Remuneration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2011

Understanding the operation of this Act requires a precise analysis of its core statutory definitions and administrative structures.

Departmental Secretary

Defined via an amendment to subsection 3(1) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973, this term refers to a Secretary of a Department appointed under the Public Service Act 1999. This definition brings these peak administrative offices squarely within the jurisdiction of the Remuneration Tribunal's new Division 4 powers, removing them from the older, more fragmented salary-setting regimes.

Classification Structure

Under section 13(1), the Remuneration Tribunal is mandated to determine a classification structure for Departmental Secretaries. Rather than setting individual wages, the Tribunal designs a graded hierarchy of roles and salary bands. Under section 13(3), the Tribunal is also tasked with assigning each specific Departmental Secretary office to a classification within that structure. This acts as a statutory constraint on executive payrolls, limiting the PM&C Secretary's assignment powers.

Bifurcated Remuneration Assignment

The Act splits the setting of departmental salaries into two classes. Under section 14(1), the Tribunal directly determines the remuneration of the "central agency" secretaries (PM&C and Treasury). Under section 14(3), the PM&C Secretary is empowered to assign remuneration to all other Departmental Secretaries. While this assignment must be consistent with the Tribunal's classification structure, this mechanism introduces a hierarchical, peer-to-peer administrative dependency, concentrating significant economic patronage within the Prime Minister's department.

Parliamentary Base Salary

Inserted into subsection 3(1) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973, this concept refers to the portion of allowances determined under subsection 7(1) that represents the annual allowance payable for the purposes of section 48 of the Australian Constitution, and which is explicitly identified in the Tribunal's determination as base salary. This definition decouples the core constitutional allowance from additional leadership or ministerial loading, allowing the Tribunal to manipulate base pay as a distinct financial unit.

Disallowance Exemption

Under the newly inserted subsection 7(8AA) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973, determinations regarding MP salaries and related matters are categorized as legislative instruments, but are expressly shielded from section 42 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. This concept creates a class of delegated legislation that bypasses the standard democratic check of parliamentary veto, guaranteeing that once the Tribunal settles on a rate, Parliament cannot block it.

Salary Sacrifice Superannuation Neutrality

The Act adjusts the definition of "parliamentary allowance" across the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1948 and the Parliamentary Superannuation Act 2004. This concept ensures that any voluntary reductions in take-home pay chosen by an MP under the salary sacrifice provisions of Schedule 3 to the Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990 are completely disregarded when calculating their defined benefit superannuation entitlements. The "allowance" for pension purposes remains the higher, gross, pre-sacrifice figure.

The mechanical operations of the Act have direct legal, financial, and administrative impacts on several concentrated groups within the Commonwealth public sector, while carrying broader economic implications for public sector management.

Members of Parliament (Senators and Members of the House of Representatives)

MPs are directly affected by the shifting of their salary-setting power to the Remuneration Tribunal. Under the amended framework, their base salary is insulated from direct parliamentary votes, shielding them from the political fallout of voting for their own pay rises. Conversely, they lose the ability to formally reject a determination via the disallowance process if public pressure demands it. For long-serving MPs covered by the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1948, the Act protects their defined benefit pensions from being diminished by salary-sacrificing arrangements.

The Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

The PM&C Secretary is uniquely affected by a massive expansion of statutory power. Under section 14(3), they are transformed into the de facto payroll manager for all other Departmental Secretaries across the Commonwealth. This creates a vertical power relationship, altering the traditional peer-relationship between departmental heads. However, to prevent a clear conflict of interest, the PM&C Secretary’s own salary is determined independently by the Tribunal under section 14(1)(a).

Departmental Secretaries

Excepting the PM&C and Treasury Secretaries, all other Departmental Secretaries face a significant change in their employment relationship. Their specific salary is no longer negotiated as a standard bilateral contract with the government of the day under the Public Service Act 1999. Instead, they are subject to a tariff determined by the PM&C Secretary. This system curtails individual bargaining leverage, subordinating departmental heads to the administrative discretion of the PM&C Secretary and the structural parameters of the Remuneration Tribunal.

