\I

&

NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA

REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL

REPORT ON THE ENTITLEMENTS OF

ASSEMBLY MEMBERS

DETERMINATION No. , of 2012

AND

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REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL REPORT

ON THE ENTITLEMENTS OF ASSEMBLY MEMBERS AND

DETERMINATION No. , OF 2012

Introduction

I. On 6 September 2006, the Administratorissued a request under section 4(I) of theAssembly Members and Statutory Officers (Remuneration and Other Entitlements)Act (the Act) requiring the Tribunal to, on or before 31 October each year, inquireinto and determine the entitlements (other than basic salary) of Members.

2. The resultant report and Determination must be tabled in the Legislative Assemblywithin six sitting days of receipt by the Minister. The Assembly may disallow all orpart of the Determination within 10 sitting days of tabling.

Powers of the Tribunal

3. The powers of the Tribunal in respect of setting entitlements for Assembly Membersare set out in sections 4(I), 4(IA) and 4(IB) of the Act as follows:

(1) The Tribunal must, on the Administrator's request, Inquire into, or inquire into anddetermine, an entitlement (other than the basic salary or additional salary of offIbe) ofan Assembly member for. '

(a) performing the functions of an Assembly member, ' or

(b) performing a function forthe Assembly, ' or

(0) hold^^g or occupying any of the following ohioes

^ the Speaker of the Assembly,

di) the Leader of the Opposition,

(17, any other office in the Assembly, '

(IV) a Minister, '

(IA) In addition, the Tribunal must, on the Administratorts request, inquire into, or inquireinto and determine, an entitlement for a former member who retires involuntarily asprescribed by regulation.

(v) a member of the Executive Council.

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(7B) Withoutlimiting subsection (1), the Tribunal may, under the request, inquire into, orinquire into and determine other entitlements, incluchng, for example, the following:

a) an entitlement for establishIhg or maintaining offices for an Assembly member,including. '

in the provision of staffand equipment forthe ohioes, ' and(10 the payment offelmbursement of amounts to cover expenses incurred in

relation to the ohioes,

by an entitlement for official travel undertaken by^ an Assembly member, 'and(I, a person who, under a Determination, may accompany an Assembly

member for the travel, '

c) the provision of a motor vehible to an Assembly member,

4.

d) an entitlement relatihg to child care services required because of the performanceof ohioi^/ functions by an Assembly member.

In March 2011, the Act was amended to remove the Tribunal's power to determineadditional salary of office and to link increases in this entitlement to increases in NT PublicSectorwage movements

Conduct of this In

5. Advertisements were placed in the main Northern Territory newspapers in inIdSeptember 2012 to draw attention to the Inquiry and to invite submissions.Individual letters were sent to all Members of the Assembly in early September2012 and to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.

6.

uir

7.

The Tribunal received three written submissions.

The Tribunal had meetings in Darwin during September and October 2012 with theChief Minister, the Speaker, Ministers, Members and a number of departmentalrepresentatives.

8. The Tribunal has carefully considered all representations and advice it hasreceived.

Electorate Allowance

9. An electorate allowance has previously been determined as payable to eachMember following assessment of the costs of servicing their constituents. It hasbeen defined as follows:

Electorate Allowance' means the allowance payable to a member to coverthe cost of goods and services required to effective/y represent theParliament to his/her constituents and to representthose constituents to theGovernment and in the Pan^^merit, includihg the cost of scheduled andcharter transport additional to travel entitlements in this Determination'.

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This allowance has been increased by 29"..

I O . There was a redistribution of electoral boundaries conducted which was effective

from 26 July 2012. The Tribunal has examined the boundary changes and doesnot believe that the changes increase or decrease proportionateIy the level ofexpenditure required to service the electorates.

^!^. g

I I . Past Determinations have provided that the Speaker may approve relief and parttime staff. The Tribunal is of the view that part time staff should be available tomembers so that when the Electorate Officer has reason to be out of the office, forexample, when accompanying the Member on electorate business, then the officecan be staffed. Provision has been made for the employment of part timeassistance for up to 6 hours per week per electorate office. The authority previouslygiven to the Speaker to approve part time staff for electorate offices has beenremoved from the Determination.

12. The Member for Arafura has sought a second electorate office at Maningrida. TheTribunal is unable to determine the extent to which such an office would be

accessed by electors to justify the additional office and a staff member. However,taking into account the remoteness of the location and number of electors in thegeneral area, the Determination has provided for a Liaison Officer for15 hours per week forthe Member for Arafura

Provision of Motor Vehicles

I 3. The Tribunal had intended as part of this Inquiry to consider the electorateentitlement of Members to 4WD vehicles based on the condition of the roads within

certain electorates. This has not been possible, due in part to timing considerationsresulting from the NT General Election on 26 August 2012. The Tribunal willinstead review the 4WD vehicle entitlement as part of its 2013 Inquiry and notes thisreview will to apply only to the electorates of Katherine and Nelson.

Satellite Tele hone

14. It is considered that mobile telephone coverage in Katherine is adequate and theprovision for a satellite telephone for the Member for Katherine is now not neededand consequently that entitlement has been removed from the Determination.

Travel Allowance

I 5 . Rates of travelling allowance have been adjusted on the basis of the amountconsidered reasonable by the Australian Taxation Office.

