transport infrastructure chief salaries after private market competition.
The tribunal's advice indicated 16 of the 25 assessed executives were earning more than the maximum recommended packages for their roles as of mid-2022.
Rail Projects Victoria chief executive Evan Tattersall, who has since retired, was the highest annual earner at $814,251 - compared to the advised pay packet of $768,000 a year.
Other salaries revealed included those of North East Link chief operating officer ($748,755), Major Road Projects Victoria chief executive ($713,307) and Suburban Rail Loop executive general manager of rail and infrastructure delivery ($680,000).
Senior Victorian minister Lily D'Ambrosio argued the state government had to spend more to remain competitive with other states for senior roles in the crowded infrastructure construction market.
"This does put pressure on labour availability ... and we're also competing with investments in big infrastructure by the private sector," she told reporters.
"There's lots of pressures of course in terms of those infrastructure projects that exist across the country, and that is why we always need to have an eye to being able to retain or attract the best possible people to do these jobs."
Ms D'Ambrosio and other Victorian MPs were last month awarded a 3.5 per cent base salary increase by the independent tribunal.
Wage rises for lower level Victorian public sector workers are capped at three per cent, well below annual inflation.
Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell said Victorian taxpayers expected to get bang for their buck as their belts tightened amid the cost of the living crisis.
"Having a circumstance where you've got executive fat cats sitting in ivory towers far removed from the realities of a family kitchen table ... is completely out of step with community expectation," he said.
Budgeted costs and forecast completion dates have blown out for several major Victorian projects in recent years, including the trouble-plagued West Gate Tunnel.
Mr Rowswell said the opposition did not have an issue with the government attempting to attract the best and brightest to lead major projects, but suggested the salaries must come with performance measures.
"This isn't Danny Pearson's money ... this is Victorian taxpayers' money," he said.
