The same rate would apply for the four other commissioners: former Liberal minister Amanda Vanstone, former Finance Department secretary Peter Boxall, former Treasury chief Tony Cole and former West Australian director-general Robert Fisher. ''This level of remuneration recognises the skills, experience and responsibilities of the commissioners and the fact the role is of limited duration,'' Senator Cormann said. ''Commissioners will be paid on a pro-rata basis where they do not work a full eight-hour day.'' Industry figures said the pay rates were standard for this type of work but the opposition have been highly critical of what they call the "commission for cuts'' and any possible privatisation. Labor finance spokesman Tony Burke said the "big business representatives" would be paid more in a day than a family received through the scrapped Schoolkids Bonus each year.

"Tony Abbott is axing the Schoolkids Bonus but can't see a problem paying a fortune to representatives of our wealthiest businesses to decide what the government should and shouldn't spend money on, and everyone else in the community is supposed to cop it," Mr Burke said. An audit industry insider told Fairfax Media the daily rates revealed by the government were "in the ballpark of what we would expect people to be charging". This was backed by audit expert Dr Margaret Wade, an adjunct associate professor at the University of Canberra. "I would agree that that's an amount that consultants are usually paid for that kind of work," Dr Wade said. The Australian National University's Greg Shailer, director of the Australian National Centre for Audit and Assurance Research, said senior accountants or barristers could expect to be paid $400 to $500 per hour.

"It's lower than normal consultancy fees. You don't get too many consultants under $2000 a day," Dr Shailer said. Mr Shepherd's team has been asked to find areas of duplication between federal and state governments, spell out what activities could be done ''more efficiently'' by the private sector or not-for-profit bodies, and consider an overhaul of service delivery. It has been set a three-month deadline for its first report with the second stage due for completion in five months to feed into the budget process. The daily rates are significantly less than Queensland's Liberal National Party government paid members of its own post-election commission of audit last year. Loading

Former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello was paid $3300 per day before GST, while his two deputy commissioners were paid $2500 each. Their reports sounded the alarm over Queensland debt levels and recommended big spending cuts and outsourcing in numerous service delivery areas.