“This contributed to a top-down culture, which impacted empowerment and a willingness to challenge or ‘speak up’ on issues or decisions of concern.”

“While there were no findings of deliberate wrongdoing, the review found that mistakes were made by the board and management which contributed to the group’s significant reputational and customer service issues,” the company said in a statement.

Saar has made 23 recommendations to address the company’s issues which the Qantas board has committed to implementing. These include making staff “a bigger priority” and “invest[ing] more time to understand customers and recover lost trust”.

Incoming Qantas chair John Mullen said the board needed to understand the cause of Qantas’ problems following the COVID-19 pandemic as it was clear “we let Australians down”.

“It is our duty to make sure we always act in the best interest of stakeholders and hold ourselves to the highest level of accountability,” he said.

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Senator Tony Sheldon, a former Transport Workers Union leader who has long been critical of Qantas, said the decision to claw back the bulk of his entitlements was correct.

“It ensures he experiences at least a small fraction of the suffering Qantas inflicted upon its workers and customers throughout his tenure,” Sheldon said.

” The recognition that the actions of other Qantas executives were so egregious that their bonuses should also be clawed back emphasises that those remaining are not fit to continue,” he continued.

The head of the Australian and International Pilots Association Tony Lucas said the body welcomed the clawback following one of the most damaging periods in the airline’s history.

“Management and the board must now deliver the cultural change that has been promised, especially by working constructively and collaboratively with the dedicated frontline staff.”

Major proxy advisor, Institutional Shareholder Services, said the Qantas board did not go far enough given Joyce will still receive close to $2 million in bonuses.

“It seems to me that they’re splitting hairs so they can work out how to still give him some money. He should have been docked the whole thing,” ISS’ head of research Vas Kolesnikoff said.

Executive manager of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, Ed John, said it was critical the company learns from the identified missteps.

“Last year, Qantas received one of the highest ever “no” votes on CEO pay from Australian investors. The cancellation of over 9 million dollars in incentives is an important step in responding to investor concerns.”

Joyce sold $17 million in Qantas shares in June 2023 to the chagrin of investors. The review found the company’s policies on share selling were not market-leading and called for additional scrutiny of share dealings proposed by executives.

Qantas confirmed the chair and audit committee chair will now be required to approve any share sale.

“Many of the actions taken by Qantas in response to the recommendations are complete or well under way,” Saar said.

Qantas shares are 1.6 per cent lower at $5.88 on Thursday afternoon.

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