Media investigations suggest that the heads of Australian universities are pocketing some serious salaries, crying poor while taking more for themselves.

News Corp reports singled out James Cook University vice-chancellor Sandra Harding as the leader of the new pay push.

Professor Harding’s salary has gone up 65 per cent in four years, from $559,000 in 2010 to $927,000 last year.

Australian Catholic University’s Greg Craven is reportedly the highest paid overall, taking home a cool $1.2 million in 2013.

Queensland University of Technology head Peter Coaldrake made $1.059m last year, up 39.5 per cent since 2010.

Peter Hoj at the University of Queensland took home a salary package of $1.049 million last year.

Former Murdoch University head Richard Higgott, was paid $760,000 last year, while his university’s operating surplus plummeted from $35.9 million in 2013 to just $2.9 million last year.

Mr Higgott has since resigned following a referral to the Crime and Corruption Commission over “unspecified claims”.

Paul Johnson at the University of Western Australia has taken a small pay cut, down to about $959,000, while his university saw a drop in operating ­surplus from $124 million in 2013 to $90.5 million last year.

Andrew Bonnell, president of the Queensland division of the National Tertiary Education Union, says the big pay packets do not look good amid the universities’ push for fee deregulation.

“It’s incongruous when universities are crying out that they are cash-strapped and you’ve got vice-chancellors on salaries of over $1 million,” Dr Bonnell told reporters.

Several of the universities defended the big pay packets at the higher-end, saying they were necessary to attract and retain capable and influential leadership.