9
June 2016
PDF version [390KB]
Cathy
Madden, Deirdre McKeown
Politics and Public
Administration Section
Contents
Introduction
Executive responsibility
Parliamentary departments
Department of Finance
Parliamentary base salary
Constitutional basis for payment
Legislation and reports
Governor-General
Remuneration Tribunal
Recent reviews
Australian National Audit Office
Committee for the review of
parliamentary entitlements
Remuneration Tribunal
Remuneration
Base salary
Additional salary
Ministers of State
Table 1: Selected Ministers of State
percentage rates of base salary
Parliamentary office holders
Electorate allowance
Table 3: Electorate allowance from 1
May 2009
Additional electorate allowance of
$19,500 per annum in lieu of private-plated vehicle
Other Entitlements
Travel entitlement changes
Reporting of entitlements
Entitlements available to former
parliamentarians
Life Gold Pass
Resettlement allowance
Parliamentary superannuation
Former prime ministers
Appendix 1: Base salary, electorate
allowance and additional salaries since 2011
Appendix 2: Salaries of state and
territory parliamentarians and salary of office of premiers and chief ministers
Introduction
The issue of parliamentary salaries,
allowances and entitlements continues to generate interest and comment. This
research paper sets out major changes to the parliamentary remuneration and
entitlements regime, including the authority and governing legislation and
explains how different aspects of parliamentary remuneration and entitlements
are regulated.
Executive responsibility
The responsible Ministers, with selected administered
legislation, are:[1]
The Prime Minister, Malcolm
Turnbull, MP
Governor-General Act 1974, Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973, Remuneration
and Allowances Act 1990
The Minister for Finance, Senator
Mathias Cormann, Parliamentary Allowances Act 1952, Parliamentary
Superannuation Act 2004, Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act
1948, Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990, Ministers of State Act
1952, Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Act 2002, Members of
Parliament (Staff) Act 1984.
The Special Minister of State, the
Senator Mathias Cormann, has specific responsibility for administering some
allowances and benefits under this legislation.
Parliamentary departments
The Department of the Senate and the Department of the House
of Representatives pay the base salary and electorate allowance to
parliamentarians and additional salary to ministers and parliamentary
secretaries and Parliamentary office holders. The Parliamentary Departments also
pay some other benefits such as postage.
Department of Finance
Ministerial and Parliamentary Services (M&PS) in the
Department of Finance (Finance) provides advice on entitlements to the
responsible Minister and to senators, members, office holders and their
respective staff. M&PS also oversees
the provision of a number of senators’ and members’ entitlements and
administers the accountability mechanisms.[2]
Parliamentary
base salary[3]
The base salary for parliamentarians is $199,040 per
annum from 1 January 2016.
|
Constitutional basis for payment
Section 48 of the Constitution
provides for the payment of members of parliament:
48. Until the Parliament otherwise provides, each
senator and each member of the House of Representatives shall receive an
allowance of four hundred pounds a year, to be reckoned from the day on which
he takes his seat. [4]
Legislation and reports
Commonwealth legislation allows for payment of the annual
allowance as described in the Constitution.
The Remuneration
and Allowances Act 1990 as consolidated, sets out the annual allowance
(base salary) payable to senators and members of the House of Representatives
for the purposes of Section 48 of the Constitution.[5]
Governor-General
Section 8A of the Remuneration and Allowances Act allows the
Governor-General to make regulations necessary to allow the Act to be carried
out.[6]
The regulations currently in force are Remuneration
and Allowances Regulations 2005[7]
Remuneration Tribunal
The Remuneration
Tribunal is the independent statutory body which determines the base salary
for senators and members.[8]
The Remuneration
Tribunal Act 1973 establishes the Remuneration Tribunal and defines its
powers and functions. Subsection 7(1) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act says
that:
The Tribunal shall, from time to time as provided by this
Part, inquire into, and determine, the allowances (including allowances in
accordance with section 48 of the Constitution) to be paid out of the
public moneys of the Commonwealth to members of the Parliament...[9]
In 2012 the role of the Tribunal in setting parliamentary
remuneration changed from an advisory role to one of determining the base
salary. For more details see the section below on the Review of Parliamentary
Entitlements.[10]
Recent reviews
A number of reports in recent years have described the
complexity and lack of transparency in the rules governing parliamentarians’
remuneration and entitlements.