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Travel

16. In previous Determinations, Members had an entitlement relating to theirparliamentary duties and responsibilities of an annual trip to a southern state and, ifthat was nottaken in any one of the four years, then the Member could substitute itfor an overseas trip. In addition, Members have an annual entitlement to fourintrastate (intra Territory) trips. The Tribunal has in its 2012 Determination adoptedthe South Australian framework for these entitlements, which gives Membersgreater flexibility in the utilisation of these travel entitlements. Members will nowreceive a set financial entitlement for travel and will be entitled to incur costs up tothat amount. Further, any unused value of this entitlement is accruable within thelimits provided in the Determination.

Communications

I 7. The 2011 Determination provided Members with an entitlement to an ipad on thebasis this would provide Members with the discretion to allow their electorate officerto use the Member's laptop computer for more effective electorate communications.This has not necessarily led to improved outcomes, and the Tribunal is of the viewthat each electorate office should be provided with an ipad/laptop specifically foruse by electorate staff in order to enhance electorate office communications.

I 8 . The Determination now provides that Members can be provided with a smallerlaptop.

Other Entitlements

I 9 . There have been modest increases in both the value of mobile telephones that maybe provided to members and in data call costs. The allowance in lieu of beingprovided by the Government with the motor vehicle has been increased but is stillbelow the cost to Government if providing the vehicle.

Assembl

Act- remuneration settin for Assembl Members

20.

Members and Statutor Officers

In March 2011 the Assembly Members and Statutory Ohioers (Remuneration andOther Entitlements) Act was amended to remove the Tribunal's power to determineadditional salary for Assembly Members who are also officer holders. In addition, itties increases in Members' remuneration to those percentage increases received byNT public servants, This removes the capacity for independent assessment ofMember remuneration levels and has had the effect of de-valuing the baseremuneration of Members and office holders, a factor which will continue to beexacerbated in the future.

2 I . The Tribunal strongly recommends that this provision in the Act be repealed andreplaced with a power for the Tribunal to determine basic salary for all AssemblyMembers as well as additional salary of office for Assembly office holders. It isfurther recommended that the legislation provide that the Tribunal cannot determine

Remuneration and Other Entitlements

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Members' basic salary to be more than that to which a Federal Member ofParliament is entitled less a fixed amount to be nominated in the Act.

Dated 22 October 2012.

John FlynnMember

Remuneration Tribunal

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NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA

REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL

*

^

Assembly Members and Statutory Officers(Remuneration and Other Entitlements) Act

Under Section 4 of the Assembly Members and Statutory Off^^ers (Remuneration andOther Entitlements) Act, the Tribunal determines as follows

DETERMINATION OF ENTITLEMENTS

OF ASSEMBLY MEMBERS

I. DEFINITIONS

I . I In this Determination:

'Assembly' means the Legislative Assembly;

'Assembly Committee', forthe purpose of payment of Travelling Allowance, meansone so designated by the Speaker;

'capital city' means locations within a radius of:

(a) 10 kilometres from the general post office of a capital city; or

(b) 5 kilometres from the major airport servicing a capital city;

'Clerk' means the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly;

accommodation'commercial accommodation' means

establishment such as a hotel, motel or serviced apartment;

'Darwin' means the Total Darwin Statistical Division and the Litchfield Shire Sub-

Division as prescribed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics;

'dependent child' means a dependent child under 16 years of age or a dependentfull-time student under 25 years of age;

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In a commercial

'dependent full-time student' means one whose income from all sources is lessthan the minimum adult wage as determined from time to time by the Commissionerfor Public Employment;

'home base', for a Member, means:

(a) a place of residence of the Member nominated by the Member to the Clerk; or

(b) ifthe Member has not nominated a place - the principal place of residence ofthe Member;

'Government' means the Chief Minister or his or her delegate;

'Member' means a Member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly;

'nominee' means one de facto partner or close relative (parent, son, daughter ordependent child, brother or sister) nominated to the Speaker to receive travelprivileges available to the spouse of a Member for the life of an Assembly. TheSpeaker may at his/her discretion in special circumstances at the request of aMember approve the nominee of that Member to be a person other than the de factopartner or close relative of the Member;

'office holder' means a Minister, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Leader of theOpposition orthe Deputy Leader of the Opposition;

'Shadow Minister'in relation to the granting of entitlements means a Member dulyaccredited as such in a schedule provided to the Speaker by the Leader of theOpposition. Where the number of Members, including the Leader and the DeputyLeader of the Opposition, in the schedule exceeds the number of Ministers, onlythose Members counted down the schedule to the same number as Ministers are to

be regarded as Shadow Ministers for whom entitlements are granted;

the expression 'services as a Member' and 'official business' shall be interpretedliberally to cover all matters of relevance or interest to Northern Territory electors;

'travel cost allowance' is an amount payable to a Member to defray reasonablecosts incurred by him or her, during travel at Government expense that includes atleast one overnight stay, for one or more of the following:

(a) accommodation;

(b) meals;

(c) incidental expenses;

(d) hire cars, taxis and ferries;

(e) use of his or her own car.

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'Travelling Allowance' means an amount payable to an office holder or Member tooffset personal costs he or she, or any person authorised to travel as anaccompanying person, may incur during travel at Government expense.

2. ELECTORATE ALLOWANCE

2 . I A Member is entitled to an electorate allowance, at the annual rate specified inSchedule I, to cover the expenses he or she incurs, at their sole discretion, inservicing their electorate.

The annual rate of electorate allowance is reduced by $3080 where the Member'selectorate office is cleaned at Government expense.

