The NSW Government will introduce legislation seeking to limit the latest pay increase for state MPs to three per cent and prevent a substantially larger salary rise scheduled for 2027.
Under the proposed legislation, MPs’ basic salaries would increase by three per cent from 1 July 2026, while existing parliamentary staffing arrangements, allowances and other entitlements would remain in place.
The move would override key parts of a recent determination by the independent NSW Parliamentary Remuneration Tribunal.
However, the government’s proposal has not yet become law. The bill must first proceed through government and party processes before being introduced and passed by the NSW Parliament.
Tribunal recommended two salary increases
Under the Parliamentary Remuneration Tribunal’s determination, NSW MPs would receive a backdated 3.7 per cent basic salary increase from 1 July 2026.
A second and much larger increase of 18.77 per cent would then take effect from 1 May 2027.
Taken together, the changes would lift MPs’ base salaries by approximately 23 per cent within less than a year, reportedly bringing the standard salary to about $220,000 annually.
The Tribunal’s package also included additional staffing support and significant changes to parliamentary allowances and entitlements.
The Tribunal argued that MPs’ existing salaries no longer adequately reflected the workload, responsibilities and demands associated with parliamentary office.
Government proposes three per cent increase instead
The NSW Government says its legislation will replace the Tribunal’s two-stage salary increase with a single three per cent rise applying from 1 July 2026.
That increase would be consistent with the government’s broader public-sector wages policy and salary outcomes applying to many NSW public servants.
More than 150,000 public-sector employees are scheduled to receive a three per cent increase during 2026–27 under existing Crown Employees and teachers’ awards.
The government argues that MPs should receive a comparable increase rather than a substantially larger adjustment while households continue to experience cost-of-living pressures.
If the legislation passes, MPs would retain their current staffing arrangements, allowances and parliamentary entitlements rather than receiving the expanded package recommended by the Tribunal.
Proposal would prevent second rise in May
The most significant part of the legislation would be the removal of the proposed 18.77 per cent salary increase from 1 May 2027.
The government said it did not consider it appropriate for MPs to receive two pay rises within eight months, particularly when the second increase would be accompanied by additional staff and changes to allowances.
The bill would therefore limit the base salary adjustment to three per cent and leave the current entitlement framework largely unchanged.
The government has not yet published the bill or detailed its precise drafting, meaning its interaction with every part of the Tribunal’s determination will become clearer when the legislation is introduced.
Tribunal remains independent
The Parliamentary Remuneration Tribunal is an independent statutory body established under the Parliamentary Remuneration Act 1989.
It is responsible for determining NSW MPs’ basic salaries, allowances and additional parliamentary entitlements.
The Tribunal must consider the state government’s fiscal position and outlook when determining basic salaries, but its decision-making functions remain independent of the government.
The government said it respected the Tribunal’s independence but believed the overall package was inappropriate in the current economic and budget environment.
In its submission to the Tribunal, the government had argued for a three per cent salary increase, citing public-sector wage outcomes, financial pressures and the potential effect of a larger increase on the state budget.
The Tribunal ultimately reached a different conclusion, leaving Parliament as the mechanism through which the government can seek to alter the determination.
Similar legislation used previously
This would not be the first time the Minns Government has legislated to restrict parliamentary pay.
In 2025, the Tribunal awarded NSW politicians a four per cent increase, but the government introduced legislation to limit the rise to 3.5 per cent.
That measure followed an earlier legislated pay freeze applying to NSW MPs and senior public-service executives between 1 July 2023 and 1 July 2025.
The latest proposal continues that approach by using legislation to impose a salary outcome below the amount determined by the independent Tribunal.
Staffing and allowances would remain unchanged
The government’s announcement makes clear that the proposed law would not simply amend MPs’ base salaries.
It would also prevent the Tribunal’s proposed expansion of staffing arrangements and changes to allowances and parliamentary entitlements from taking effect.
Existing arrangements would instead continue.
The government has not yet released a detailed financial estimate showing how much the legislation would save compared with implementing the full Tribunal package.
It has said, however, that the larger increase would create additional pressure on the NSW Budget.
Parliamentary debate still required
The proposed three per cent increase is not yet the legally settled outcome.
The bill will need to be formally introduced, debated and approved by both houses of the NSW Parliament before it can override the Tribunal’s determination.
Until the legislation and any transitional provisions are published, questions remain about:
- How the backdated salary adjustment will be administered
- Whether MPs will temporarily receive payments under the Tribunal determination
- Which specific staffing and allowance changes will be prevented
- When the proposed legislation will take effect
- Whether amendments will be made during parliamentary debate
The government has not yet confirmed when the bill will be introduced.
For now, the announcement represents a commitment to legislate rather than a completed change to MPs’ remuneration.
The most accurate description is that the NSW Government is seeking parliamentary approval to cap the 2026 salary increase at three per cent and block the larger increase scheduled for May 2027.
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