REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL

Explanatory Statement:  Determination 2016/14
Specified Statutory Offices – Remuneration and Allowances

1. The Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 (the Act) establishes the Remuneration Tribunal (the Tribunal) as an independent statutory authority responsible for reporting on and determining the remuneration, allowances and entitlements of key Commonwealth office holders.  These include members of Parliament, Judges of Federal Courts, most full-time and part-time holders of public offices including Specified Statutory Offices (SSOs) and Principal Executive Offices (PEOs).
2. The Tribunal has inquired into the remuneration of public offices in its jurisdiction as it is empowered to do by the Act.  Under sub-section 8(1) of the Act the Tribunal is required to issue a determination at an interval of no more than a year.  This determination fulfils that obligation.  The date of effect of this determination is 8 December 2016, unless otherwise specified.

Consultation

3.                 Section 11 of the Act advises that in the performance of its functions the Tribunal:

• may inform itself in such manner as it thinks fit;
• may receive written or oral statements;
• is not required to conduct any proceeding in a formal manner; and
• is not bound by the rules of evidence.

4.                 The Tribunal has decided not to make any general adjustments to remuneration at this time.  In accordance with its customary practice in considering general adjustments, the Tribunal took account of a range of economic conditions in Australia, including trends in public and private sector remuneration.  In order to inform its conclusions the Tribunal drew upon authoritative external sources such as the published material available from the Government, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.  It is obliged by the Act also to consider the Annual Wage Reviews of the Fair Work Commission.  The Tribunal did not conduct formal consultations in making this decision.

Retrospectivity

5.                 Any retrospective application of this determination is in accordance with subsection 12(2) of the Legislation Act 2003 as it does not affect the rights of a person (other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth) to that person’s disadvantage, nor does it impose any liability on such a person.

Details of the determination are as follows:

PART 1 – GENERAL

6.                 Part 1 specifies the authority for and the date of effect of the determination and revokes and supersedes the previous principal Determination 2015/17 applying to the offices covered by this determination.  The Part also contains definitions of certain words used in the determination.

7.                 The other provisions in Part 1 remain unchanged from those contained in Part 1 of the superseded determination.

PARTS 2 – 5

8.                 Parts 2 – 5 set out:

• in Table 1 of Schedule A, the Base Salary and Total Remuneration effective on and from the date specified for the SSOs listed in the Table;
• the official travel provisions are contained in Determination 2016/07 (or any Determination that supersedes 2016/07).  The only change to the provisions of this Part from those contained in the superseded determination is the replacement of the reference to the superseded official travel determination with the current determination (Determination 2016/07).
• the compensation for early loss of office provisions which are contained in Determination 2014/17; and
• the recreation leave provisions which are contained in Determination 2012/11.

9.                 The provisions in Parts 2 to 5 remain unchanged, other than where specified above, from those contained in Parts 2 to 5 of the superseded determination.

Authority: Sub-sections 7(3) and 7(4) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973