Frequently Asked Questions

No - The FBT on accommodation allowance is an expense to the agency, not the office holder, so it is not to be deducted from total remuneration.

The Tribunal has determined a level of financial compensation for a holder of a public office where there is early loss of office (some exclusions apply). Where a term of appointment expires (i.e. there is no early termination) no termination payment is available.

The Tribunal does not determine early loss of office provisions for part-time office holders or judicial offices. Separate severance arrangements apply to Members of Parliament.

The relevant determination for each office type will outline the provisions.

• Full-time Office Holders and Specified Statutory Offices: loss of office provisions are set out in the Compensation for Loss of Office for Holders of Public Office determination.
• Full-time non-Judicial offices included in the Judicial Determination: loss of office provisions are included in the Judicial and Related offices determination.
• Principal Executive Offices (PEOs): loss of office entitlements are set out in the PEO determination.
• Secretaries: loss of office entitlements are set out in the Departmental Secretaries determination.

Questions about the taxation of loss of office compensation should be directed to the Australian Tax Office.

With the exception of the determinations relating to Departmental Secretaries, Tribunal determinations are legislative instruments, which means that, under sub-section 38(1) of the Legislation Act 2003, they are required to be tabled in both houses of Parliament by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel within 6 sitting days after the determination has been registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Where an office holder cannot obtain accommodation of a reasonable standard at the locality without incurring additional costs, an additional payment may be made to him/her based on the excess cost of the accommodation over the travel allowance rate, subject to the conditions outlined in the Official Travel determination.

Total remuneration (TR) is defined in the relevant determination applying to the particular office holder (i.e. Full-time Offices, Principal Executive Offices, Specified Statutory Offices, Departmental Secretaries and Judicial and Related Offices).

An office holder's cash salary is the component of TR that remains when all other payments and benefits, including the Employer Superannuation Contribution, are honoured. Cash salary should not be confused with the superannuation salary determined by the Tribunal for members of defined benefit schemes.

Cash salary equals TR, less the Employer Superannuation Contribution, less all payments and benefits included in the office holder's remuneration package (other than those specifically excluded in accordance with the relevant determination).

The process is outlined in the diagram below (note that slightly different superannuation arrangements apply to PEOs - see "How is cash salary calculated for a PEO"):

Yes, noting different arrangements apply in respect of Principal Executive Offices (PEOs) – see the PEO page on the Tribunal’s website for more information.

In order to have the Tribunal make a determination for an office, a submission must be made to the Tribunal.

Rates for meals and incidentals are equivalent to the overseas meals and incidentals rates in the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) determination dealing with reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expense amounts.  The relevant ATO determination is specified in the Tribunal’s Official Travel determination.

The rate of overseas TA payable to an office holder depends on the Travel Tier determined for the office.  Accommodation should be provided at a standard reasonably equivalent to that provided for the office holder in Australia.

Class of travel is also dependent on the Travel Tier determined by the Tribunal, i.e.

Tier 1 = First Class or Business Class

Tier 2 = Business Class

Tier 3 = Economy Class

An office holder who is entitled to travel Economy Class may upgrade to Business Class where the duration of the flight exceeds five hours.

Parking provided at the main office location of a Secretary or full-time office holder, where there is a cost to the Commonwealth, is regarded as a benefit to that office holder and the value, including any fringe benefits tax, is therefore part of the office holder’s total remuneration. This applies even where the office holder doesn't have a Commonwealth provided vehicle.

A Class B parking permit to allow short stay parking in Commonwealth designated spaces would normally be regarded as a business support expense to the Department or agency and therefore not a benefit to the office holder.

The Tribunal may determine recreation leave for full-time holders of public office (but not part-time) where the enabling legislation (i.e. the Act establishing the office) states that the Tribunal will determine the matter.

It cannot determine other types of leave, such as personal and miscellaneous leave, for public office holders other than Secretaries of Departments.

The Tribunal has more general powers for Principal Executive Offices (PEOs) and for Judicial and Related offices - it can determine other types of leave as outlined in Part 5 of the PEO determination and in Part 2 of the Judicial and Related Offices determination.

Yes, the responsible Department or agency should advise the Tribunal at enquiry@remtribunal.gov.au as soon as possible so that redundant entries may be removed from the relevant determination(s).

Unlike other public offices, remuneration increases for holders of Judicial Offices cannot be put into effect until after the disallowance period of the relevant determination has passed.

The Tribunal flags those determinations that are still within the 15 sitting day disallowance period to alert paying agencies not to pass on any increases to Judicial Offices until the disallowance period has passed.

For offices other than Judicial Offices each Tribunal determination comes into effect from a date specified in the determination. Where no date is specified, the date of effect is the day after the determination has been registered with the Federal Register of Legislation.

A remuneration increase for holders of Judicial Office cannot be passed on until after the disallowance period of the relevant determination has passed. In both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the disallowance period is 15 parliamentary sitting days after the determination has been tabled.