2.2

3. TRAVELWITHIN AUSTRALIA

3. I

MEMBER ENTITLEMENT

Subject to this clause, a Member is entitled to travel outside of his or her electorateof suchwhere thebut within Australia at Government primary purposeexpense

travelis for:

(a)

(b)

attendance at meetings of the Assembly; or

attendance at meetings of an Assembly Committee, and engaging in thebusiness of such Committee, of which he or she is a Member, provided that fortravel outside the Northern Territory the approval of the Speaker has beenobtained; or

(c) attendance at a meeting in the Northern Territory of his or her Assemblypolitical party, including a meeting of its executive or one of its committees,provided that such meeting is properly constituted and that his or herattendance has been requested by the Leader of that party; or

(1) representing the Government;or

(11) representing an office holder; or

(11i) with the approval of the Speaker, representing the Assembly; or

(Iv) with the approval of the Speaker, conducting CommonwealthParliamentary Association business or other official parliamentary functionof another legislature; or

(d)

(e) ( i)

(11)

(111)

attendance at official Government functions; or

attendance at Vice-regal functions; or

with the approval of the Speaker, attendance at Assembly functions; or

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(f) representing his or her Assembly political party in proceedings before theRemuneration Tribunal in the Northern Territory;

and provided that such travelis by the shortest practicable route.

ADDITIONAL TRAVEL BY DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION AND

SHADOW MINISTERS

3.2 The Deputy Leader of the Opposition and other Shadow Ministers are entitled to tripswithin the Northern Territory according to Table I and are limited on the number ofovernight stays in any year for which travelling allowance is paid in accordance withTable 2.

(, )Number of

Opposition Members

9 or more

8

7

6

4 or less

(2)Deputy Leader

5

TABLE I

Trips

(, )Number of

Opposition Members

4

4

(3)Each Shadow Minister

5

6

7

8

9 or more

Trips

8

TABLE 2

7

3

6

(2)Deputy Leader

3

5

4

4 or less

5

6

7

Nights20

21

23

(3)Each Shadow

Minister

26

29

32

Nights15

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15

20

24

26

28

3.3 The Opposition may "pool" the number of trips for Shadow Ministers in column (3) ofTable I into a block of trips per annum to be allocated to Shadow Ministers, includingthe Deputy Leader, at the discretion of the Leader of the Opposition.

The Opposition may "pool" the number of overnight stays for Shadow Ministers incolumn (3) of Table 2 into a block of nights in respect of which payment may bemade in any year, to be allocated to Shadow Ministers, including the Deputy Leader,at the discretion of the Leader of the Opposition, fortravel undertaken.

3.4

3.5

MODE OFTRAVEL

Travel within the entitlements in clauses 3.1 and 3.2 must be undertaken either:

(a) on scheduled commercial, commuter services or other vehicles operating asregular carriers; or

at the discretion of the Speaker, where regular services within the NorthernTerritory are not available or are impracticable, by charter transport, or by hiredaircraft if the Member is appropriateIy qualified to pilot the aircraft andindemnifies the Government; or

by the Government vehicle provided under clause 7.1 or in the eventthat theGovernment supplied vehicle is unserviceable then, subject to the Speaker'sapproval, a private car or hire car. A Member who has elected under clause 7.9to receive an amount in lieu of a motor vehicle may use his or her vehicle but isnot entitled to be relmbursed at the Government rate per kilometre; or

by other transport within the Northern Territory as approved by the Speaker; or

by bus, light rail, taxi or hire car at the discretion of the Speaker when TravellingAllowance is payable during stay in a particular location and no Governmentarranged transport is available. Reimbursement of reasonable costs under thissubclause will be made where the transport cost is directly associated with theofficial business of such travel.

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

3.6 In the case of use of a private vehicle within the Northern Territory (except a Memberin recept of an additional amount under clause 7.9), the Member shall be paidvehicle allowance, at current Northern Territory Government rates, to a maximum ofthe cost of the scheduled service otherwise available. Where more than one Member

shares the private vehicle, only one Member may be paid the vehicle allowance.

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3.7

CONDITIONS OF TRAVEL

Travel at Government expense shall be the premium cabin class available on theservice used.

3.8 A Member may only convert his or her own premium cabin class airtravel within theNorthern Territory to economy class travel so as to utilise the savings towards thetravel cost of the Member's accompanying spouse or nominee and or dependentchild or children.

A Member may only convert his or her own premium cabin class air travel outsidethe Northern Territory but within Australia to economy class travel so as to utilise thesavings towards the travel cost of the Member's accompanying spouse or nomineeand/or dependent child or children

3.9 If a Member chooses to travel economy class, provision may be made for theMember to have access to the airline's club facilities.

3.10 The Government may provide, at its expense, transport for a Member, spouse,nominee or dependent child travelling and returning by air under entitlementsprovided by this Determination:

(a)

(b)

between the home base and departure airport; and

A Member when travelling by air to and from Darwin on Assembly business or onofficial business as an office holder or Shadow Minister shall be entitled at

Government expense to carry one additional piece of luggage within the airline size11m its.

between the terminating airport and destination.

3.11 A Member shall be entitled to have his or her spouse, nominee or dependent child,travel at the same class as the Member where a scheduled carrier is used at

Government expense to and return from official Government, Assembly or Vice-regalfunctions, provided that the spouse, nominee or dependent child has also beeninvited and a copy of that invitation is provided to the Speaker in advance; and

ENTITLEMENT To TRAVEL BY OTHERS

3.12 A Member whose nominated home base is located outside Darwin shall be entitled

to have each dependent child travel at Government expense from the Member'snominated home base to Darwin and return up to twice a year and if accompaniedby the Member then at the same class as the Member or if not accompanying theMember then in economy class.