Australian National Audit Office (2009)
A report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), Administration
of parliamentarians’ entitlements by the Department of Finance and Deregulation,
highlighted shortcomings in the management of MPs’ entitlements.[11]
The 2009 audit, which was a follow-up to an earlier audit[12],
found that there had been no fundamental changes to the framework since the
2001 audit, with the result being an ‘entitlements framework that is difficult
to understand and manage for both the Parliamentarians and Finance’. The audit
supported a comprehensive review of the entitlements framework and greater
transparency in the system.[13]
Parliamentary entitlements had not been comprehensively reviewed since 1971.
This 2009 report was pivotal in leading to reform of MPs’ entitlements.
Committee for the review of parliamentary entitlements
(2010)
In September 2009, in response to the ANAO report, the
Government set up a committee to review parliamentary entitlements, chaired by
former senior public servant, Barbara Belcher. The terms of reference for the
review included:
- developing a single principles-based legislative basis
- improving transparency
- enabling accountability processes to be mandated, and
- recommending possible improvements to the protocol for handling
allegations of misuse of entitlements.[14]
The report was handed to the Special Minister of State on
the 9 April 2010 and released on 24 March 2011.[15]
The Belcher Review drew a distinction between remuneration (salary) and ‘tools
of trade’ (entitlements such as office facilities and transport) and recommended
that each be dealt with separately. The former will be determined by the
Remuneration Tribunal while the latter will be covered by a single piece of
legislation to be administered by the Special Minister of State. Other key
recommendations include that the Government:
- ask the Remuneration Tribunal to conduct a work value assessment
of parliamentary remuneration and incorporate the electorate allowance and
overseas study with the base salary
- abolish the Gold Pass and severance travel schemes for those
entering parliament at or after the next election, and
- remove the use of the printing and communications allowance when
an election is announced.
The Government accepted all of the recommendations and the Minister
identified reforms recommended by the Belcher review which had already been
implemented by the Government.[16] These include opposition
staffing, amendments to the printing and communications entitlements and
expanded reporting of MPs’ expenditure on entitlements.
On 24 March 2011 the Minister introduced the Remuneration
and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 to amend the Remuneration Tribunal
Act. This legislation acted on the key recommendation of the Belcher Review by restoring
the power of the Remuneration Tribunal to determine parliamentary base salary
and requiring the Tribunal to publish reasons for its decisions on parliamentary
remuneration. The legislation also removed the power of the Parliament to
disallow parliamentary remuneration determinations made by the Tribunal. The
Bill passed both Houses on 23 June 2011 and received assent on 25 July 2011,
commencing on 8 August 2011.
Remuneration Tribunal (2011)
On 15 December 2011 the Remuneration Tribunal issued its
initial report on the work value assessment of parliamentary remuneration.[17]
The Tribunal also issued a Statement outlining its recommendations and next
steps.[18]
The main recommendations included:
- on the basis of a work assessment of parliamentarians, that
parliamentary base salary should be set at $185,000
- the introduction of additional salaries for Shadow Ministers
- the prospective closure of the Life Gold Pass (LGP) scheme
-
termination of the present Overseas Study Travel entitlement
-
greatly limited severance travel entitlement
- severance of the link between pensions under the 1948
superannuation scheme and current parliamentarians’ salaries, and
- the introduction of workers’ compensation arrangements for
parliamentarians.
The Tribunal recommended that the base salary of MPs be
increased from $141,910 to $185,000, but did not accept the Belcher Review
recommendation to incorporate the electorate allowance into parliamentary base
salary. The Tribunal raised concerns about the flow-on impacts for former members
who receive a pension under the 1948 Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation
Scheme (PCSS). The Tribunal indicated that it could not make determinations in
regard to base salary and other entitlements until the Government took
legislative action to change the LGP scheme and the superannuation arrangements
under the 1948 PCSS Act.
The Government accepted all of the recommendations and
indicated it would introduce the necessary legislation.[19]
On the 9 February 2012 the Minister introduced the Members of Parliament (Life
Gold Pass) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012.[20]
The Bill passed Parliament and commenced on 6 March 2012. On the 13 March 2012
the Remuneration Tribunal released three determinations with reasons, including
the increase to base salary, additional salary for shadow ministers and a new
principal determination covering entitlements, incorporating changes to the
LGP, severance travel and overseas study travel.