These arrangements are necessary because sub-section 72(iii) of the Constitution expressly prohibits diminution of a Judge's remuneration while the Judge remains in office - if the increase was put into effect immediately, the Parliament's right to disallow the determination would effectively be removed.

After the disallowance period has passed, any remuneration increase is then paid to Judicial Officers, with any necessary arrears paid from the date the Tribunal determined as the effective date of the increase.

No - TA is an allowance to meet expenses incurred by the office holder when required to travel to perform his/her official duties.

Generally, the Tribunal has no authority in relation to the remuneration of acting appointees.

Section 33A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that the person or body who has the power to appoint a person to act in a particular office also has the power to determine the acting appointee's remuneration and allowances unless the enabling legislation (i.e. the Act establishing the office) provides otherwise.

Departments/agencies may need to seek their own legal advice regarding their particular circumstances.

There is no obligation to advise the Tribunal. However, we appreciate such advice as it ensures that correspondence to office holders is correctly addressed and, in the case of a resignation, that any person-specific clauses are removed from the relevant determination.

Where a new Principal Executive Office (PEO) appointment is made, the Tribunal must be advised on the remuneration determined by the employing body for that office holder within 4 weeks of that determination being made.

All Tribunal determinations are disallowable instruments except those relating to Departmental Secretaries and Members of Parliament.

Either House of Parliament may, within 15 sitting days after a determination has been tabled, pass a resolution 'disapproving' the determination. If a determination that is disapproved (disallowed) has already come into operation, the determination does not have any force or effect on or after the day on which the resolution was passed. However, disallowance does not apply retrospectively. This means, for example, that affected office holders who have already received a pay rise do not have to repay any additional remuneration they have already received. However, from the date of disallowance, their pay would revert to what it was previously.

Special arrangements apply for Judicial Offices within the Tribunal’s determining jurisdiction. Determinations for Judicial Offices do not come into effect until after the 15 sitting days disallowance period has passed. This means, for example, that if the Tribunal determines a remuneration increase for Judges, they will not receive their increased pay until after the disallowance period. Any remuneration increase would be backdated to the date of effect specified in the determination. These arrangements are necessary due to sub-section 72(iii) of the Constitution, which expressly prohibits diminution of a Judge's remuneration while the Judge remains in office.

It would be appropriate to reduce the reasonable daily overseas meal allowance amounts determined by the Australian Taxation Office by 50 per cent where dinner has been provided or paid for by an entity other than the office holder, or 25 per cent in the case of either breakfast or lunch. Alternatively, it would also be permissible for office holders to comply with any relevant administrative guidelines put in place for employees in their agency where these are not inconsistent with the Official Travel determination.

Commonwealth defined benefits scheme rules provide that an office holder's salary for superannuation purposes will be grandfathered at the highest rate applying in the year to the member's last birthday, increased annually in accordance with changes to the Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) unless a higher superannuation salary is applied.

To ensure an office holder’s superannuation salary conforms with scheme requirements, the Tribunal will, upon request, agree to a higher personal superannuation salary rate for the office holder. A request to the Tribunal can be included in a remuneration submission by a Minister or employing body or notified to the Tribunal’s Secretariat by a relevant senior officer of the agency with access to the officer holder’s superannuation salary history.

The Official Travel determination provides for the payment of an allowance to the office holder to cover reasonable expenses associated with official travel, i.e. accommodation, meals and incidentals, and it is a matter for the office holder as to how that allowance is to be used.  An office holder’s TA must be paid in full.

However, in the event that the cost of accommodation is met by an entity other than the office holder, only the meals and incidentals component of TA is payable. An example of this might include where an office holder attended a conference and the cost of accommodation was met by the Commonwealth as part of the conference package.

In applying the provisions of the Official Travel determination, office holders and agencies should have regard to the set of general principles included in that determination.

The website’s search facility enables users to find answers to questions about the Tribunal's functions and offices. Where there is a FAQ containing the search term the website provides suggestions as text is entered. Paying agencies and other frequent visitors to the site are encouraged to sign up to receive an email alert when changes are made to the website.

Each category of office has a dedicated launch page that provides a background on the office and relevant FAQs.  Current determinations, together with current applicable guidelines, statements and reports, display on the launch page. The current determinations could include either consolidated determinations or principal determinations (see the FAQ “What are principal determinations, compilations and amending determinations” for more information).

Most determinations (including associated explanatory statements and if applicable, reasons for determinations) and other statements and reports from 2004 can be found in the Document Library by conducting a filtered search (by office, year and/or document type).  Should access be required to historical documentation (generally from 2003 or earlier years) a request can be made to the Remuneration Tribunal Secretariat at enquiry@remtribunal.gov.au.

The Tribunal is also keen to receive feedback about the website.  You are welcome to email your suggestions and comments to enquiry@remtribunal.gov.au.