MPs, Senators and senior APS department bosses just got a 2.4 per cent pay rise. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Parliamentarians and the most senior public service bosses will be getting a 2.4 per cent pay rise from 1 July, following the latest determination by the Remuneration Tribunal.
The 2025 Review of Remuneration for Holders of Public Office will see the Prime Minister trouser almost $14,500 more, bringing his annual salary to $622,050.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will pocket just over $10,000 more to earn $442,643 a year.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ annual pay will also jump more than $10,000 to $448,625, while other Cabinet ministers will each get a little more than $4000 extra.
The tribunal’s decision has also pushed the salaries of the two most senior public servants beyond the million-dollar mark.
Steven Kennedy, who leaves Treasury’s top job this week to start as the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, will earn $1,035,680 a year.
Jenny Wilkinson says goodbye to the top job at the Finance Department and hello to a $1,009,788 annual salary, replacing Dr Kennedy as Treasury Secretary.
The secretaries of Defence, DFAT and Home Affairs are all paid close to a million dollars, with annual salaries of $983,900.
Department secretaries other than PM&C and Treasury are set by the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet following the Remuneration Tribunal’s decisions each year.
This year’s 2.4 per cent pay increase for MPs and the most senior public servants is less than last year’s 3.4 per cent hike, and also lower than the current Wage Price Index for the public sector.
For the year to March 2025, the WPI rose by 3.4 per cent, with the public sector at 3.6 per cent and the private sector at 3.3 per cent.
The tribunal’s 2.4 per cent rise is also lower than the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review, which gave a 3.5 per cent increase to the minimum wage.
Australian Public Service employees received a 3.8 per cent pay increase in March as part of their 11.2 per cent rise over three years, which was negotiated through service-wide bargaining.
Numerous factors contributed to the tribunal’s review and ultimate decision, including economic conditions in Australia; past and projected movements in remuneration in the private and public sectors; the outcome of the wage reviews undertaken by the FWC; the Consumer Price Index; unemployment and participation rates; the Reserve Bank’s interest rate decisions; and the WPI.
“The tribunal notes the domestic economy is continuing to stabilise following a period of elevated inflation and that many Australians continue to experience financial challenges,” the Remuneration Tribunal said in a statement.
“In the current economic context, the tribunal considers an increase of 2.4 per cent appropriate.
“This adjustment reflects a measured approach, balancing the need for restraint given economic conditions with the recognition of the upward pressure on household costs since the Tribunal’s 2024 review.”
Once the new salaries take effect, backbench MPs will see their base salaries increase from $233,660 to $239,267.
MPs also get an electorate allowance to cover constituent expenses such as travel and mailouts.
Depending on the size of their electorate, an MP will receive between $39,700 and $57,100 in electorate allowance, while Senators receive a flat rate of $39,700 per year.
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