An independent parliamentary
entitlements system (2015)
On 2 August 2015 the Government established a Review
Committee to examine an independent parliamentary entitlements system. The
review sought submissions and the Committee reported on 23 March 2016.[21]The Committee
made 36 recommendations. Key recommendations included:
- establishing a ‘principles-based system’ in which
parliamentarians would consider whether their work expenditure represents an
efficient, effective and ethical use of public resources
- changing the terminology from entitlements and benefits to ‘work
expenses’ and create a single framework for parliamentarians’ work expenses
- adopting an inclusive definition of parliamentary business, and
- clarifying and strengthening the division of responsibilities
between the Remuneration Tribunal, the Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990
and the Special Minister of State.
Sixteen of the recommendations relate to aspects of
parliamentarians’ travel. Another key theme of the findings was increasing
transparency through more detailed and more frequent reporting.[22]
The Government accepted all the recommendations in principle.[23]
Remuneration
Base salary
The passage of the Remuneration and Other Legislation
Amendment Act 2011 means that the Tribunal now has the power to determine
base salary for members of parliament. On 13 March 2012 the Tribunal issued the
first Determination setting the base salary of $185,000 for members of parliament
to take effect from 15 March 2012.[24]
On 19 June 2012 the Tribunal determined that MPs’ base
salary be increased by 3 per cent to $190, 550 from 1 July 2012.[25]
The Tribunal noted in the accompanying Reasons for Determination that:
The Tribunal has decided that the base pay of
parliamentarians should be increased by the same percentage (i.e. 3%) as the
Tribunal has determined for public offices in general as part of the 2012
annual remuneration adjustment.
The increase will help to ensure that parliamentary pay does
not lag behind in comparison to other public sector incomes.[26]
In June 2013 the Tribunal announced
that public office holders within its jurisdiction would receive a 2.4% pay
increase.[27]
Subsequently the Tribunal issued Determination 2013/15 Members of
Parliament—base salary, additional salary for parliamentary office holders and
related matters which increased parliamentarians’ base salary to $195,130.[28]
In its 2014 Annual
review of Remuneration for Holders of Public Office, the
Remuneration Tribunal determined that there would be no annual adjustment to remuneration
for offices in its jurisdiction from 1 July 2014 for one year. This included
parliamentarians and office holders as well as other principal executive
offices.[29]
Determination 2014/10 Members of Parliament–base salary, additional salary
for parliamentary office holders, and related matters gave effect to this
decision.[30]
On 31 March 2015 the Tribunal decided
to defer consideration of remuneration increases for offices in its
jurisdiction until the second half of the 2015 calendar year.[31]A
determination was issued in May 2015 to that effect.
In December 2015 the Tribunal issued the Annual review of
remuneration for holders of office: second statement which provided for an
increase in remuneration of 2 per cent for public offices in its jurisdiction
effective from 1 January 2016.[32]
Additional salary
Section 66 of the Constitution provides the basis for
the payment of salaries of ministers of state.
Section 7 of the Remuneration
and Allowances Act 1990 provides that ministers of state and parliamentary
office holders are to receive a salary in addition to their base salary. This
is sometimes described as an ‘additional salary.’
Ministers
of State
The Remuneration Tribunal is empowered, by subsection 6(1)
of the Remuneration Tribunal Act, to report on salary for ministers of state.
However ministerial salary is ultimately a matter for executive government:
while the Remuneration Tribunal reports on ministerial salary, Cabinet
can vary ministerial salary if it so wishes.
Ministerial salary is expressed as a percentage of the base salary.
The Tribunal’s Report Number 1 of 2014 Report on Ministers of State -
Salaries Additional to the Basic Parliamentary Salary confirms the
percentage rates that currently apply.[33]
On 7 August 2014 the Tribunal issued a Statement stating that it would
recommend no increase in ministerial salaries consistent with the decision not
to increase base salary for senators and members. This remained unchanged in
2015.[34]
Table 1: Selected Ministers of State percentage rates of base
salary
Ministers of State
|
Percentage of base salary
|
Prime Minister
|
160.0%
|
Deputy Prime Minister
|
105.0%
|
Treasurer
|
87.5%
|
Leader of the Government in the Senate
|
87.5%
|
Leader of the House
|
75.0%
|
Other Minister in Cabinet who is also
Manager of Government Business in the Senate
|
75.0%
|
Other Ministers in Cabinet
|
72.5%
|
Other Minister who is also Manager of
Government Business in the Senate
|
67.5%
|
Other Ministers
|
57.5%
|
Parliamentary Secretary who is also
Manager of Government Business in the Senate
|
35.0%
|
Parliamentary Secretaries
|
25.0%
|
When acting Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister is
paid the same rate of salary per annum payable to the Prime Minister.