Statutory Officers and Agency Heads

The Public Service Commissioner, the Merit Protection Commissioner, and the Heads of Executive Agencies are affected by having their remuneration, allowances, and recreation leave entitlements stripped of ministerial and regulatory discretion. By transferring these powers to the Remuneration Tribunal, the Act attempts to standardize executive compensation, preventing individual ministers from offering bespoke financial packages to agency heads.

Public Sector Superannuation Administrators

Administrators of the Commonwealth's parliamentary superannuation schemes must navigate the revised definitions of "parliamentary allowance". They are required to apply complex calculations that disregard salary-sacrifice choices while monitoring whether the Tribunal has carved out any specific portion of base salary under subsection 7(1A) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 to prevent unintended defined benefit pension windfalls.

The Act establishes a tightly controlled matrix of administrative duties, statutory mandates, and individual entitlements across the upper echelons of the Australian Public Service and Parliament.

Duties of the Remuneration Tribunal

1. Establish Classifications: Under section 13(1), the Tribunal has an active duty to determine a classification structure for Departmental Secretaries.
2. Assign Offices to Bands: Under section 13(3), the Tribunal must, from time to time, determine the specific classification to which each Departmental Secretary office is assigned.
3. Determine Central Salaries: Under section 14(1), the Tribunal must directly determine the specific remuneration of the PM&C and Treasury Secretaries, ensuring consistency with its classification structure.
4. Determine Non-Remuneration Conditions: Under section 15, the Tribunal must determine the terms and conditions (other than remuneration) applying to all Departmental Secretaries.
5. Publish Determinations: Under section 16, the Tribunal must ensure that its decisions under Division 4 are published in the Gazette and on its website within 14 days of being made.
6. Publish MP Reasons: Under section 7A, the Tribunal is legally required to publish its reasons for making MP remuneration determinations on its website and formally notify the Minister.

Duties and Powers of the PM&C Secretary

1. Remuneration Assignment: Under section 14(3), the PM&C Secretary is empowered to assign individual Departmental Secretaries (excluding themselves and the Treasury Secretary) to a specific remuneration amount.
2. Mandatory Consultation: Before making an assignment, the PM&C Secretary has a statutory duty to consult with both the President of the Remuneration Tribunal and the Public Service Commissioner.
3. Consistency Mandate: Under section 14(4), the PM&C Secretary must ensure that any assigned remuneration is strictly consistent with the classification structure determined by the Tribunal.
4. Administrative Formality: Assignments must be made in writing, specify their commencement date, and a copy must be provided to the Minister under section 14(6).
5. Right of Recommendation: Under section 13(5), the PM&C Secretary has the right to make formal recommendations to the Tribunal regarding the assignment of specific offices to specific classifications.

Rights of MPs and Statutory Officers

1. Entitlement to Independent Pay: MPs have a statutory right to be paid the base salary determined by the Tribunal, free from parliamentary disallowance.
2. Superannuation Protection: MPs possess a right to have their defined benefit superannuation calculated based on their gross parliamentary allowance, completely disregarding any salary sacrifice elections.
3. Statutory Officers' Default Rights: Under the amended sections 46, 53, and 68 of the Public Service Act 1999, the Public Service Commissioner, the Merit Protection Commissioner, and Executive Agency Heads have a right to be paid Tribunal-determined rates, with a fallback right to receive regulation-prescribed remuneration if no Tribunal determination is currently in operation.

Unlike standard regulatory or criminal legislation, the Remuneration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2011 contains no civil penalty provisions, criminal offences, or administrative fines. Instead, the enforcement of its provisions relies entirely on administrative law principles, public sector compliance frameworks, and the doctrine of statutory validity.

Invalidity of Non-Compliant Executive Action

The primary enforcement mechanism of the Act is the threat of ultra vires invalidity. If the PM&C Secretary attempts to assign a Departmental Secretary a salary that is not consistent with the classification structure determined by the Remuneration Tribunal under section 13, that assignment would exceed the statutory power granted by section 14(4). Consequently, the assignment instrument would be legally void, exposing the Commonwealth to administrative law challenges under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 or section 39B of the Judiciary Act 1903.

