District Council of Coober Pedy bumps up CEO salary to $274,000 in search for new boss

Would $274,000 be enough to lure you to the remote “opal capital of the world”?

South Australia’s District Council of Coober Pedy has upped the ante in its search for a qualified executive to take the reins, offering an extra $40,000 to fill the top job.

The outback town of Coober Pedy has struggled to find a candidate willing to steer its council toward financial stability, with a $234,437 sum not enough of an appeal.

Council administrators have tried and failed three times to recruit a chief executive officer, and have now turned to the state remuneration tribunal for help.

The council’s remoteness and “unique challenges” meant accommodation and regular transport costs needed to be considered for remuneration, administrators said.

A recruitment specialist brought in to help with the process said it was “highly unlikely” they would find a qualified candidate who was willing to relocate to the area for the existing pay packet.

They said there was “no financial incentive for a CEO to relocate to such a remote location” and to hire someone with less experience would “be challenging and a risk to council and the community”.

Council successfully applied to the Remuneration Tribunal of South Australia for an additional $40,000, with hopes the new salary of $197,600 to $274,437 will be enough to sweeten the deal.

It bumps it into the same band as councils such as Barunga West, Berri Barmera, Port Lincoln, Clare and Gilbert Valleys, and Yankalilla, according to tribunal documents.

For comparison, Adelaide City Council CEO Michael Sedgman has a pay package worth $425,000 for overseeing the state’s largest local government, The Adelaide Advertiser reports.

Coober Pedy council has been a defaulting council since January 2019, meaning it is being overseen by administrators.

This will continue until local government elections in November 2026.

“The tribunal has recognised that the District Council of Coober Pedy faces unique regional and locational challenges together with additional responsibilities which are not generally associated with local government functions,” the tribunal said in a notice.

“Such challenges increase the level of complexity of the CEO role and the degree of risk associated with the recruitment decision.

“The tribunal has also noted the administrators’ recognition of the financial constraints on the council with the inherent requirement to strike a balance between a commercially sustainable rate and responsible expenditure.”