Australian taxpayers are forking out million-dollar salaries for unelected public servants who are paid three times as much as their overseas counterparts.

Top bureaucrats in the United Kingdom and United States only take home a fraction of what they do in Australia - despite often doing a far larger job in countries with bigger economies and populations.

The pay gap is found across all departments, from Canberra's government agencies to those with senior diplomatic postings.

For instance, Australia's Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe draws a total salary package of $1,059,761.

But his counterpart at the US Federal Reserve, Chairman Jerome Powell, is paid just $203,500 or about $A295,000 - even though the decisions he makes affect the world's biggest economy and have major global ramifications.

Australia's top public servants are earning more than three times as much as their counterparts in the United States and Great Britain. When it comes to setting interest rates, the Reserve Bank of Australia's Governor Philip Lowe (pictured) draws a salary of $1,059,761

His counterpart at the US Federal Reserve, Chairman Jerome Powell, is paid $203,500 or $A295,435, even though the decisions he makes affect the world's biggest economy

How Australia's top public servants' pay compares INTEREST RATES Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe: $1,059,761 US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell: $203,500 ($A295,000) Bank of England Governor Mark Carney £480,000 ($A898,000) POWERFUL DEPARTMENT Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary: Philip Gaetjens: $914,460 UK Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill: £185,000 ($A345,000) DIPLOMACY Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Secretary Frances Adamson: $864,580 UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Permanent Under-Secretary Simon McDonald: £185,000 ($A345,000) Sources: Remuneration Tribunal for Australia and US, UK government reports Advertisement

Similarly, Frances Adamson earns $864,580 as the secretary of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, while the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office chief Simon McDonald earns £185,000 ($A345,000) - less than half his Australian equivalent.

In Australia, the Remuneration Tribunal sets the salaries of senior public officials.

The independent government agency's president John Conde defended the generous salary packages, arguing remuneration needed to be 'at levels that will attract and retain individuals of the calibre and with the skills necessary to perform the particular role'.

In the US, Congress sets the pay of the US Reserve board while in the UK, Her Majesty's Treasury decides how much its civil servants should take home.

Griffith University senior politics lecturer Dr Paul Williams said Australia's central bank governor arguably had a tougher job than his American counterpart - and deserved to be paid three times as much.

'The United States economy is far less regulated and in that sense less complex,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Australia, with a small population, also arguably needed to pay more to attract the right applicants to lead the Reserve Bank.

'The talent pool is smaller - you just wouldn't attract the quality candidates if you paid $200,000 for this position,' Dr Williams said.

But the Australian Taxpayers' Alliance's director of policy Satya Marar questioned the wisdom of paying Australia's top central banker triple the salary of his US counterpart.

'They deserve about the same. We should follow international standards,' he said.

Career public servant and policy adviser Frances Adamson earns $864,580 as the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, making her Australia's highest paid female public servant

'Australia has a lesser population - it's actually a smaller economy than several American states.

'I would question why the Reserve Bank governor then gets paid significantly more.'

To be fair to Australia, the UK is also generous when it comes to paying its top central banker.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has a base salary of £480,000, or $A898,000, which is more than his US counterpart.

It is only marginally below Dr Lowe's base salary of $911,728 before superannuation.

Outside of the central bank, Australia is also particularly generous when it comes to paying the heads of federal government departments based in Canberra, thanks to independent Remuneration Tribunal determinations.

Her counterpart at the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office Simon McDonald earns £185,000 ($A345,000) or more than two-and-a-half times less than his Australian equivalent

Philip Gaetjens, who heads Prime Minister and Cabinet, is on $914,460.

'I would say that's an excessive figure for certain,' Mr Marar said.

'It just contributes to this culture that we see in Canberra within some many of these bureaucratic departments where they do feel the sense of entitlement to meddle into our lives.'

By comparison, the UK's top civil servant Mark Sedwill earns £185,000 ($A345,000) in his dual roles as cabinet secretary and national security adviser.

Dr Williams said Australia's department heads didn't have job security - and therefore deserved to be paid more than the PM.

'Up until the 1970s, if the public servant stuffed up, the minister resigned but since the 1970s, 80s if the minister stuffs up, the public servant goes,' he said.

Philip Gaetjens, who heads Australia's Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, is on $914,460

Australian executive public service salaries Prime Minister and Cabinet: $914,460 Treasury: $892,290 Foreign Affairs and Trade; Defence: $864,580 Finance; Health; Home Affairs: $820,240 Industry, Innovation and Science; Human Services; Social Services; Attorney's General; Education and Training; Attorney-General's: $775,910 Agriculture; Communications and the Arts; Environment and Energy; Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development; Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business: $748,210 Veterans' Affairs: $720,480 Source: Remuneration Tribunal decision, June 2019 Advertisement

Australia's top public servants also earn significantly more than Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is paid $549,250 a year.

The second highest paid departmental public service head, Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy, is on $892,290.

Then there's the Department of Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty on $864,580.

Three more department secretaries on $820,240 a year including Finance's Rosemary Huxtable, Health's Glenys Beauchamp and Home Affairs's Michael Pezzullo.

The next tier are on $775,910 including Industry, Innovation and Science boss Heather Smith, Human Services's Renee Leon, Social Services's Kathryn Campbell, Education's Michele Bruniges and Attorney-General's Chris Moraitis.

Then there are level two department secretaries on $748,210 including Agriculture's Daryl Quinlivan, Communication and the Arts's Mike Mrdak, Environment and Energy's Finn Pratt and Employment and Skills's Kerri Hartland.

The head of Veterans Affairs gets Elizabeth Cosson gets $720,480.

By comparison, the UK's top civil servant Mark Sedwill earns £185,000 ($A345,000) in his dual roles as cabinet secretary and national security adviser

For the first time ever a majority, or 51.2 per cent, of executive level public servants are now women, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed last week.

The Remuneration Tribunal independently sets the salaries of Australia's senior public servants, politicians and judges.

'If there are similar countries with economies similar to ours, which are paying salaries that are significantly lower for the same job then we have to wonder whether the current level of remuneration can be justified,' Mr Marar said.

Dr Williams said that while it was better to have an independent Remuneration Tribunal set executive public service salaries, Parliament should have a veto if pay packages were too generous during a major economic crisis.

'Perhaps there needs to be flexibility in the system so in times of austerity, Parliament should be able to override the Remuneration Tribunal in mitigating circumstances: emergency situations, economic downturns, budget deficits,' he said.