Australia news live: top 100 CEOs bank 16% pay rise; Husic warns Labor over Gaza policy

Lead

Chief executives of Australia's 100 biggest companies received a median $4.8 million in realised pay in the 2025 financial year, a 16% increase from 2024, according to a new report from the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI). The figure, which includes reported pay, bonuses, vested shares and other extras, was the highest recorded in the 12 years ACSI has calculated take-home pay.

American entrepreneur and Life360 co-founder Chris Hulls was the highest-paid executive of an Australian-listed company, collecting almost $48 million in the 2025 financial year — roughly 437 to 500 times the average Australian full-time adult worker's wage, depending on the measure used. Hulls, who lives in the United States, is now Life360's executive chairman after leading the company for almost two decades and helping it achieve record results in 2025.

Coverage comparison

Both ABC Australia and The Guardian reported on the ACSI analysis, with some differences in emphasis. ABC Australia led with Hulls as Australia's highest-paid executive, while The Guardian's lead focused on the overall median pay figure of $4.8 million. The Guardian also detailed the pay of other top earners, including ResMed's Mick Farrell at $35.1 million and News Corp's Robert Thomson at $33.5 million, and noted Thomson had been last year's top earner.

ABC Australia highlighted that five of the top ten highest earners this year were CEOs of US-domiciled companies, the first time in the history of the study that 'outsiders' have taken half of the top ten spots. The Guardian noted that the top earners were heads of ASX-listed companies headquartered overseas.

Both outlets quoted ACSI officials: The Guardian quoted Louise Davidson, while ABC Australia quoted Ed John, executive manager at ACSI. ABC Australia's framing was more critical, using language such as "culture of entitlement," while The Guardian's tone was more informative.

Key claims

• The top 100 CEOs were paid a median $4.8 million in 2025, a 16% increase from 2024, with the average reaching $6 million.
• Life360's Chris Hulls was the top-paid chief executive of an Australian-listed company in 2025, earning $47.7 million in realised pay.
• ResMed's Mick Farrell took home $35.1 million, and News Corp's Robert Thomson $33.5 million in 2025.
• Temple & Webster's Mark Coulter had the lowest realised pay among the top 200 ASX companies at $506,000.
• Fixed pay for the top 100 companies rose 4% to a median $1.83 million, still below 2012 levels.
• The median ASX100 CEO received 70.7% of their maximum bonus, with just five CEOs missing out on a bonus.
• Nine CEOs received termination payments averaging $2.2 million each, with total termination payments costing shareholders $18.6 million in FY25.
• Ten ASX100 CEOs left their roles during the year.
• The average ASX100 CEO earned about 55 times more than the average wage earner in FY2025, based on ABS average weekly full-time earnings of $2,083.20.
• Two Australian-based CEOs had realised pay above $30 million: Macquarie's Shemara Wikramanayake and Goodman's Greg Goodman, where none did in 2024.

Perspectives

ACSI (Australian Council of Superannuation Investors): The investor group's analysis highlights the gap between CEO pay and ordinary workers. ACSI's Louise Davidson said Australian investors were doing a good job at keeping a lid on executive pay, while Ed John pointed to equity incentives and bonuses as contributing to high CEO pay. The report's data shows the pay gap between top CEOs and ordinary workers remained the same as in 2024.