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3.13 In addition to the entitlement under clause 3.1, a Member, or a Member and his orher spouse or nominee may, pursuant to specific approval by the Speaker or in theevent of the Member being the Speaker, pursuant to specific approval by theGovernment, travel overseas as a participant in an official delegation or as a formalrepresentative of the Assembly.

3.14 An approval given under clause 3.13 shall specify the class of travel on the servicesto be used.

4.

4. I

OTHER TRAVEL ENTITLEMENT

In addition to other travel provided by this Determination, every Member shall beentitled to expend on:

(a) domestic travel; and

(b) overseas travel;

an amount up to but not exceeding the amount of the Basic Allowance (see clause4.3) which is available to the Member at the date of travel.

Such expenditure may be incurred for the purpose of undertaking studies andinvestigations of matters of interest, attending conferences, meetings, communityevents or other events related to his or her duties and responsibilities as a Memberor on the professional development of the Member.

(a) The Basic Allowance shall be $15,000 and accrues and becomes available onI January 2013 and on I January in each subsequent year.

(b) Any balance of Basic Allowance not expended in a given year may be carriedforward to the next succeeding year but any part of the Basic Allowance, whichis not spent by I January on the third accrual shall be forfeited.

For example, anypart of a Basic Allowance entitlement an'SIhg on f January 2073is forteited Ififjs not expended by I January 2075

(c) Where a Member is elected forthe firsttime between I January and 30 June,he or she shall be entitled to the full Basic Allowance forthe year. If a Memberis elected between I July and 31 December, he or she shall be entitled to 50%of the Basic Allowance forthat year.

(a) A Member may at any time obtain funding in advance againstthe prospectiveentitlement of the Member forthe next succeeding year.

(b) Expenditure against a Member's entitlement shall be charged firstly againsttheoldest balance of the entitlement.

4.2

4.3

4.4

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4.5 Subject to these rules, the Basic Allowance may be expended on scheduleddomestic travel or overseas travel services of any kind including hire cars, taxis andchartered services. The Basic Allowance may also be expended on conference,seminar fees or professional development fees when associated with a claim underthese rules.

4.6 (a) Travel expenses incurred by a spouse or nominee when accompanying aMember as provided for by this Determination may be charged to the BasicAllowance.

(b)

4.7 Any application for travel allowance in Australia or overseas, and an application fortravel shall be submitted in writing to the Speaker in the form as approved by theSpeaker, and shall contain the following information:

No more than half of the Basic Allowance shall be expended on the travel of aMember's spouse, nominees or his or her staff.

(a) a proposed itinerary (which clearly indicates the number of days to be spent onParliamentary business); and

4.8

(b) a statement of objectives forthe proposed travel.

Where the approval of the Speaker has been obtained, Members are not required toseek approval of variations in the proposed itinerary other than those which are ofsignificance.

4.9 When a staff member accompanies a Member on travel, the conditions of travel andtravel allowance claimed by the staff member againstthe Basic Allowance should bethe same as ifthe staff member were a public servanttravelling with the Member.

4.10 Where a Member travels overseas, the Member shall be entitled to claim againsttheBasic Allowance a travel allowance, provided that no such allowance shall beclaimed in respect of any other person accompanying the Member, other than a staffmember who is notthe Member's spouse or nominee.

4.11 (a) Where a Member has travelled overseas under this Determination, he or sheshall execute and lodge with the Clerk of the Assembly a travel acquittaldeclaration in the form approved by the Speaker.

(b) In the event of a declaration being subsequently disallowed by the AustralianTaxation Office, or if a Member has not lodged a declaration within 60 days ofhis or her return to Australia, the Member shall be required to repay in fulltheexpenditure to which the declaration relates, before any further entitlement maybe expended.

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4.12 Where a Member claims an allowance for themselves for domestic or overseas

travel, the Member shall prepare and deliver a report to the Speaker within 90 daysof completion of the travel for which the report relates, including:

. a statement of the objectives of the Member's travel;

. the names of organisations or Parliaments visited;

. reference to any documents or publications obtained or considered to be ofinterest as a Member of Parliament;

. brief summaries of the study areas pursued in the places visited;

. a summary of the results achieved; and

. any recommendations arising from the travel

If the report is not delivered to the Speaker within 90 days, or if the Speaker is notsatisfied that the requirements under this Determination including clause 4.2 havebeen met, no further entitlements may be utilised (fortravel of any kind) until a reportis delivered and the Speaker is so satisfied. Forthe purpose of being so satisfiedthe Speaker may require a Member to provide a statutory declaration on the mattersin respect of which the Speaker remains to be satisfied.

4.13 As soon as practicable after I January in any year, the Clerk of Assembly shallinform each Member of the entitlements available to the Member pursuant to thisDetermination.

5. TRAVEL EXPENSESWITHIN AUSTRALIA

If a Member travels within Australia and the Government does not pay all of his orher accommodation, meal costs and incidental expenses, the Member is entitled toeither:

(a) a travel cost allowance; or

(b) Travelling Allowance.