The Ministers
of State Act 1952 sets the maximum number of ministers and appropriates
monies for payment of ministerial salaries. This Act was amended in 2000 to
include parliamentary secretaries.[35]
Parliamentary office holders
Subsection 7(1) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act allows
the Tribunal to determine a salary for parliamentary office holders. This
subsection prevails, to the extent of any inconsistency, over Schedule 4 of the
Remuneration and Allowances
Act, ministers and office holders of the Parliament.
Determination 2013/13 brought together the determination of
base salary and additional salary for parliamentary office holders in the one
instrument for the first time.[36]
Parliamentary office holders, like ministers of state, receive a salary that is
also expressed as a percentage of the base salary. Determination 2012/03
brought into effect the paying of an additional salary to shadow ministers,
commencing 15 March 2012.[37]
Current salary rates are set out in Determination 2015/22: Members
of Parliament–Base Salary, Additional Salary for Parliamentary Office Holders.[38]
Table 2: Selected parliamentary
office holders salary percentages—effective 1 January 2016
Parliamentary office holder
|
Percentage of base
salary
|
Leader of the Opposition
|
85.0%
|
President of the Senate
|
75.0%
|
Speaker of the House of Representatives
|
75.0%
|
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
|
57.5%
|
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
|
57.5%
|
Leader of a recognised party of more than 10 members of parliament,
other than a party whose Leader is the Prime Minister or the Leader of the
Opposition
|
45.0%
|
Shadow Minister
|
25.0%
|
The remaining offices and percentages can be found in Schedule
A, Table 1 of Determination 2015/22 (the additional salary is to be rounded up
to the nearest ten dollars).
Electorate allowance
An electorate allowance is determined by the Remuneration
Tribunal by virtue of subsection 7(1) and subsection 7(4) of the Remuneration
Tribunal Act 1973 and Clause 2 of Schedule 3 of the Remuneration
and Allowances Act 1990. It is ‘an expense of office allowance payable to
Senators and Members to reimburse them for costs necessarily incurred in
providing services to their constituents’.[39]
The electorate allowance is treated as taxable income but is not regarded as
salary for the purposes of the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act
1948.
Remuneration Tribunal Determination 2012/04 Members of
Parliament—Entitlements gives the annual rates.[40]
Table 3: Electorate allowance from 1 May 2009
Chamber
|
State or Territory/Electorate
|
Amount effective
on and from 1 May 2009
|
Senators
|
All States and Territories
|
$32,000
|
Members
|
Electorate of less than 2,000 sq km
|
$32,000
|
Members
|
Electorates of 2,000 to 4,999 sq km
|
$38,000
|
Members
|
Electorates of 5,000 sq km or more
|
$46,000
|
Additional electorate allowance of $19,500 per annum in
lieu of private-plated vehicle
Part 5 Determination 2012/04 entitles parliamentarians to a
private-plated vehicle to be used for parliamentary, electorate or official
business.
From 20 March 2006, senators and members who choose not to
be provided with a vehicle ‘will be entitled to an additional $19,500 per annum
of electorate allowance in lieu of the private plated vehicle to meet the costs
of transport within and for the service of the electorate’.[41]
When calculating the total remuneration of an individual
member, note that the rate of electorate allowance will vary depending upon the
size of a particular member’s electorate and whether the senator or member has
elected to take a private-plated vehicle.
Other Entitlements
The Parliamentary
Entitlements Act 1990 entitles members of parliament to benefits listed
in Schedule 1 Part 1 of the Act.[42]
Schedule 1 of the Act allows certain travel and accommodation to be reimbursed
if it is related to ‘parliamentary or electorate business.’ The Schedule
outlines stationery, office accommodation, and domestic and overseas travel
entitlements.
The Act also allows benefits in the Schedule to be ‘varied
or omitted’ by determination of the Remuneration Tribunal or by regulations
pursuant to the Act. Where the regulations and determinations are inconsistent,
the regulations prevail and the determination is void to the extent of the
inconsistency.[43]
Section 7 of the Remuneration
Tribunal Act 1973 states that the Tribunal shall ‘inquire into, and
determine’ benefits paid to MPs, office holders and ministers.
