Dear Minister
During financial year 2025–26, the Tribunal undertook work on the remuneration arrangements for the following occupational groups: councillors in local government, Members of Parliament and executives employed in the Victorian Public Service and public entities.
In relation to local government, following correspondence from the Tribunal, the then-Minister for Local Government wrote to the Tribunal in February 2026 requesting that the Tribunal make a new comprehensive determination for local government councillors, mayors and deputy mayors. This was an important initiative because it brought local government into line with the other groups within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction who have a statutory entitlement to a comprehensive review of their remuneration arrangements every four years.
The end of the financial year saw the completion of very extensive groundwork — including inviting submissions from all those affected by the determination, an online questionnaire and meetings and roundtables with a wide range of stakeholders including peak bodies and government agencies — ahead of the determination being made in August 2026.
In addition to its local government work, in 2026 the Tribunal also made annual adjustment determinations for MPs, VPS executives and public entity executives. The Tribunal had also delivered its 2025 annual adjustment determinations for VPS and public entity executives in the 2025–26 financial year.
Although all of the matters the Tribunal is required to consider under its legislation were weighed carefully, the Tribunal was mindful of the broader impact of its decisions. Thus, particular weight was given to the Government’s Wages Policy and current and projected economic conditions and trends, in seeking to find the right balance between wages fairness for the occupational groups within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction and the need for restraint dictated by the prevailing economic circumstances.
Balancing these factors, in its 2026 annual adjustment determinations, the Tribunal decided to increase the notional salary component of the remuneration bands for VPS and public entity executives by 3.5 per cent and to increase the basic salary for MPs by a similar amount of 3.5 per cent bringing it to $219,391 per annum.
In relation to MPs, the Tribunal is also responsible for issuing guidelines relating to the use of work-related parliamentary allowances and the Electorate Office and Communications Budget. In response to matters raised by MPs and others, the Tribunal undertook a review of the guidelines. As a result, it issued new guidelines in October 2025 which included changes to eligibility arrangements for the parliamentary accommodation sitting allowance and the introduction of a new framework enabling reasonable adjustments for Members with disability through waiver or modification of specific guidelines.
From time to time the Tribunal may undertake ‘own-motion’ reviews and analysis of public sector remuneration trends in relation to any specified occupational group.
In 2024, the Tribunal commenced a research project examining the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) of executive roles in the Victorian public sector. For the purposes of this project, EVP was defined as ‘the monetary and non-monetary factors associated with a job that are taken into account by employees when deciding whether to accept or stay in a job’.
The Tribunal considered that understanding the EVP of executive roles is critical to maintaining a high performing Victorian public sector. This includes informing the Tribunal’s work in setting remuneration bands, and when advising on proposals to pay an executive above the band. The Tribunal also expects that its findings will assist public sector organisations to optimise employment offers, and to attract, retain and motivate executives.
The Tribunal’s report on EVP, including its findings, was published in September 2025.
This financial year was the fifth full year of the operation of the payment above the band process. Under the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and Improving Parliamentary Standards Act 2019 (Vic), if an employer proposes to pay an executive above the maximum of the relevant remuneration band, the employer must first seek and consider the advice of the Tribunal. However, the employer is not bound to accept the Tribunal’s advice.
In providing advice, the Tribunal strives to protect the integrity of the overall remuneration structure and at the same time recognise that there may be circumstances where prevailing market conditions justify a departure from the standard structure.
Over the course of the year, the Tribunal provided advice in response to requests from public sector employers — mainly in the transport infrastructure and financial sectors — to pay a total of 21 executives above the maximum of the relevant band. Based on the latest available data, this represented less than one per cent of the total number of executives employed in the Victorian public sector and covered by the Tribunal’s determinations. Thus, it is pleasing to be able to again report that the remuneration bands determined by the Tribunal appear to be appropriate for the vast majority of executives.
During the year the Tribunal surveyed MPs, local government mayors and deputy mayors, and public sector employers about their level of satisfaction with the Tribunal’s delivery of its outputs. The overall level of satisfaction was 90 per cent against a target of 80 per cent — a significant increase on the previous financial year.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge Mr Greg Wilson’s contribution to the Tribunal as a Member between July 2024 and December 2025. Mr Wilson’s contributions — always anchored in the real world — were highly valued by the Tribunal. The Tribunal welcomed Ms Meredith Sussex who joined as a Member in December 2025, replacing Mr Wilson. Ms Sussex is a highly respected specialist in public policy, administration and planning with extensive experience at the local, state and national level. We look forward to working with her.
On behalf of the Tribunal’s Members, it is my pleasure to submit this report to you.
Yours sincerely
Warren McCann
Chair
Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal
30 September 2026
Updated