The Reserve Bank has been stripped of its power to independently set the salaries of its governor, board members and top executives.

The move comes in the wake of the RBA remuneration committee's decision to approve a $234,000 pay increase for governor Glenn Stevens, taking his total pay package to $1.05 million - almost triple what Prime Minister Julia Gillard earns.

The increase angered Treasurer Wayne Swan after revelations that Mr Stevens would be paid significantly more than the chairman of the US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke ($199,700) and the president of the European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet ($504,900).

Now Mr Swan has handed the RBA's salary setting powers to the Remuneration Tribunal, which sets pay, entitlement and allowance for top public servants such as departmental heads, judges and the chairmen of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).

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In an interview with the Bloomberg wire service, Mr Swan said: "I've put in place a set of arrangements that mean that future decisions taken about those salaries will be in the context of other salaries paid to comparable people in the public sector.

"I have taken that action so that when the board takes its decision, it takes its decision within a framework set by government."

Mr Swan was unavailable for an interview with the ABC, but his office said the changes had been gazetted a month ago.

A spokeswoman for the Reserve Bank confirmed the gazetted change, and referred the ABC to the Remuneration Tribunal website.

The move culminates debate about the RBA governor's remuneration, amid criticism that the increase was out of line with community expectations in light of the global financial crisis.

However, some economists argue that Mr Stevens' salary is appropriate given the smooth operation of Australia's central bank and how he steered the economy clear of falling into a recession that engulfed much of the developed world.