Members of the ACT Legislative Assembly and other senior public servants have been granted a 3.5 per cent pay rise, taking the annual salary of a backbencher to more than $183,000.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr will now be paid $384,928 a year, up from $371,910 the year before.
ACT public service head Kathy Leigh's remuneration package is now worth $448,049 a year, up from $434,014 the year before.
Government ministers will be paid $311,608 in the 2023-24 financial year, up from $301,070 in the previous financial year.
A backbencher will be paid $183,299, with ministers' and parliamentary officeholders' pay calculated as a loading on this base salary.
The ACT Remuneration Tribunal made the decision in mid-June during its autumn sittings.
"In its deliberations, the tribunal continued to give considerable weight to community standards and expectations with particular reference to wage growth nationally and locally, and the territory's tight job market," the tribunal said.
"The tribunal balanced this consideration with the importance of the territory providing competitive remuneration, allowances and other entitlements to members of the Legislative Assembly."
The tribunal said the pay increase reflected slowing growth in the consumer price index, the key measure of inflation, and said the increase was "measured".
"The tribunal also continues to be cognisant of the future compounding effect of not providing increases in remuneration and agreed this should be avoided where possible," the tribunal's statement said.
The ACT budget review, released in February, predicted the ACT wage price index to grow by 3.75 per cent in 2023-24. The ACT budget forecast the same growth.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee will be paid $311,608, while the speaker, Joy Burch, will be paid $284,113 a year.
The remuneration tribunal also granted a 3.5 per cent pay increase to the Auditor-General, Legislative Assembly Clerk and Electoral Commissioner.
Politicians, statutory office holders and executive level public servants were granted a 3.25 per cent pay increase by the remuneration tribunal in 2022.
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
