About the Tribunal

About the Tribunal

The Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal (Tribunal) was established under the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and Improving Parliamentary Standards Act 2019 (Vic) (VIRTIPS Act) to:

• support transparent, accountable and evidence-based decision-making in relation to the remuneration of Members of the Parliament of Victoria (MPs) and Victorian public sector executives
• bring Victoria into line with other Australian jurisdictions that already had independent tribunals to review and determine remuneration for MPs and public sector executives

Since its establishment the Tribunal has also been given responsibility for setting the remuneration of elected officials in local government in Victoria.

The legislative framework for the Tribunal is informed by the principles of independent and impartial decision-making, transparency and fairness.

The VIRTIPS Act requires the Tribunal to inquire into and make determinations in relation to:

• salaries and allowances for MPs
• remuneration bands for executives employed in public service bodies
• remuneration bands for executives employed in prescribed public entities
• allowances provided to Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Councillors in local government

Amongst other functions, the VIRTIPS Act also provides the Tribunal with powers to:

• make guidelines with respect to the use of work-related parliamentary allowances and the Electorate Office and Communications Budget (EO&C Budget) for MPs
• make guidelines with respect to the placement of public sector executives within remuneration bands determined by the Tribunal
• inquire into and determine remuneration packages for a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) employed in a prescribed public entity
• provide advice about proposals to pay executives above the relevant remuneration band set by a determination

The Tribunal consists of up to three Tribunal members and is supported by a Secretariat that sits within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Requirement to produce annual report

Under section 40 of the VIRTIPS Act, the Tribunal is required, as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year but not later than the following 31 October, to submit to the Minister an annual report containing the following in relation to the period of 12 months ending on the preceding 30 June:

1. information about the number of determinations made by the Tribunal
2. details of any disclosure of an interest recorded in the minutes of a meeting of the Tribunal under section 14(4) of the VIRTIPS Act
3. a review of the operations of the Tribunal, including the work undertaken by the Tribunal
4. the number of MPs who have not complied with requests for further information by the Compliance Officer in the preceding year in relation to determinations about separation payments
5. the number of appeals heard by the Compliance Officer in the preceding year in relation to separation payments and the outcome of the appeals
6. the number of MPs who have not complied with requests for further information by the Compliance Officer in the preceding year in relation to appeals relating to work‑related parliamentary allowances and the EO&C Budget
7. the number of appeals heard by the Compliance Officer in the preceding year in relation to appeals relating to work-related parliamentary allowances and the EO&C Budget and the outcome of the appeals
8. a report on the performance of the function of the Compliance Officer in the preceding year
9. any other prescribed matter

These matters are addressed in this report.

Tribunal members

Under the VIRTIPS Act, a person is eligible to be appointed as a Tribunal member only if they have extensive or specialist knowledge, expertise or experience in one or more of the following fields:

• government
• community affairs
• economics
• human resource management
• industrial relations
• law
• public administration
• public finance
• public sector ethics
• any other field the Minister considers relevant

The Tribunal members were appointed on 4 June 2019.

Warren McCann - Chair

Mr Warren McCann is the Chair of the Tribunal. Mr McCann has an extensive public service career, with senior appointments in Victoria, South Australia and at the Commonwealth, including as Chief Executive Officer of the South Australian Department of Premier and Cabinet, and Commissioner for Public Sector Employment in South Australia. Mr McCann is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Public Administration. Prior to his commencement as Chair of the Tribunal he served as Special Adviser to the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Office of Public Sector Executive Remuneration.

The Honourable Jennifer Acton - Member

Ms Jennifer Acton is a Member of the Tribunal. Ms Acton has significant workplace relations experience, including as a former Presidential Member of Australia's national workplace relations tribunal.

She is currently the Chair of the Victorian State Trustees Ltd and the Port of Hastings Development Authority. In addition to being a lawyer and economist, Ms Acton is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ms Barbara Belcher - Member

Ms Barbara Belcher is a Member of the Tribunal. Ms Belcher is a former senior Commonwealth public servant, having held various roles in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C), including Head of the Government Division responsible for matters related to parliament and public administration. Ms Belcher chaired the Australian Government’s Committee for the Review of Parliamentary Entitlements, and conducted an independent review of whole-of-government internal regulation (the Belcher Red Tape Review). Ms Belcher is a former member of the Victorian Public Sector Commission Advisory Board, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration.