The Local Government Remuneration Tribunal has completed its 2023 review of the fees payable to the state’s Mayors and Councillors.
Pursuant to s241 of the Local Government Act 1993 (“the Act”), the Tribunal is required to make an annual determination by 1 May of each year on the fees payable to mayors and councillors.
In its Determination, the Tribunal awarded the maximum increase payable (3%) to Mayors and Councillors in each category effective from 1 July 2023. The Tribunal noted that a number of submissions had been received advocating for the maximum increase to be applied in order to offset the increasing cost of living.
The Tribunal accepted the submissions of LGNSW that even the maximum increase would result in a real reduction in remuneration for elected representatives when compared to the Consumer Price Index and National and State Wage Case decisions.
Further, the Tribunal acknowledged LGNSW’s long held view that the current system needs major reform and expressed the view that there would be merit in a comprehensive review of the framework for mayor and councillor remuneration.
Every three years, the Tribunal is also required to review the categorisation of councils. Accordingly, the revised categories of general-purpose councils have been determined as follows:
| Metropolitan | Non-Metropolitan |
| Principal CBD | Major Regional City |
| Major CBD | Major Strategic Area |
| Metropolitan Major | Regional Strategic Area |
| Metropolitan Large | Regional Centre |
| Metropolitan Medium | Regional Rural |
| Metropolitan Small | Rural Large |
| Rural |
The Tribunal has also recategorised 26 councils across NSW into higher existing or new categories. The councils placed into new categories are as follows:
| Council | New Category |
| Blacktown | Metropolitan Major |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Metropolitan Major |
| Maitland | Regional Strategic Area |
| Shoalhaven | Regional Strategic Area |
| Tweed | Regional Strategic Area |
| Byron | Regional Centre |
| Eurobodalla | Regional Centre |
| Nambucca | Regional Rural |
| Bellingen | Rural Large |
| Cabonne | Rural Large |
| Cootamundra-Gundagai | Rural Large |
| Cowra | Rural Large |
| Federation | Rural Large |
| Greater Hume | Rural Large |
| Gunnedah | Rural Large |
| Hilltops | Rural Large |
| Inverell | Rural Large |
| Leeton | Rural Large |
| Moree Plains | Rural Large |
| Murray River | Rural Large |
| Muswellbrook | Rural Large |
| Narrabri | Rural Large |
| Parkes | Rural Large |
| Snowy Valleys | Rural Large |
| Upper Hunter | Rural Large |
| Yass | Rural Large |
The Tribunal noted that its new categorisation model strives to improve consistency among the categories and includes non-resident population as part of the criteria for consideration in determining the appropriate category.
The Tribunal also noted that the diversity of both metro and regional councils was not accurately reflected in the previous model. As such, the Tribunal opted to create the Metropolitan Major and Rural Large categories, considering councillor to resident population ratios and the significant differences between councils previously included in the same categories.