If a Member incurs costs for travel within Australia under this Determination, theMember is entitled to a travel cost allowance. For establishing the level of the travelcost allowance, the Member shall provide to the Clerk or the relevant AccountableOfficer as the case may be depending on the capacity in which the Memberundertook the travel, within 60 days of the conclusion of the travel, tax invoices forany accommodation, meals or transport costs claimed, and substantiation for thecost of any car use claimed.

5 . I

5.2

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5.3 In assessing, and if necessary adjusting for, the reasonableness of costs claimed,the Clerk or the relevant Accountable Officer as the case may be shall have regardto :

(b) the vehicle allowance as determined under section 14(2) of the Public SectorEmployment and Management Act;

(c) the comparative cost of other available forms of transport; and

(d) any form of contribution, regardless of source, received by the Member or paid inrespect of the travel.

5.4 A Member may, before the travel, elect to receive Travelling Allowance. Where aMember receives Travelling Allowance, he or she must repay the entire amount iftheGovernment pays or relmburses the travel costs or if any claim is made for travelcost allowance.

(a) the meals and incidentals allowances specified in Part C of Schedule 2;

5.5 Where the Member makes an election under clause 5.4, Travelling Allowance foreach overnight stay, at the applicable rate specified in Schedule 2, is payable to aMember travelling at Government expense. Where such travelis by regular publictransport, an overnight stay includes any overnight stay required at the place ofdeparture or en route.

The Member for the electorate of Namatjira is entitled to the payment of TravellingAllowance for each overnight stay at Yulara at the applicable rate specified in Part Aof Schedule 2. The number of overnight stays for which Travelling Allowance is paidunder this subclause is subject to any limitation applied in the authorisation to travelat Government expense.

Except as provided in clause 5.6, Travelling Allowance is not payable to a Memberfor an overnight stay within the Member's own electorate or within the electorate inwhich the Member's home base is located and the border towns of Marla in South

Australia, Cainooweal in Queensland and Kununurra in Western Australia and thehighway into those towns from the Northern Territory are considered part of theelectorate from where the highway leaves the Northern Territory.

Where a Member other than an office holder is travelling at Government expense:

(a) for and on behalf of an office holder; or

(b) with an office holder on official business,

any Travelling Allowance payable to the Member is at the office holder rate specifiedin Part A of Schedule 2.

5.6

5.7

5.8

5.9 Members are not entitled to receive travel cost allowance or Travelling Allowance ifthe costs are met or provided for by any other entity.

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5.10 Entitlement to the Travelling Allowance where commercial accommodation is used ata place specified in Part A of Schedule 2 is established by production of a tax invoiceor certification by the relevant Member that a tax invoice can be produced ondemand.

5.11 The Darwin rate specified in Part A of Schedule 2 is payable to a Member whosehome base is located outside Darwin during travel to Darwin at Government expenseor alternatively the Member may have the Clerk or relevant Accountable Officerarrange and pay for accommodation in Darwin and the Member would then be onlyentitled to payment of the rates in Part C of Schedule 2.

5.12 For authorised travel outside the Member's electorate, a Member may have thefor the accommodationClerk or relevant Accountable Officer and payarrange

component of the travel. The Member would then be only entitled to payment of therates in Part C of Schedule 2.

5.13 Subject to the same overnight stays limitation for the Member's own travel, if any, aMember is entitled to be paid the accompanying person rate specified in Part A ofSchedule 2 for any overnight stay where he or she is with a person who is includedin his or her Government travel authorisation as an accompanying person.

5.14 Where a Member has approval to travel using his or her own private vehicle, withoutbeing entitled to travel cost allowance, he or she is entitled to be paid vehicleallowance at the rate determined under section 14(2) of the Public SectorEmployment and Management Act, subject to any conditions of the approval.

6. ACCOUNTABILITY FORTRAVEL

6 . I Government expense for Member travel, and for associated Travelling Allowance orexpenses reimbursement, may not be incurred unless accountability requirementsand procedures established by the relevant Accountable Officer, includingcertification that conditions set out in this Determination are met, are followed

6.2 Where Government expense has been incurred for Member travel as well as forTravelling Allowance or expenses reimbursement, the Member must confirm theapplication of such expense under procedures established by the Clerk or relevantAccountable Officer. Where a Member is paid Travelling Allowance at a capital cityrate in Schedule 2, the Member must specifically confirm that the relevant overnightstays were in the capital city concerned

6.3 The Speaker shall table an "Annual Schedule of Member travel at Governmentexpense" by, or during, the second Sittings of the Assembly each calendar year. Foreach occasion of Member travel, taken as an entitlement under clause 4, thisSchedule is to contain the following particulars:

(a)

(b)

the name and home base of the respective Member;

the primary purpose of the travel;

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(c)

(d)

(e)

an itinerary;

the category of accompanying person (if any);

the number of overnight stays Travellingreimbursement paid; and

Government expense incurred.(f)

7. PROVISIONOFMOTORVEHICLE

ENTITLEMENT

7.1 A Member shall, at his or her request, be provided with a Government suppliedprivate plated motor vehicle for:

(a) parliamentary businessuse;

electorate business use; and(b)

(c) privateuse

and the vehicle may be fitted with accessories detailed in Schedule 3 or any otheraccessory that the Clerk may decide is reasonable for health and safety reasons.

7.2 Subject to clause 7.3, the standard of motor vehicles provided to Members throughthis provision shall not exceed the standard of vehicles available through the periodcontract of NT Fleet to Northern Territory Executive Contract Officers Level 4/5, andall running and maintenance costs forthat vehicle will be met by the Government.

