On 22 June 2022, the Tribunal made the Members of Parliament (Victoria) Annual Adjustment Determination 2022.
The Determination is effective from 1 July 2022.
The full Determination and Statement of Reasons is available here:
As part of making the Determination, the Tribunal issued a notice of intention on 12 April 2022 which outlined the matters being considered by the Tribunal and invited submissions. The Tribunal received one submission.
The submission and notice of intention are available to read below.
Submission
The Tribunal received the following submission:
Notice of intention
In accordance with section 24(1) of the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and Improving Parliament Standards Act 2019 (Vic) (VIRTIPS Act), the Tribunal hereby publishes notice of its intention to make a Determination providing for an annual adjustment to the values set in the Members of Parliament (Victoria) Determination No. 01/2019 (as varied by the Members of Parliament (Victoria) Annual Adjustment Determination 2020 and Members of Parliament (Victoria) Annual Adjustment Determination 2021).
Once made, the Determination will take effect from 1 July 2022.
What will the Determination cover?
The Determination will apply to the following elements of the salaries and allowances payable to Members of Parliament:
- basic salary
- additional salaries for specified parliamentary office holders
- electorate allowance
- any expense allowance
- motor vehicle allowance
- travel allowance
- parliamentary accommodation sitting allowance
- commercial transport allowance
- international travel allowance
- Electorate Office and Communications Budget.
The Determination will take into account changes to electorates that will take effect from 1 November 2022, as announced by the Electoral Boundaries Commission.
Submissions
The Tribunal invites submissions from any person or body, including any affected person or class of affected persons, in relation to the proposed Determination.
You may wish to consider the following questions in your submission:
- What level of adjustment to the values of MP salaries and allowances should the Tribunal consider?
- Which economic and financial indices should the Tribunal consider when adjusting MP salaries and allowances?
- Are there other matters, in addition to those listed in the VIRTIPS Act, that the Tribunal should consider when making the Determination?
Please email written submissions to the Tribunal Secretariat at enquiries@remunerationtribunal.vic.gov.au.
If you require assistance to make a submission, please contact the Tribunal Secretariat at enquiries@remunerationtribunal.vic.gov.au.
Submissions have now closed.
Publication of submissions
The Tribunal may use information provided in submissions in its Determination.
All submissions will be published in full or in summary form on the Tribunal’s website, unless the person making the submission seeks confidentiality or the submission contains information that is identified as commercially sensitive. In this instance, the submission will be published in a form which protects confidentiality or commercially sensitive information.
The Tribunal may remove identifying information from submissions if published.
Submissions that contain offensive or defamatory comments, or that are outside the scope of the Determination, will not be published.
The Tribunal may receive a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic). Any such request will be determined in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) which contains provisions designed to protect personal information and information given in confidence. Further information can be found at the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner.
How will the Tribunal make its Determination
Current and projected economic conditions and trends
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (March 2022) show that Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 3.4 per cent in the December quarter 2021 as Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory came out of extended lockdowns. Over the 12 months to December 2021, GDP increased 4.2 per cent. As at February 2022, national and Victorian unemployment rates were 4.0 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively (in seasonally adjusted terms). Participation rates were 66.4 per cent (national) and 67.1 per cent (Victoria) in seasonally adjusted terms.
The Federal Budget 2022-23 (March 2022) highlighted the resilience of the Australian economy, noting that ‘conditions are in place for a sustained economic recovery’. The Federal Budget reported the following outlook for the Australian economy:
- real GDP is forecast to grow 4.25 per cent in 2021-22 and 3.5 per cent in 2022‑23
- unemployment rate is expected to reach 3.75 per cent in the September quarter 2022 — the lowest rate in nearly half a century
- annual growth in the Wage Price Index is expected to be 2.75 per cent over 2021-22 and 3.25 per cent over 2022-23.
In his Statement on 5 April 2022, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Dr Philip Lowe, similarly observed that the ‘Australian economy remains resilient’ and that ‘spending is picking up following the Omicron setback’. Dr Lowe acknowledged pressure on household budgets from rising prices, while noting that inflation remains lower in Australia than in many other countries. Dr Lowe also noted that while wages growth has increased, it remains at the relatively low rates seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (although larger wage increases are occurring in some areas).
