Senator calls for bureaucrat pay cap

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is paid $340,000 less than the bureaucrat who runs his department.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is paid $340,000 less than the bureaucrat who runs his department. (AAP)

High-profile senator Nick Xenophon has questioned why senior public servants are being paid more than the prime minister after it was revealed some of them have salaries approaching $1 million a year.

Malcolm Turnbull is paid $340,000 less than his department head who earns $861,700.

"Why should someone running a department be earning more than someone who's running the country?" Senator Xenophon told The Australian on Thursday.