The principal determinations governing entitlements are:
- Determination 2012/04 Members of Parliament–Entitlements[44]
(includes electorate allowance, various travel entitlements and office
facilities), and
- Determination 2015/12 Members of Parliament–Travelling
Allowance[45]
Travel entitlement changes
The Parliamentary Entitlements Act includes the entitlement
to domestic and overseas travel for members of parliament, parliamentary office
holders and members of the executive. Overseas travel covers delegation,
representational, study and official business travel. Please note that there
have been changes to study and official business travel.
The Remuneration Tribunal has determined that there will be
no further accrual of the study travel entitlement. Part 10 of Determination
2012/04 outlines transitional arrangements for any senator or member who had
accrued an entitlement to overseas study travel prior to 15 March 2012. These
senators and members will retain access to this entitlement which can be rolled
over from the 43rd Parliament to the 44th Parliament, but not to a later
parliament.
From 1 July 2012, an amendment to Schedule 1 of the Parliamentary
Entitlements Act has established a new pooled entitlement for overseas
travel on official business by the Leader of the Opposition in the House of
Representatives and other opposition members at the discretion of the Leader of
the Opposition.[46]
This replaces the previous entitlement that provided a lower, fixed amount, for
the cost of fares for travel by the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition
only. The Regulation has also created a new entitlement for overseas travel on
official business by the leader of a minority party and other members of the
minority party at the discretion of the leader. These amendments reflect the
Remuneration Tribunal’s 2011 report on the Review of the remuneration of members
of parliament which recommended that ‘the overseas travel provisions for
the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Leaders of minority parties
be enhanced’.[47]
Since January 2014 MPs have been required to make a
declaration when submitting a travel claim. The new declaration reads:
I declare that this travel was undertaken in my capacity as
an elected representative and I acknowledge that a financial loading will be
applied if subsequent adjustment to this travel claim is required.
In addition parliamentarians who are required
to make an adjustment to any claims made after 1 January 2014 will be required
to pay a loading of 25 per cent in addition to the full amount of the
adjustment. This will not apply where the adjustment is the result of an error
made by the Department of Finance.[48]
The Parliamentary Entitlements Legislation Amendment Bill
2014, currently before the Parliament, will strengthen the compliance
provisions for claims for travel expenses.[49]
As noted above, the remuneration and entitlements regime has
been subject to a number of changes and the Government accepted the Belcher
review recommendation that MPs’ entitlements or ‘tools of trade’ be covered by
a single piece of legislation. In February 2012, Special Minister of State,
Gary Gray, stated:
The Government is ... currently undertaking a full-scale
review of the Parliamentary Entitlements Act and associated regulations, with
the aim of simplifying them and making them easier for politicians and
administrators to understand and comply with, with a firm legislative base for
the accountability and transparency mechanisms.[50]
Similarly, the Review of an Independent Parliamentary
Entitlements System has recommended numerous changes to travel benefits
(Recommendations 8 to 23), and has recommended a single legislative authority
to cover ‘work expenses’ (Recommendation 6).[51]
Reporting of entitlements
From the July to December 2009 reporting period, the
Department of Finance reports on parliamentarians’ entitlements have been
available online.[52]
The following reports are tabled biannually and are available on the Department
of Finance website:[53]
- Parliamentarians’ Expenditure on Entitlements paid by the
Department of Finance
- Former Parliamentarians’ Expenditure on Entitlements paid by the
Department of Finance
- Parliamentarians’ Overseas Study Travel Reports
Expenditure on the following entitlements for senators, members
and certain former parliamentarians are now included in the reports:
- office administrative costs, including:
- office
consumables and services
- printing
and communications
- publications
- office facilities costs
-
travel allowances and travel expenses for both domestic and
overseas travel, including family travel costs (previously available), and
- overseas study travel reports from senators and members
(previously available)
An annual report covering ministerial and parliamentary
staffing, employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984, was
introduced in December 2008.[54]
Entitlements
available to former parliamentarians
Parliamentary superannuation, retirement travel and a
resettlement allowance are the entitlements available to former
parliamentarians. Retirement travel consists of the Life Gold Pass and
Severance Travel.
Life Gold Pass
The Life Gold Pass benefit is outlined in the provisions of
the Members
of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Act 2002.[55]
The Life Gold Pass entitles eligible former parliamentarians to travel within
Australia for ‘non-commercial’ purposes at government expense. Section 4A of
the Act closes the Life Gold Pass scheme prospectively to new members of parliament.