7.3 A Member may be provided with a motor vehicle which is at greater cost to theNorthern Territory than that provided for in clause 7.2, provided that the Memberpays the difference between the actual cost to the Northern Territory of the least costof the vehicle in the Northern Territory Executive Contract Officers Level 4/5 rangeand the actual total cost to the Northern Territory of the selected vehicle

7.4 The Members for Arafura, Amhem, Barkly, Daiy, Katherine, Namatjira, Nhulunbuy,Stuart and Nelson may be provided with four wheel drive vehicles and they can beprovided with accessories as provided form Schedule 3.

7.5 Members will be entitled to be relmbursed forthe cost of short term and long termparking at airports when on either parliamentary or electoral business or meetings oftheir parliamentary Party.

7.6 The Speaker may withdraw the vehicle and suspend the entitlement in clause 7.1 ifthe Speaker has cause to believe the vehicle is being improperIy used.

7.7 The vehicle provided under clause 7.1 is to be driven only by a licensed driver, beingthe Member or a person nominated by the Member.

Allowance or expenses

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7.8 When a vehicle provided under clause 7.1 is used fortravel to which the Member (orspouse or nominee) is otherwise entitled by the provisions of this Determination(such as travel at Government expense)the other entitlements are voided. Likewise,no private vehicle allowance is payable fortravel for a Government supplied privateplated motor vehicle.

7.9 Where a Member elects not to seek the issue of a Government supplied motorvehicle pursuant to clause 7.1 and where that Member does not have a vehiclesupplied or made available at Government expense under some other entitlement,that Member shall receive an amount of $21,000 per annum as an additionalelectorate allowance. Members this allowance in lieu of a Governmentreceiving

supplied vehicle shall not be entitled to claim mileage allowance or to claim for anyother vehicle operational expenses associated with the use of a motor vehicle underthis provision. A Member who has a motor vehicle already supplied by theGovernment under clause 7.1 may only elect to receive this allowance in lieu of themotor vehicle when the lease of the motor vehicle supplied has six months or less ofthe lease to expire.

7.10 A Member may, when attending an event associated with his or her duties asMember may, on no more than 50 occasions in any calendar year, travel to and fromthe event in a taxi and charge the cost to the Government account with CabchargeThe Member should record on the Cabcharge voucher the origin and destination ofthe journey, date and value and keep a separate record of the event attended so theauthenticity of the Cabcharge invoice can be verified

7.11 Where a Member can demonstrate to the Clerk a need for a four wheel drive vehicle

for a specific purpose related to his or her work as a Member then the Clerk canapprove the hiring of a four wheel drive vehicle forthat specific purpose.

8. COMMUNICATIONS

8 . I

TELEPHONES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The cost of the installation and rental of a telephone service not exceeding five linesin the electorate office, including one for a Broadband connection directly or via theInternet to the Government Wide Area Network where reasonably available, shall beat Government expense.

8.2 The cost of calls made on lines connected to the electorate office, including theservice provider charges and modem cost forthe Broadband or Internet/Broadbandconnection, within any capacity limits set by the Speaker, shall be at Governmentexpense.

8.3 The cost of installation of standard telephone services in a Member's privateresidence shall be at the Member's own expense. The line and cost of all calls withinAustralia from one home telephone service and one separate facsimile service ifinstalled shall be at Government expense.

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8.4 The Government will meetthe cost of Broadband connection to the Member's privateresidence where the service is reasonably available, or to the laptop computerprovided (clause 10.4 refers), and meet related service provider charges within anycapacity limits set by the Speaker, but not both.

8.5 The cost of installation, maintenance and the rental of onestandard telephoneanswering system in a Member's private residence shall be at Government expense.

A Member who is eligible for Travelling Allowance through application of Schedule 2Part B (1) and who routinely uses the accommodation qualifying him or her to suchrate, shall meet the cost of any installation and rental of a telephone service in thataccommodation. The Government shall relmburse the cost of all calls within

Australia charged to this service if that accommodation is routinely occupied by theMember during his/her travel to Darwin.

8.6

8.7 Members forthe electorates of Arafura, Am hem, Barkly, Daly, Namatjira, Nhulunbuyand Stuart are entitled to a satellite telephone supplied, installed and maintained atGovernment expense in the vehicle supplied to them under clause 7.4 together withall network charges generated by the ongoing connection and use of the satellitetelephone.

8.8 (a) A Member not having a mobile telephone supplied by the Government for useunder any other source of entitlement shall, upon application, be provided witha mobile telephone connected to the Government preferred carrier at a value ofno greater than $1 100. The cost of the standard voice calls and texting will bepaid by the Government butthe data call costs are capped at $800 per annumand any excess usage of the data mode must be either paid direct to the carrierorthe excess relmbursed to the Government. A Member may be provided witha mobile phone at a cost greater that $1 100 provided the Member pays to theGovernment the difference between $1100 and the cost of the Member'sphone.

(b) The standard of the mobile telephone supplied to a Member who is an officeholder may be superior to that provided to other Members, at the discretion ofthe Government.

(c) The electorate officer of a Member, not having a mobile telephone supplied foruse under any other source of entitlement, shall, on application, be providedwith a standard mobile telephone. The Member for the electorate concernedwill reimburse the Government with the monthly cost it incurs for the mobiletelephone supplied to the electorate officer.

8.9 An annual Schedule containing the respective totals of Government payments onbehalf of each Member for satellite telephones and for mobile telephones is to betabled by the Speaker during the second Sittings of the Assembly in each year.

