 |
Home | | | | | Contact Us | | | Publications | | | FOI | | | Links | | | Making a submission | ||
|
|
Home | | | | | Contact Us | | | Publications | | | FOI | | | Links | | | Making a submission | ||
 |
| |||||
 |
|
ParliamentariansCurrent DeterminationsThe current Determinations (including amendments) relating to Parliamentarians are:
Following amendments to the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 (the Act), which took effect from 5 August 2011, any determination that the Tribunal makes in relation to members of parliament (including Ministers of State), concerning salary or other allowances or any matters that are significantly related, cannot be disallowed by the Parliament. However, the Tribunal is now required to provide a statement of reasons for each determination it makes in relation to parliamentarians. These statements are available under the Statements tab of the home page. From time to time the Tribunal publishes Frequently Asked Questions in relation to these offices. To view further relevant Parliamentary Websites: Parliamentary Websites Parliamentarians’ base payFrom 15 March 2012 each Senator and Member of the House of Representatives is
paid a base salary of $185,000 per annum. This figure was determined by the
Remuneration Tribunal in
Determination 2012/02
Prior to this the Tribunal did not directly determine parliamentary
base salary (base salary is now the term used to describe the
parliamentarians' 'allowance' that was established in section 48
of the Australian Constitution). However following amendments to the
Act, contained in the Remuneration and Other Legislation Amendment
Act 2011, which took effect from 5 August 2011, the Tribunal now
has the responsibility to determine base pay for all members of
parliament in both Houses. A brief history of how parliamentary pay has
been set in the past is provided at
A
Brief History of Parliamentary Remuneration.
Prior to making determination 2012/02 the Tribunal conducted,
with the assistance of an external consultant, a review of the work of
members of parliament. The Tribunal announced its findings on
15 December 2011, in
Review of the Remuneration of Members of
Parliament - Initial Report
The Government's consideration of this matter led to further amendments to the Act, via the Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) and Other legislation Amendment Act 2012, which received Royal Assent on 6 March 2012. Once the amendments came into effect, the Tribunal determined the matter of parliamentary base salary and additional salaries, which it did with effect from 15 March 2012. Additional salary for Ministers and Parliamentary Office HoldersThe Tribunal is required to report to Government annually on the additional salary payable to Ministers (sub-section 6(1) of the Act). Under the Constitution, the salaries of Ministers are a matter for decision by Executive Government, and do not require legislative action for implementation. The Ministers of State Act 1952, as amended, makes provisions for an annual appropriation which is apportioned in annual salaries to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Treasurer, Leader of the Government in the Senate, Leader of the House, other Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries. Report Number 1 of 2011 is the Tribunal’s most recent report on Ministers’ additional salary. Parliamentary Office Holders include the Leader and Deputy Leader of
the Opposition, the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Whips and Deputy Whips plus the Chairs of a range of
parliamentary committees. From 15 March 2012 the Tribunal has also
determined that shadow ministers will be paid additional salary for
performing their functions in relation to the Parliament, with the
number of shadow ministers who can be paid limited to match the number
of actual Ministers.
Determination
2012/03
Additional salary for both Ministers and office holders is expressed as a percentage of the base salary, so that a person entitled to additional salary receives a combination of the base salary plus the percentage of base salary specified for his or her office(s). SuperannuationThe amendments to the Act of August 2011 and March 2012 enabled the Tribunal to determine a portion of the base salary and any additional salary that is not allowance by way of salary (or in simple terms, salary for superannuation) for those parliamentarians covered by the 1948 Act. The Tribunal has determined the portion of base salary that will not count for 1948 Act superannuation purposes to be $38,620, meaning that a parliamentarian who is a member of the 1948 scheme receives $185,000 as base salary, but his/her notional salary for superannuation purposes is $146,380 (which is equal to Reference Salary A - see history). The figure of $146,380 also is the figure used to calculate the basic pensions of any retired members entitled to a pension under the 1948 scheme. The Tribunal has also determined that the portion of additional salary is 20%. This means that if a member of the 1948 scheme was being paid 16% additional salary, or $29,600 per annum, the component of their superannuation salary relating to their additional salary would be that figure less 20%, or $23,680. The portions only apply to members of the 1948 scheme. For a member of the 2004 parliamentary superannuation scheme, established by the Parliamentary Superannuation Act 2004, which is an accumulation rather than a defined benefits scheme, the parliamentarian's superannuation salary is the same as his/her actual base and additional salary. Parliamentarians' allowances and entitlementsThe Act provides the Tribunal with the power to determine a range of allowances and entitlements for Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia, including Ministers (sub-sections 7(1), 7(2) and 7(4)). However, the Tribunal does not determine the entire range of provisions that are made for Federal parliamentarians. Other relevant pieces of legislation include the Ministers of State Act 1952, the Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990, the Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Act 2002, the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984, and the superannuation Acts. The principal Tribunal determinations governing parliamentarians’ allowances and entitlements are: The major allowances determined by the Tribunal include travelling
allowance rates and travel-related provisions (eg travel on scheduled domestic
flights, car transport, private plated vehicle, charter allowance and overseas
study travel), electorate allowance, qualifying periods for Life Gold Pass,
post retirement travel (for those not qualifying for Life Gold Pass),
and certain office facilities. Under
the Act
, the Tribunal is required to review parliamentarians salary and
allowances at least annually.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
(83kb)