The Tribunal notes the following movements in prices and wages in the Victorian economy:
- Consumer Price Index (All Groups) for Melbourne grew by 2.5 per cent between December 2020 and December 2021 — the lowest growth of all capital cities
- Victorian Wage Price Index grew by 2.5 per cent over the 12 months to September 2021 — the highest growth of all mainland states
- average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults in Victoria increased by 2.4 per cent over the 12 months to November 2021.
The 2021/22 Victorian Budget Update (Budget Update), released in December 2021, reported the following economic outlook for Victoria:
- real Gross State Product (GSP) forecast to grow by 2.25 per cent in 2021-22 and by 4.5 per cent in 2022-23
- unemployment rate expected to average 4.5 per cent in 2021-22 and 2022-23
- annual growth in the Victorian Wage Price Index is expected to gradually increase to 3 per cent in 2024-25 and expected to exceed growth in the Melbourne Consumer Price Index over the next few years.
Financial position and fiscal strategy of the State of Victoria
The most recent Victorian Auditor-General’s Office Report on the Annual Financial Report of the State of Victoria (November 2021) stated that ‘the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the financial performance and position of the state, with longer term consequences for its financial sustainability’. The report noted that revenue remained below, and expenditure well above, pre‑pandemic expectations, and highlighted emerging risks including operating expediture growth in the general government sector.
The 2021-22 Mid-Year Financial Report (March 2022) reported that the Victorian general government sector recorded an operating deficit of $10.0 billion for the six months to December 2021. The Report estimates that the operating deficit for 2021-22 will be $19.5 billion.
As at 31 December 2021, net debt for the general government sector was $89.6 billion (18.1 per cent of GSP). According to the Budget Update, net debt is forecast to increase to $162.7 billion (27.9 per cent of GSP) by 2024‑25.
The Budget Update reiterated the Victorian Government’s commitment to its four-step fiscal strategy:
- Step 1: creating jobs, reducing unemployment and restoring economic growth
- Step 2: returning to an operating cash surplus
- Step 3: returning to operating surpluses
- Step 4: stabilising debt levels.
Wages Policy
The VIRTIPS Act requires the Tribunal to consider any statement or policy issued by the Government of Victoria which is in force with respect to its Wages Policy (or equivalent) and the remuneration and allowances of any specified occupational group.
The Victorian Government Wages Policy and Enterprise Bargaining Framework (Wages Policy) which applies to departments and agencies in the Victorian public sector is reproduced below.
The Victorian Government Wages Policy and Enterprise Bargaining Framework has three pillars:
Pillar 1: Wages — increases in wages and conditions will be capped at a rate of growth of 1.5 per cent per annum over the life of the agreement. In practice this means employee wages and conditions will be allowed to grow at this rate.
Pillar 2: Best Practice Employment Commitment — all public sector agencies will be required to make a Best Practice Employment Commitment which will outline measures to operationalise elements of the Government’s Public Sector Priorities that reflect good practice within Government and can be implemented operationally or without significant costs.
Pillar 3: Additional strategic changes — additional changes to allowances and other conditions (not general wages) will be capped at 0.5 per cent per annum of the salary base and will only be allowed if Government agrees that the changes will address key operational or strategic priorities for the agency, and/or one or more of the Public Sector Priorities.
A ‘Secondary Pathway’ is also available for public sector agencies whose current enterprise agreement reaches its nominal expiry date between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022 which permits one annual wage and allowance increase capped at 2 per cent (instead of at 1.5 per cent).
Source: Industrial Relations Victoria, Wages Policy 2022 (State Government of Victoria: Melbourne, Victoria, 2021).
The Premier’s annual remuneration adjustment guideline rate is a salary increase that public sector employers may pass onto executives and senior office holders. In November 2021, the guideline rate for both 2021-22 and 2022-23 was set at 1.5 per cent.
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