The Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal provides transparent, accountable and evidence-based decision-making in relation to the remuneration of Members of the Parliament of Victoria (MPs), Victorian public sector executives, and local government mayors, deputy mayors and councillors (collectively, councillors).
The Tribunal is established under the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and Improving Parliamentary Standards Act 2019 (Vic) (VIRTIPS Act).
The Minister responsible for the Tribunal at 30 June 2026 was the Minister for Finance. In performing its functions, the Tribunal must act independently and impartially, and is not subject to the control or direction of any person, including the Minister.
For further information, or copies of the Tribunal documents referenced in this report, please consult the Tribunal’s website.
1.1 Functions of the Tribunal
The VIRTIPS Act (s. 6(1)) requires the Tribunal to inquire into and make determinations in relation to:
- allowances for councillors
- salaries and work-related parliamentary allowances for MPs
- remuneration bands for executives employed in Victorian Public Service (VPS) bodies
- remuneration bands for executives employed in prescribed public entities (PEs).
Amongst other functions, the VIRTIPS Act also provides the Tribunal with powers to:
- make guidelines with respect to the use of particular work-related parliamentary allowances and the Electorate Office and Communications Budget (EO&C Budget) for MPs (VIRTIPS Act, s. 36(1))
- issue guidelines with respect to the placement of public sector executives within the remuneration bands determined by the Tribunal (VIRTIPS Act, ss. 6(1)(e), 6(1)(h), 36(6))
- advise on proposals to pay executives above the relevant remuneration band set by a determination (VIRTIPS Act, ss. 6(1)(i), 37(1))
- provide advice to the Minister on any matter relating to the remuneration of any specified occupational group (VIRTIPS Act, s. 6(1)(l)).
1.2 Tribunal Members
The Tribunal consists of up to three Tribunal members.
Warren McCann – Tribunal Chair
Mr McCann has an extensive public service career.
His career spans senior appointments in Victoria, South Australia and at the Commonwealth, including as Chief Executive Officer of the South Australian Department of Premier and Cabinet, Commissioner for Public Sector Employment in South Australia, and as Secretary of the former Victorian Departments of Justice and Human Services.
His previous roles include Chair of the Judicial Entitlements Panel of Victoria and Special Advisor to the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Office of Public Sector Executive Remuneration.
Mr McCann is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Public Administration.
Mr McCann has been a Member and Chair of the Tribunal since its inception.
Laurinda Gardner – Tribunal Member
Ms Gardner is a board director, organisational reform and change management consultant, and career coach. She has over 25 years’ senior executive experience and was formerly a Deputy Secretary with the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance, and a Director at the City of Melbourne. Ms Gardner has led large operational teams in diverse areas including strategic and business planning, HR, IT, communications, town planning, stakeholder engagement, finance and risk.
Ms Gardner has performed the role of trusted adviser to several Chief Executive Officers, was an Administrator at the City of Greater Geelong, and is a member of several remuneration, and audit and risk committees.
Ms Gardner commenced as a Member of the Tribunal in September 2022.
Meredith Sussex AM – Tribunal Member
Ms Sussex is a highly respected specialist in public policy, administration and city planning, with extensive experience at a local, state and national level. She has a strong commitment to effective community engagement in the development and implementation of public policy.
Ms Sussex has served on a wide range of boards over the course of her career, including the Port of Melbourne and Development Victoria, and is currently a Deputy Chancellor of La Trobe University.
Ms Sussex has held many senior Victorian public sector positions, including Chair of the Fishermans Bend Development Board, Administrator at Brimbank City Council, Coordinator General of Infrastructure, and Deputy Secretary roles at the Department of Education and at the Department of Premier and Cabinet. She also led the Office of Commonwealth Games Coordination, which was responsible for delivering the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, and was awarded Membership of the Order of Australia for that work in 2007.
Greg Wilson – Tribunal Member until December 2025
Mr Wilson has extensive experience in public policy, governance, and financial management.
Mr Wilson’s previous roles include Secretary of the Department of Justice and Regulation, Secretary of the Department of Sustainability and Environment, and Deputy Secretary of the Policy and Cabinet Group at the Department of Premier and Cabinet. He also previously served as Chair of the Essential Services Commission, the Country Fire Authority, and Victoria’s State Emergency Service.
Mr Wilson served as a Member of the Tribunal from July 2024 to December 2025.
The Tribunal thanks Mr Wilson for his many contributions as a Tribunal Member and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.
1.3 Annual report requirements
The VIRTIPS Act specifies that the Tribunal is to prepare, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year (and no later than 31 October), an annual report to the Minister about the following activities in the previous 12 months (VIRTIPS Act, s. 40):
- information about the number of determinations made by the Tribunal
- 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
- a review of the operations of the Tribunal, including the work undertaken by the Tribunal
- 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
- the number of appeals heard by the Compliance Officer in the preceding year in relation to separation payments and the outcome of the appeals
- 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
- 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
- a report on the performance of the function of the Compliance Officer
- any other prescribed matter.
Those matters are addressed in this report.
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