8.10 No originating commercial use of a telephone, including charge back to a telephone,may be made at Government expense.

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8.11 A Government funded fixed line to the residence of the Member, orthe Governmentfunded fixed line to the Darwin residence for which Travelling Allowance is payable,may not be used as the hub of any commercial enterprise operated by the Memberor any other person residing there.

9.

9. I

POSTAGE

A Member shall meet the cost of all mail, including courier bags, from his or her ownfunds.

9.2 Ministers, the Leader of the Opposition and the Speaker shall each be provided withunlimited postage for official business as an office holder.

IO.

10.1 A secure office will be made available to each Member in the Assembly building, withconvenient access to a photocopier, at least during Sittings of the Assembly, and abasic ink-jet printer unless provided under some other Government entitlement.

OFFICE SPACE AND EQUIPMENT

10.2 The Government will provide, maintain and pay utility services costs for aconveniently accessible and identified electorate office with parking, for eachMember, within uniform guidelines set by the Speaker, to support his or her servicesas a Member. Stationery requisites will also be supplied subject to those guidelines.The ongoing cleaning costs for the electorate office are to be met by the Memberunless he/she elects that these be met by the Government. The Member mustensure that the office is not used for commercial or electioneering purposes

10.3 The Government will provide an office of not greater area than 40sq metres for theliaison officer of the Member for Stuart in Katherine together with two telephone linesand one broadband connection. Other furniture, equipment and stationery will be atthe discretion of the Speaker.

10.4 Unless available under some other Government funded entitlement, each Memberwill be provided with a in Id range laptop computer or lightweight laptop

10.5 The Speaker shall from time to time determine a standard list of items of furniture,equipment and software to be available for every electorate office. Each Member isentitled to have these items supplied upon demand. These items remain the propertyof the Government or its contractors. Where a telephone line to the electorate officeis sufficiently enabled, the office computer supplied under this entitlement shall beconnected by broadband link directly to the Government Wide Area Network.

10.6 Unless available under some other Government entitlement, each Member will beprovided with an ipad 3G 64GB or equivalent model. The Member will beresponsible for all costs associated with the ipad including maintenance and repairother than its purchase cost.

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10.7 Members are entitled to either access to the Rolldata database of the Northern

Territory Electoral Roll in their electorate office at Government expense or, with theapproval of the Speaker, to a payment of up to $1 500 each yeartowards the cost ofan alternative electoral database.

I I .

11.1 Except during a reasonable handover period where there is a changeover ofemployees, during which time a Member may have two electorate officers or twoliaison officers as the case may be, a Member shall be entitled to the services of onefull-time staff Member as an electorate officer and may have part time electorateofficer assistance for up to 6 hours per week. In addition, the Member for Stuartshall be entitled to an additional part time liaison officer for up to 30 hours per weekin Katherine and the Member for Arafura shall be entitled to an additional part-timeliaison officer for up to 15 hours per week in Maningrida, such officers to beemployed by the Northern Territory Government. Members with electorate officeslocated outside DanNin may use the respective electorate officer entitlement in theirelectorate office or in Darwin.

STAFF

11.2 Any allocation of personnel forthe purpose of relief staffing arrangements shall be asdetermined from time to time by the Speaker.

11.3 The salary and allowances and other terms and conditions of employment ofongoing, ongoing part-time and casual staff of a Member shall be as determinedfrom time to time by the Speaker following endorsement by the Commissioner forPublic Employment.

11.4 Each Electorate officer shall be provided with a in Id range laptop computer or anipad 3G 64GB or equivalent model but not both.

11.5 An electorate officer located outside Darwin shall be entitled to travel at Government

expense to Darwin to attend a period of a Sitting of the Assembly once per annum.The stay shall not exceed two days prior to the commencement of the Sittings andtwo days after the completion of the Sittings.

11.6 An electorate officer located outside Allce Springs shall be entitled to travel atGovernment expense to Allce Springs to attend a period of a Sitting of the Assemblyin Allce Springs once per annum. The stay shall not exceed two days prior to theSittings and two days after the completion of the Sittings.

11.7 Use of an electorate officer's private vehicle shall be by arrangement between theMember and the electorate officer. Reimbursement for use of the vehicle shall be at

Northern Territory Public Service rates or by mutual agreement between the Memberand the electorate officer and the reimbursement shall be met from the Member'sown funds.

11.8 Any travel costs within the electorate by the electorate officer or liaison officer shallbe metfrom the Member's own funds.

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12.

12.1 An office holder or a Member as the case may be shall be entitled to claimreimbursement for Child Care services outside the hours of 8am to 6pm, Monday toFriday, in the following circumstances:

(a) where the Assembly is sitting outside these hours; or

(b) where an office holder is working or attending an event associated with his orher duties outside these hours; or

CHILD CARE

(c)

12.2Reimbursement will be made upon the Member submitting a claim forreimbursement which sets out the nature of the work activity or event and duration,together with actual start and finish times, amount paid and to whom.

when a Member is attending an event associated with his or her duties as aMember.

I3.

13.1 A Member is, immediately before he or she is taken to retire involuntarily from theAssembly, entitled to a resettlement allowance equal to 12 weeks of basic salary.