The qualifying periods for eligibility for the Life Gold
Pass are determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.[56]
Post retirement (formerly called Severance) travel is
available for those parliamentarians ineligible for the Life Gold Pass. It
allows parliamentarians who do not qualify for a Life Gold Pass to travel
domestically at government expense for a limited time. Severance travel, for ‘non-commercial’
purposes only, provides for five return trips for the first six months years
from the member’s retirement from Parliament.[57]
A former senator or member who retired from the Parliament
on or before 15 March 2012 continues to be entitled to travel in accordance
with clauses 8.1 to 8.5 of Determination 2006/18.[58]
The Parliamentary Entitlements Legislation Amendment Bill
2014, currently before the Parliament, will reduce the entitlement to Life Gold
Pass extensively for eligible senators and members.[59]
For a fuller description refer to Research paper, Retirement
travel.
Resettlement
allowance
The resettlement allowance is determined by the Remuneration
Tribunal in Determination 2012/04 Clauses 9.6 – 9.8.[60]
Eligible Senators and Members are those:
(a) first elected before 9 October 2004 and whose retiring
allowance under the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act
1948 is subject to deferral under the Act when he or she ceases to be a
member of the Parliament,
(b) first elected on or after 9 October 2004, who declare in
writing to the Clerk of the relevant House of Parliament the intention to seek
employment after leaving Parliament, and
(c) who have retired involuntarily through:
(i) electing not to stand for re-election
following loss of party endorsement, for reasons other than misconduct
(ii) defeat at an election
(including defeat at an election where he or she has campaigned to be elected
to represent a different electoral division or to the other House of
Parliament).
The resettlement allowance payable to eligible former
parliamentarians is equal to three months of the basic salary on the date
Parliament is prorogued before the election.
If a senator or member qualifies for a resettlement allowance
he or she will be paid an Additional Allowance of a further three months of the
base parliamentary salary if he or she is:
(a) a senator who has served more than three full years in
the Parliament, or
(b) a senator for a territory or a member who has served more
than one full term in the Parliament.
Parliamentary
superannuation
Senators and members elected at the general election held 9
October 2004 and at subsequent elections are eligible for benefits under the Parliamentary
Superannuation Act 2004.[61]
Parliamentarians who served prior to the 2004 general
election are, and will remain, eligible for entitlements under the Parliamentary
Contributory Superannuation Act 1948 (the principal Act).[62]
This Act established the Parliamentary Retiring Allowances Trust and the
Parliamentary Superannuation Contributory Scheme (the Scheme). Finance
administers the Scheme under the direction of the Trust. A history of the
principal Act can be read in The
Parliamentary Retiring Allowances Act 1948: Debates, Committee Reports,
Remuneration Tribunal Reviews and a Chronology of Legislative Amendments.
The Parliamentary
Superannuation Handbook, published by Finance, outlines the Scheme’s
operation.[63]
For further discussion of the schemes refer to a companion
Research paper, 2014
Superannuation benefits for senators and members elected before 2004.
Former prime ministers
In addition to the benefits afforded under parliamentary
superannuation acts, Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 and the Members
of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Act 2002 former prime ministers who have
left parliament have been provided with ‘a number of facilities at the
discretion of the prime minister of the day’. These entitlements have included
car costs and office entitlements such as office establishment and lease costs,
fixtures, telecommunications, office stationery and publications. The 2010
Belcher review noted that:
While each former prime minister’s entitlements are
individually determined by the incoming prime minister, they have come to be
largely uniform in nature. The Prime Minister can also determine ad hoc
benefits on a case-by-case basis.[64]
In its December 2011 report the Remuneration Tribunal stated
that:
... the Tribunal is of the view that a case can be made for
providing availability to travel to former Prime Ministers (including, as it
were, future former Prime Ministers) who have served a reasonable term –
probably one year – in office. Such travel would not necessarily be provided
under the rubric of an LGP. The travel could be included as an entitlement for
former Prime Ministers under special provisions for former holders of that
office. The Tribunal will provide further comment on this proposal when it
completes its consideration of CROPE’s
[Belcher Review] Recommendation 35, which recommends a legislated head of authority
for providing benefits to former Prime Ministers.[65]
Appendix 1: Base salary, electorate allowance and
additional salaries since 2011
See Appendix 1 for
a spreadsheet of base salary, additional salary and electorate allowance calculated
for each office.
