Federal MPs to Receive 4 Percent Salary Hike Starting September

Australian currency and a wages envelope on the Gold Coast, Australia, on Feb. 22, 2018. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

Australian federal Members of Parliament (MP) will receive a four percent pay rise in September, the biggest salary hike in a decade.

The new remuneration standards will take effect on Sept. 1.

The Remuneration Tribunal first awarded a four percent salary increase to all offices except MPs on July 1, 2023. The Tribunal said that the decision was made after considering the economic conditions in Australia.

With the MP’s pay increase, the annual salary of a senator or member of the House of Representatives increased to about $225,742 (US$145,486) from $217,060.

The prime minister’s salary is normally valued at 160 percent of the base salary of an MP, and the latest increase will push Mr. Anthony Albanese’s annual pay to $586,768 from $564,200.

In response, Mr. Albanese said the “Remuneration Tribunal decides all these things at arm’s length from politicians and that’s as it should be.”

“I have no role in any of these processes,” he told reporters in Adelaide.

“And that’s as it should be, you do not want politicians determining their own conditions.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who receives an 85 percent addition to an MP’s base salary, will now receive $417,508 in contrast to his current annual salary of $401,450.

Tribunal Says Pay Increases Remained Low During COVID-19

“The Tribunal is aware the remuneration increases it has awarded to offices in its jurisdiction over the past decade have been conservative,” the Tribunal said in a statement (pdf) on Aug. 29.

“When determining remuneration for the broad spectrum of public offices within its jurisdiction, the Tribunal’s primary focus is to provide competitive and equitable remuneration that is appropriate to the responsibilities and experience required of the roles, and that is sufficient to attract and retain people of calibre,” the Tribunal said.

The Tribunal did not award salary increases in 2020 and 2021 but declared a modest increase of 2.75 percent in 2022.

“The Tribunal expects that these office holders do not accept appointments on the basis that monetary compensation for their roles in the public sector be set at private sector levels. Rather, in setting remuneration, the Tribunal continues to set rates below those of the private sector in recognition of the public service being provided by the officeholders.”

The Tribunal’s decision faced criticisms from the general public, with several posting their negative sentiments on social media.

“Why do politicians earn so much in Australia? Medical specialists who spent years training, working long unsociable hours take a long while if ever to achieve that sort of salary—especially in public hospitals,” a post on X, formerly called Twitter, stated.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that in the June quarter, the seasonally-adjusted wage price index rose 0.8 percent over the quarter and 3.6 percent over the year. The private sector climbed 0.8 percent and the public sector increased by 0.7 percent.

“For the third consecutive quarter, wages grew 0.8 percent. Wage rises from regular June quarter salary reviews were higher than in the same period last year, as recent cost of living and labour market pressures were incorporated into organisation-wide decisions on wage,” Michelle Marquardt, ABS head of prices statistics, said.

The Fair Work Commission ordered a 5.75 percent increase in award minimum wages, effective July 1. The Commission also ordered a 15 percent wage increase for direct care and some senior food services employees in the aged care sector, effective June 30.