13.2 A person who is a Member is taken to retire involuntarily from the Assembly the daybefore an election involving the electorate that the Member represents or mayrepresent only if each of the following applies:

(a) the person was elected at or since the general election in 2005;

RESETTLEMENTALLOWANCE

(b) the person will not be able to access a pension or superannuation benefitrelated to service in the Assembly immediately after ceasing to be a Member;

(c) after the declaration of the poll for the election, the person is not a Memberbecause he or she did not stand for re-election following loss of partyendorsement (for reasons other than misconduct) or is not elected to be aMember.

I3.3 The resettlement allowance is payable at the rate of basic salary current on the datethe Member is taken to have retired involuntarily.

14.

14.1 Where a person becomes a Member or office holder, or ceases to be a Member oroffice holder during the year, annual entitlements under this Determination shall beproportionate to the time the person is a Member or office holder during that year.

GENERAL

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14.2 Forthe purposes of establishing entitlements under this Determination, 'year' meansthe twelve month period from I January to 31 December. Where a person becomesan Assembly Member or office holder during the calendar year, annual entitlementsunder this Determination shall be applied on a pro-rata basis for the portion of theyear remaining. Guidelines for the calculation of these pro-rata entitlements will beestablished by the Clerk of the Assembly.

14.3 A Member may elect to salary package subject to the "Salary Package Guidelines -General staff' as applies to all Northern Territory public servant general employeeswho are not hospital based.

14.4 The Speaker may make procedural rules to give full effect to all entitlementsspecified in this Determination.

14.5 The Tribunal may give an interpretation of the provisions of this Determination at therequest of the Speaker.

14.6 This Determination applies to offices held or occupied, activities undertaken, orexpenses incurred, on or after I January 2013.

Note. ' For example, ifa Member undertakes travelrelevantto this Determination andcommences that travel on Boxing Day 2072 and returns on 5 January 2073, theperson's entitlements from 26 December to 37 December are covered by theTribunal's 2077 Determinatibn (being Determinatibn No. 7 of 2077 in respect ofMembers of the Legislative Assembly) and the person's entitlements from I Januaryto 5 January 2073 are covered by this Determination.

Dated 22 October 2012.

John F1 rin

Member

Remuneration Tribunal

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Annual Rate of Electorate Allowance

Electorates

Schedule I

Araluen

Blain

BraitlingBrennan

Gasuarina

DrysdaleFannie BayGreatorex

Johnston

Karama

Fong LimNightcliffPort Darwin

Sanderson

Wariguri

Rate

$32 037

Katherine

Nelson

GoyderDalyAmhem

NhulunbuyArafura

NamatjiraBarklyStuart

$ 42 330

$ 52 166$ 52 965$ 53711$ 55 764$ 58 987$ 63 206$ 84 688

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A. Rates of Travelling Allowance where Commercial Accommodation isused

Location

^

Darwin

Schedule 2

Allce Springs

Jabiru

Katherine

Yulara

Office Holder

Elsewhere in the NT

All places

Ca ital Cities other Jurisdictions

$ 447

$ 352

$ 354

$ 352

$ 406

Brisbane

Member

Perth

Canberra

Hobart

$ 406

$ 293

$ 335

$ 277

$ 387

AccompanyingPerson

Adelaide

Melbourne

$ 352

Sydney

Elsewhere in Australia

$140

$110

$110

$110

$110

$ 399

$ 472

$ 395

$ 358

$ 372

$ 428

$ 428

All places other than above centres

Overseas

$ 270

Rates to be paid in accordance with Taxation Determination To 2072/77or any subsequenttaxation determination made in substitution of thatDetermination

$ 375

$ 381

$ 362

$ 318

$ 328

$ 370

$ 371

$110

$110

$110

$110

$110

$110

$110

$110

$ 352 $ 270 $110

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B. Rates of Travelling Allowance where other accommodation is used

Darwin

( I) Where the office holder or Member stays in accommodation that he or sheowns, or holds under a formal lease with at least one month of the term of thelease remaining, he or she shall be paid at the rate of $195 per day.

Darwin and other locations

Where the office holder or Member does not stay in commercial accommodation oraccommodation covered by B(I), he or she shall be paid:

(11)

(111)

one third of the applicable rates in A above; and

for a single qualifying accompanying person, the rate of $74

C. Rates for Payment of meals and incidentals where theaccommodation componentis paid for by the Government

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Incidentals

Office holder

$ 31$ 44$ 62$25

Assembly Member

$ 27$ 38$ 53$25

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Schedule 3

Approved Motor Vehicle Accessories

For four wheel drive vehicles where supplied to the Members for the electorates ofArafura, Am hem, Barkly, Daly, Goyder, Katherine, Namatjiral, Nhulunbuy and Stuart, theapproved accessories are as follows:

. longrangefueltanks;

. additional sparewheel;

. up to two spotlights to a rating of 130 watts with protective covers;' bullbar;' towbar;. aircleanersnorkel;. dualbatterysystem;. electricwinch;. roofrackwith orwithoutladder;

. tonneaucover(4x4utilityvehicle);

. mobiletelephonehandsfreefacility; and

. St John Ambulance First Aid Kit- suitable for outdoors. *

*Initial kit to be provi'ded to Members, wi'th future replenishments to be undertaken at the Member'sexpense

All other vehicles:

' towbar;. mobiletelephonehandsfreefacility;. roofrack/skibars;. tonneaucover(4x4utilityvehicle);. cargo barrier(station wagonsonly); and. StJohn Ambulance FirstAid Kit orequivalent. *

*/nit^^I kit to be provided to Members, with future replenishments to be undertaken at the Member'sexpense.

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