Appendix 2: Salaries of state and territory
parliamentarians and salary of office of premiers and chief ministers
The Remuneration Tribunal recommended that ‘any existing
linkages between the remuneration of state and territory parliamentarians and
assembly members and the base salary of federal parliamentarians be severed on
the basis that it cannot be justified without a state or territory based
work-value assessment similar to that conducted for federal parliamentarians’.[66]
South Australia has enacted legislation to maintain the link with the basic
salary of federal members of parliament. All other states and territories
determine their own parliamentary remuneration.
Note: 2015–16 salaries are advisory, please contact each jurisdiction
to confirm.
Jurisdiction
|
Legislation/ linkage
|
Current basic salary
|
Salary of office
premier/chief minister
|
Total salary of premier or chief minister
|
Australian Capital Territory
|
Determined by the ACT Remuneration Tribunal. See Determination
7 of 2015 and Remuneration Tribunal Act 1995 (ACT)
Members of the ACT Legislative Assembly
Determination 1 of 2016
The Remuneration Tribunal released its Final report on the review of entitlements for members of the
Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in April 2014.
|
$136,758
From 25 September 2015
$142,228
From 1 July 2016
|
$150,434
110% of basic salary. Determined by ACT Remuneration Tribunal in Determination
7 of 2015
$156,451
From 1 July 2016
|
$287,192
$298,679
From 1 July 2016
|
New South Wales
|
Parliamentary Remuneration Act 1989 (NSW) establishes the Parliamentary Remuneration Tribunal. The Tribunal determines salaries up to the amount
prescribed in the government’s wages policy. The Parliamentary, Local Council and Public
Sector Executives Remuneration Legislation Amendment Act 2011 (NSW) breaks the nexus with the basic salary of
federal MPs and ensures that NSW members’ salary is aligned with public
sector wages. The most recent Determination is 2015 Annual Report and Determination, 28 August 2015.
|
$153,280
From 1 July 2015
|
$145,616
95% of basic salary
Schedule 1 of the Parliamentary Remuneration Act 1989
|
$298,896
|
Northern Territory
|
The basic salary of Assembly members is tied to the
annual rate of increase in the salary of NT Public Service (NTPS) employees.
S3 Assembly Members and Statutory Officers
(Remuneration and Other Entitlements) Act (NT)
describes the linkage and establishes the NT Remuneration Tribunal
See also Guide to Members’ Entitlements.
Report on salaries and other entitlements of
Assembly members and Determination No. 1 of 2015 on salaries and other
entitlements of Assembly members.
|
$153,312
From 1 January 2016
|
$153,312
From 1 January 2016
100% of basic salary
Determined by the NT Remuneration Tribunal,
Determination No. 1 of 2015
|
$306,624
|
Queensland
|
In July 2013 the Queensland Independent Remuneration Tribunal was established under the Queensland Independent Remuneration Tribunal Act
2013 (QIRT Act).
As a result of amendments made to
the QIRT Act in 2015, the Tribunal has new procedures for determining
members’ salaries. The Act specifies that the Tribunal must deliver a
Determination on members’ salaries within 90 days of a decision on certain
core public service salaries (s31A). Any decision to increase members’
salaries is capped to the increase in salary awarded to the relevant public
service employees. Determination 10/2016 was issued on 12 January 2016.
|
$151,425
From 1 September 2015
|
$234,296
Additional salary determined by the Tribunal see Determination 10/2016 See also Members’ Remuneration Handbook
|
$385,721
|
South Australia
|
Parliamentary Remuneration Act 1990 (SA) describes the linkage with federal base salary
and establishes the SA Remuneration Tribunal which determines on
entitlements.
Parliamentary Remuneration (Basic Salary)
Amendment Act 2012 (SA) states that from
1 July 2012 SA basic salary will be $42,000 less than federal base salary.
The SA RT in its 2015 Determination provided additional increases to base salary as
compensation for the abolition of certain allowances including travel and
committee service. The $30,294 common allowance was set by Determination of the Remuneration Tribunal Common
Allowance for Members of the Parliament of South Australia
|
$157,040
From 1 January 2016
|
$157,040
100% of basic salary
Schedule of the Parliamentary Remuneration Act 1990 (SA)
|
$314,040
|
Tasmania
|
The Parliamentary Salaries, Superannuation
and Allowances Act 2012
(Tas.) (the Act) repeals and replaces the 1973 Act. It breaks the nexus with
the basic salary of federal MPs. The Act provides for the establishment of a
tribunal to prepare a report “determining the basic salary and other
matters”. The Parliamentary and Salaries Tribunal tabled a report in June 2014which was not implemented. An amendment to the Act in
2015 provided a 2% rise in base salary and that a Full Bench of the Tasmanian
Industrial Commission (the Commission) must from then on periodically inquire
into, report on and make determinations about the salaries and allowances to
which MPs are entitled. The Commission released its report
in February 2016 recommending that basic salary increase to $133,560 from 1 July
2016. On 7 April the Government moved a motion to disallow the increase and
link MP’s pay to the Wage Price Index. On 25 May 2016 the Legislative Council
voted
against the disallowance motion resulting in the pay increase. The Government
and Opposition say they will refuse the increase and the Greens say they will give the increase to
charitable organisations.
