The Salaries and Allowances Tribunal has released its final Determination in relation to the remuneration and allowances to be paid to Members of Parliament who are elected at next year’s state elections.
Changes included in this determination include:
- New accountability and reporting requirements;
- Changes in Allowances due to electorate boundary changes;
- Reforms to regional allowances to accommodate the whole of state Legislative Council electorate;
- Where the Tribunal has expanded the use of particular allowances, they have come with commensurate reporting or accountability requirements
- Changes to the nomenclature of allowances to better reflect their purpose;
- Allowing Members to use their Motor Vehicle Allowance to access government leased vehicles.
This Determination provides no increase to the salary of Members of Parliament. Instead, it sets the allowances framework that will apply to MPs elected at the next state election (the 42nd Parliament). It reforms the allowances provided to Members, particularly for Legislative Council Members whose electorate will now cover the entirety of Western Australia. This framework will ensure all Members have the resources needed to serve their electorate.
The Determination introduces several changes as a result of the Constitutional and Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Equality) Act 2021, which reformed the structure of the Legislative Council. Following the next State election in 2025, the six existing Legislative Council Regions will be replaced with a single whole of State electorate.
This Determination has been issued following extensive consultation with Members of Parliament, other relevant stakeholders and public consultation through the Tribunal’s Discussion Paper issued in October 2023 and its draft Determination issued in October 2024.
The Tribunal has strengthened the claims process and increased the reporting requirements for Members to improve the accountability requirements for allowances. The Tribunal will be publishing additional reports in relation to the Additional Electorate and Parliamentary Expenses Allowance, Travel within the Electorate (WA) for Legislative Council Members and interstate and intrastate travel under the Parliamentary Travel and Study Allowance. This reporting will be in addition to the reporting already in place.
All the decisions of the Tribunal are explained in detail in the Determination.
The Determination is available online at www.wa.gov.au/organisation/salaries-and-allowances-tribunal
Comments attributed to Tribunal Chair, Professor Margaret Seares
The Tribunal has implemented a remuneration and allowance framework for Members of the 42nd Parliament that establishes a strong accountability regime while providing Members with the resources required to undertake their Parliamentary duties.
One of the tasks entrusted to the Tribunal has been to ensure the allowance framework allows and encourages ‘regional voices’. This has been at the forefront of the Tribunal’s deliberations and while consultation has shown there are many different interpretations of how to apply this, the Tribunal believes the Determination will ensure that Members representing regional communities have the resources required to undertake their work.
The Tribunal will continue to monitor and review the allowances framework in light of the operation of the new Legislative Council and welcomes input from interested stakeholders on its operation.
ENDS
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