Some of Australia's top chief executives might be receiving bonuses they don't necessarily deserve, despite fixed CEO pay flatlining over the past decade.

Key points: 86 per cent of ASX 100 chief executives collected a fat bonus

86 per cent of ASX 100 chief executives collected a fat bonus Only 18 per cent of CEOs received less than half of their potential bonus

Only 18 per cent of CEOs received less than half of their potential bonus Report also confirmed the dominance of male chief executives in the ASX 100

A survey by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) shows that, on average, CEO fixed pay has not changed substantially since the global financial crisis, mainly due to shareholder pressure.

But the study of 2016 remuneration showed 86 per cent of ASX 100 chief executives collected a fat bonus, raising questions about whether bosses were jumping a high enough bar to boost their base pay.

ACSI chief executive Louise Davidson questioned why only 18 per cent of CEOs received less than half of their potential bonus, given dissatisfaction about some corporate performances.

"Investors reasonably assume that bonuses will only be awarded for exceptional performance over and above normal expectations," Ms Davidson said.

"But we're seeing it's pretty hard to miss out on a bonus if you're a CEO.

"The prevalence of CEO bonuses at consistently high levels raises serious questions about the way performance hurdles are being designed and applied."

While Ms Davidson welcomed the move by a small number of boards to reduce CEO bonuses, she pointed to the lacklustre performance of some companies.

"We can't help wondering why these executives would have qualified for any payments in the first place," Ms Davidson said.

While outside of the survey period, Ms Davidson welcomed the move by the Commonwealth Bank board to cut the bonus of chief executive Ian Narev to zero as a result of money-laundering allegations from the financial intelligence agency Austrac.

"It's good to see boards actually getting on the front foot," she said.

"But what we'd like to see is a little more rigour across the board to be honest."

Ms Davidson acknowledged CBA investors were becoming increasingly nervous after Melbourne law firm Maurice Blackburn said it was proposing a class action over the bank's alleged failure to disclose what it knew about the scandal in 2015.

"We think the CBA board has made some good first steps in terms of the reduction in bonuses," Ms Davidson said.

"But we would like to see the board conduct a very thorough examination of what has gone wrong and why."

Ms Davidson agreed the move by Seven West Media chief executive to forgo his bonus was a good move, but said such decisions should rest with the board rather than the CEO.

Last week, Mr Worner conceded he had "not had a stellar year" after Seven West posted a full-year loss of $744 million, in addition to fallout from his ill-fated affair with former Seven executive assistant Amber Harrison.

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Pool of female CEOs 'tiny'

The CEO survey placed Westfield Corporation co-chief executives Peter and Steven Lowy as the highest paid executives, earning $26.3 million between them in 2016.

The Lowy brothers are followed by Macquarie Group chief executive Nicholas Moore who took home $18.2 million in 2016.

Companies, including the Commonwealth Bank, are under increasing pressure to avoid a "second strike" at this year's annual general meetings after receiving a non-binding protest vote on remuneration last year.

The report also confirmed the dominance of male chief executives in the ASX 100, which prevented the inclusion of data about gender diversity in terms of CEO pay.

"Unfortunately the pool of female CEOs is so small, given that there are only nine," Ms Davidson said.

"So we really couldn't find any meaningful data to analyse."

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