Australian lawmakers received hefty pay boosts prior to their six-week winter break, leaving them as among the best-paid politicians around the world.

According to The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, the Remuneration Tribunal signalled the green light for Parliament members to collect an average three percent rise on their annual salaries, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard benefitting the most.

Fresh from the pay rise that she and other MPs have gotten in March this year, Ms Gillard will soon stare on a pay slip that says $495,430, making her one of the highest paid head of states, exceeding even the figures attributed to the leaders of Britain, Germany and the United States.

As of January this year, U.S. President Barack Obama receives roughly $US400,000 for his yearly wage while his British counterpart, Prime Minister David Cameron reportedly earns $US222,000 each year, according to The Daily Mail.

The head of Europe's largest economy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, took home $US283,608 by the end of 2011, further pushing up Ms Gillard on the top echelon as the best-paid among world leaders handling the planet's key economies.

She was only surpassed by chief executives handling the day-to-day affairs of Hong Kong and Singapore.

Former Hong Kong top honcho Donald Tsang had been collecting $US513,245 yearly prior to his retirement early this month and his successor is expected to inherit the same pay level while the highest paid of them all, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong makes $US1.7 million for every 12-month cycle of steering the robust economy of his island nation since 2004.

The latest pay rise was implemented across the board, with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott soon to chalk up total pay of $352,517 for a year of service in the government while his shadow ministers will be entitled to an annual wage of $238,187 each.

Ms Gillard's deputy, Treasurer Wayne Swan, gets to realise a cheque that reads $390,627 each year while the rest of the cabinet members will be paid $328,698 each for holding a portfolio in the government.

Also, controversial Speaker of the House Peter Slipper will presumably earn $333,462 while on forced leave while backbenchers each take $190,550, including former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who in 2008 opposed a similar pay increase that the Parliament had approved.

This time around, it was Greens leader Christine Milne who assailed the initiative, calling the raise inappropriate while "the Government is saying it can't afford to give people struggling on Newstart an extra $50 a week to just get up to liveable levels."