Impact of Procedural Non-Compliance

The Act imposes strict procedural timelines. For example, section 16 requires the Tribunal to publish determinations in the Gazette and on its website within 14 days. While procedural delays do not automatically invalidate a determination (as note 1 to section 16 confirms that determinations come into operation on the date specified within them pursuant to subsection 7(5) of the principal Act), persistent failure to comply with these transparency mandates would constitute a breach of statutory duty, potentially attracting judicial review or mandamus applications.

Audit and Financial Controls

Because any payment of public money must be authorised by law under section 83 of the Australian Constitution, the financial adjustments made under this Act are subject to intensive scrutiny by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). If a superannuation administrator or payroll officer pays an executive or MP an amount that does not align with a valid Tribunal determination or a valid PM&C Secretary assignment, this constitutes an unauthorised draw on the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The enforcement of these provisions is therefore self-executing through the strict internal accounting controls of the Commonwealth financial management framework.

Superannuation Compliance Pressures

Under section 14(7), an assignment made by the PM&C Secretary under subsection 14(3) is legally deemed to be a determination made under the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 for the purposes of subsection 5(3AB) of the Superannuation Act 1976. If the PM&C Secretary executes an assignment that fails to meet the formal statutory requirements (such as being in writing or failing to undergo the mandatory consultations), it fails to qualify as a valid determination. This creates severe compliance risks for superannuation fund trustees, who would be calculating contributions based on an invalid instrument, leaving the Commonwealth liable to correct systemic underpayments or overpayments.

The Act does not operate in a vacuum; it acts as an amending statute that profoundly modifies the statutory landscape of public sector administration, parliamentary entitlements, and superannuation law.

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                              THE CONSTITUTION                          │
│                                (Section 48)                            │
└───────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │ Authorises Parliament to
                                    │ determine MP allowances
                                    ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL ACT 1973                    │
│    (Determines Base Salary, Classifications & Terms/Conditions)        │
└───────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────┬────────────┘
            │                                               │
            │ Sets classification                           │ Directly determines
            │ structure                                     │ MP base salary
            ▼                                               ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐        ┌────────────────────────┐
│          PUBLIC SERVICE ACT 1999     │        │ LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENT │
│  (PM&C Sec assigns salaries under    │        │        ACT 2003        │
│   s 14(3); Agency Heads paid via     │        │ (Deemed legislative    │
│   Tribunal determinations)           │        │  instrument but        │
└──────────────────┬───────────────────┘        │  exempted from s 42    │
                   │                            │  disallowance)         │
                   │ Deemed as                  └───────────┬────────────┘
                   │ determination                          │
                   ▼                                        │ Disregarded
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐                    │ for pension
│        SUPERANNUATION ACT 1976       │                    │ calculations
│  (Incorporates assigned rates for    │                    ▼
│   pension calculations)              │        ┌────────────────────────┐
└──────────────────────────────────────┘        │ PARLIAMENTARY SUPER-   │
                                                │    ANNUATION ACTS      │
                                                │ (1948 & 2004 Acts      │
                                                │  protect gross rate)   │
                                                └────────────────────────┘

The Australian Constitution

Under section 48 of the Constitution, the Parliament is given the power to determine the allowances of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives. The Remuneration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2011 executes this constitutional power by delegating the pricing authority to the Remuneration Tribunal, while using the "parliamentary base salary" definition to lock in the core constitutional allowance as a distinct, non-disallowable statutory concept.

Legislative Instruments Act 2003

The interaction with the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (now the Legislation Act 2003) is highly deliberate and restrictive. By inserting subsection 7(8AA), the Act explicitly overrides section 42 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. While the Tribunal's salary determinations for MPs must be registered as legislative instruments, they are insulated from parliamentary disallowance. This creates a rare class of non-disallowable legislative instruments, removing the standard mechanism of democratic check and balance over executive and legislative pay.

Public Service Act 1999

The Act completely rewrites the pay-setting architecture of the Public Service Act 1999. It repeals and replaces sections 46, 53, 61, and 68. The previous regime, which allowed individual Agency Ministers to negotiate bespoke salary and recreation leave terms with the Public Service Commissioner, the Merit Protection Commissioner, and the Heads of Executive Agencies, is dismantled. These powers are transferred to the Remuneration Tribunal, leaving the Agency Ministers with only residual power to grant non-recreation leave and determine miscellaneous conditions not covered by the Act.

