Former ABC News director given $353,000 exit payment as broadcaster reports widespread executive turnover

Justin Stevens, the former director of ABC News, received an exit payment of $353,000 when he left the public broadcaster in May after 19 years with the organisation.

Stevens departed after a replacement, Simon Robinson, had already been lined up by managing director Hugh Marks, according to material disclosed in the ABC’s annual report.

The payout and other executive remuneration figures were published in the annual report released on Monday evening, ahead of a Senate estimates committee hearing where ABC executives will face questions on Tuesday.

The report underlines a period of rapid management churn since Mr Marks took charge, with almost the entire senior leadership team replaced during his tenure.

Chief operating officer Melanie Kleyn is among the recent departures. She received a full package of $869,771 in 2026 and has been succeeded by Trent Dickeson, who joined from Seven West Media. The annual report indicates Kleyn is also expected to have received a severance arrangement.

Mr Marks’ own remuneration for the 2026 financial year was a total package of $1,199,856, which included a base salary of $1,134,639. ABC chair Kim Williams was paid $226,000.

Staff have been told to expect significant change in the news division under Mr Robinson. Last week he informed employees that The Business, the broadcaster’s two-decade-old business news program, has been cancelled.

Senate estimates are set to question executives on several matters, including the fallout from the Mahmood Fazal affair. Fazal was dismissed in May after producing an unauthorised podcast, and multiple episodes of his reporting for Four Corners and Background Briefing were subsequently removed over concerns about sourcing.

The ABC’s independent ombudsman later concluded that editorial failings in two episodes published in 2023 and 2024 had undermined trust in the broadcaster.

Those editorial failings have been followed by a string of exits in the reporting line responsible for the material. The departures include Mahmood Fazal, Four Corners editor Matthew Carney, investigations head Jo Puccini, Justin Stevens and then-managing director David Anderson.

The annual report disclosure of senior pay and severance figures adds to scrutiny of how the ABC has managed recent editorial and leadership turbulence as it prepares to answer questions from senators this week.