Members of Australia’s federal parliament and other public officer holders will pocket thousands more each year from July after the independent remuneration tribunal announced a 3.5% wage rise.
The decision by the Remuneration Tribunal, an independent body that determines the pay of federal politicians and bureaucrats, will mean backbench MPs will now take home about $233,643 a year – up from $225,742 the previous year – or about $4,493 a week before tax.
The average weekly earnings for an adult working full-time in the country is about $1,889, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’s latest update. An average yearly salary comes to $98,218 while the median annual salary is $67,600.
The salary of the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will also get a boost, cracking the $600,000 mark for the first time. Prime ministers earn an extra 160% on top of an MP’s base salary while the opposition leader earns an additional 85%.
Albanese will take home about $607,471 a year – up from $586,929 – while Peter Dutton will receive $432,239 – an increase of $25,000 on the previous year.
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, will earn $478,968 from July while the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and Senate leader, Penny Wong, will both earn about $438,081.
In the opposition, deputy Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, will now bring in $367,988 annually. The opposition’s shadow ministers earn an extra 25% of an MP’s base salary, amounting to $292,054.
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, will earn $338,782 a year after the changes kick in from July.
Announcing its decision on Monday, the tribunal said it factored in the Fair Work Commission’s decision in early June to lift the minimum wage by 3.75%.
The federal government’s budget outlook and movements in private and public sector wages were also considered, the tribunal said.
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“When determining remuneration for the broad spectrum of public offices within its jurisdiction, the tribunal’s primary focus is to provide competitive and equitable remuneration that is appropriate to the responsibilities and experience required of the roles, and that is sufficient to attract and retain people of calibre,” the tribunal said in its reasons for the decision.
“Many of these office holders do not expect or require that monetary compensation for their roles in the public sector be set at private sector levels. Rather, office holders serve for the public good and the opportunity to influence economic and social policy initiatives.”
The tribunal said its past increases for public office holders had been “modest”, noting the cumulative total of wage increases since 2015 had amounted to 18.25%. The figure contrasted with the 24.4% increase since 2015 in the public and private sectors.
In addition to salaries, federal politicians are afforded other benefits, including travel allowances and transport expenses for parliamentary or political party trips and a budget to send political junk mail and online advertising.
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