Circulars

What’s new or changing

• The Local Government Remuneration Tribunal (the Tribunal) has determined an increase of 2.5% to mayoral and councillor fees for the 2018/19 financial year, with effect from 1 July 2018.
• The Tribunal also reviewed the criteria that apply to the categories of councils and the allocation of councils into those categories. The categories enable the Tribunal to determine the maximum and minimum amounts of fees to be paid to mayors and councillors in each of the categories.
• The Tribunal found that there was no strong case to change the criteria or the allocation of councils into categories at this time.

What this will mean for your council

• Sections 248 and 249 of the Local Government Act 1993 require councils to fix and pay an annual fee based on the Tribunal’s determination of 2.5% for the 2018/19 financial year.

Key points

• The level of fees paid will depend on what category the council is in.
• A council cannot fix a fee higher than the maximum amount determined by the Tribunal.
• If a council does not fix a fee, the council must pay the minimum fee determined by the Tribunal.

Where to go for further information

• The Tribunal’s report and determination is available on the Office of Local Government’s website www.olg.nsw.gov.au and on the NSW Remuneration Tribunal’s website www.remtribunals.nsw.gov.au.

Tim Hurst
Acting Chief Executive