The system for setting and adjusting these allowances is defined in state legislation to ensure a consistent and fair approach across all 29 councils.
How allowances are set
To ensure fairness while balancing council finances, Tasmania’s 29 councils are grouped into seven categories based on factors like their number of voters and revenue base. The allowance rates are set for each of these categories.
Mayors and deputy mayors are entitled to receive additional allowances to reflect the higher level of duties they undertake in their official roles.
The annual adjustment process
Councillor allowances are adjusted for inflation once a year. This happens on 1 November and is calculated using Tasmania's Wage Price Index.
Current allowance rates
The dollar amounts for the allowances payable to councillors, deputy mayors and mayors for each council are in the councillor allowance information sheet.
Legal basis
The legal basis for paying councillor allowances is established in the Local Government Act and detailed in the Local Government (General) Regulations.
The starting point is Section 340A of the Act, which entitles councillors to receive an allowance. This section also specifies that mayors and deputy mayors are entitled to an additional allowance on top of their base councillor payment to reflect their extra duties.
The specific rules and amounts are then set out in the Regulations:
- Regulation 49(2) specifies the method for calculating annual increases to allowances.
- Regulation 49(3) includes a rule for when a deputy mayor acts in the mayor's position for four consecutive weeks or more, allowing them to receive the higher mayoral allowance for that period.
- The table of allowances for each of the seven council categories is in Schedule 4 of the Regulations.
Other information
Councillors can choose not to receive part or all of their allowance by notifying their general manager in writing.
Each council is required to publish the total amount of allowances and expenses paid to councillors in its annual report.