|
$120,835
From 1 July 2015
$133,560 from 1 July 2016
|
$138,960
115% of basic salary
Schedule 4 Part 3 of the
Parliamentary Salaries, Superannuation
and Allowances Act 2012 (Tas)
|
$259,785
|
Victoria
|
Premier’s press release, 2 May 2012, announced the end of the link
between state and federal MPs’ pay. The Parliamentary and Public Administration Legislation
Amendment Act 2013 (Vic), received assent 18 June 2013. From 1 July
2015 salary will be adjusted by the relevant index published by the ABS on
Victorian adult average weekly ordinary time earnings.
|
$145,277
From 1 July 2015
|
$145,277
100% of basic salary
Part 1 of the Parliamentary Salaries and Superannuation
Act 1968
(Vic)
|
$290,554
|
Western Australia
|
As determined by WA
Salaries and Allowances Tribunal and published in the government gazette.
Determination of the Salaries and Allowances
Tribunal for the Remuneration of Members of Parliament April 2016 (WA) sets outs salaries, allowances and
entitlements.
|
$156,536
From 15 April 2016
|
$199,145
From 15 April 2016
|
$355,681
|
[4]. The
choice of phrase to describe the allowance payable under Section 48 of the Constitution
is a difficult one. ‘Basic salary’ is commonly used in an informal sense and
serves to distinguish it from salaries paid to ministers and office-holders. Parliamentary
base salary is used by the Remuneration Tribunal and the authors have chosen to
use this phrase.
[8]. Remuneration
Tribunal, website,
accessed 18 March 2016.
[10]. See also
Remuneration Tribunal website, Determinations,
accessed 18 March 2016. Note that all
Remuneration Tribunal determinations—as legislative instruments—must be
registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
[13]. ANAO, 2009,
op. cit., pp. 14–15.
[14]. Committee
for Review of Parliamentary Entitlements, Terms
of Reference, Department of Finance website, accessed 18 March 2016.
[15]. Committee
for the Review of Parliamentary Entitlements, Report,
April 2010, Department of Finance website, accessed 18 March 2016.
[22]. Review Committee,
An independent parliamentary entitlements system, Report,
22 February 2016, pp. 4–16, accessed 8 April 2016.
[36]. Remuneration
Tribunal, Determination 2013/13, op. cit.
[39]. Remuneration
Tribunal, Report on senators and members of parliament, ministers and
holders of parliamentary office – salaries and allowances for expenses of
office – December 1999, Report 1999/01, The Tribunal, 1999, p. 8.
[43]. Section 9,
Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990.
[44]. Determination
2012/04, op. cit.
[45]. Remuneration
Tribunal, Determination 2015/12: Members
of Parliament–Travelling Allowance, 30 August 2015, accessed 12 April
2016. This Determination specifies the amount payable to members of parliament,
office-holders and ministers, for accommodation during periods of stay away
from a home base that is nominated to the Special Minister of State. The
conditions of payment and for what purpose travel at government expense can be
used are specified. Current travel allowance rates are listed in Part 2 of the
Determination.
[47]. Remuneration
Tribunal, Review of the Remuneration of Members of Parliament: Initial
report, December 2011, op. cit.
[51]. Review
Committee, op.cit., pp. 3–4, 6–7, 8–12.
[54]. Department
of Finance, Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984, Annual
reports, accessed 12 April 2016.
[59]. Bill
homepage, op. cit. If the Bill is still on the Notice Paper when a federal
election is called then it will lapse.
[60]. Determination
2012/04, Part 9, op. cit.
[64]. Belcher
review, op. cit., p. 95.
[65]. Remuneration
Tribunal, Review of the Remuneration of Members of Parliament: Initial
report, op. cit., para 8.13, p. 49.
[66]. ibid., para
1.22, p. 3.
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