Superannuation Legislation

The Act integrates deeply with three major superannuation statutes:

• Superannuation Act 1976: Section 14(7) connects the PM&C Secretary's salary assignments directly to the definition of "remuneration" under the Superannuation Act 1976, ensuring that the assigned rates are legally recognized for the purposes of calculating employer superannuation contributions and defined benefit accruals.
• Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1948 and Parliamentary Superannuation Act 2004: The Act modifies the definition of "parliamentary allowance" in both statutes. It ensures that any salary-sacrificing arrangements made under Part 1 of Schedule 3 to the Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990 are ignored for the purposes of superannuation. Consequently, the defined benefits or contribution percentages are calculated against the full, nominal "parliamentary base salary" rather than the reduced take-home pay.
• Furthermore, subsection 7(1A) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 permits the Tribunal to determine that a portion of the base salary is not "parliamentary allowance" for the 1948 Act, giving the Tribunal a tool to prevent superannuation payouts from escalating automatically when base salaries are restructured.

Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990

The Act strips the Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990 of its historic role as the primary statutory source for setting parliamentary salaries. It repeals Division 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 3 of that Act, which previously set out the specific formulas and links for MP salaries. It renames Part 1 of Schedule 3 to "Salary sacrifice" and limits the remaining clauses to the administration of pre-tax salary sacrifice arrangements, shifting the substantive salary-setting power entirely to the Remuneration Tribunal.

The Remuneration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2011 is a transitional amending Act (No. 75, 2011) that commenced primarily on 5 August 2011 following a proclamation made under section 2. Because it is an amending Act, its provisions have been absorbed into their respective principal Acts, leaving the historical trace of its amendments in the endnotes of those statutes.

Historically, the Act represents a structural break in how public sector and political salaries are governed in Australia. Prior to 2011, parliamentary salaries were subject to a politically sensitive link to the salary of an APS Reference Salary Group, or determined via direct legislative schedules in the Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990. This system frequently led to political gridlock, where governments delayed or rejected salary increases to avoid electoral backlash, resulting in long periods of stagnant pay followed by unsustainable catch-up adjustments. The 2011 amendments sought to end this cycle by fully outsourcing the political responsibility to the Remuneration Tribunal and stripping Parliament of its veto power.

Similarly, the pre-2011 framework for Departmental Secretaries under section 61 of the Public Service Act 1999 allowed for highly fragmented remuneration arrangements, which were perceived as lacking transparency and creating coordinate-incentive problems across departments. The 2011 Act established the consolidated classification and assignment model under Division 4 of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 to create a more disciplined, hierarchical, yet centrally controlled, pay structure.

The Act also contains important saving and transitional provisions designed to prevent administrative interruption during the handover of powers:

• Items 12, 13, and 15 of Schedule 1 preserved the validity of existing remuneration determinations for the Public Service Commissioner, the Merit Protection Commissioner, and the Heads of Executive Agencies. These determinations remained in force under the old law until the Remuneration Tribunal made its first formal determinations under the new regime.
• Item 14 of Schedule 1 established a transition for Departmental Secretaries, saving their existing Public Service Act 1999 determinations until the PM&C Secretary executed their first assignments under section 14(3), and the Tribunal issued its first determinations under sections 14(1) and 15.
• Item 21 of Schedule 2 preserved the old-law allowance provisions for MPs (including regulations under the Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990) until the Tribunal issued its first formal determination of the annual base salary under the revised subsection 7(1) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973. This ensured there was no legislative gap in parliamentary pay during the transition.

Because the Remuneration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2011 is administrative and machinery-focused legislation, it has not been the subject of high-profile constitutional challenges or extensive reported litigation. The High Court of Australia has historically given Parliament wide latitude under section 48 of the Constitution to determine its own allowances and to delegate that authority to statutory bodies like the Remuneration Tribunal.

The lack of litigation can also be attributed to the deliberate drafting of the Act, which isolates its decisions from standard grounds of legal challenge:

• By exempting the Tribunal's determinations from parliamentary disallowance under subsection 7(8AA), the Act removes the risk of litigation arising from politically motivated or procedurally flawed disallowance motions in the Senate or House of Representatives.
• By vesting the power to assign salaries for non-tier-1 Secretaries in the PM&C Secretary, rather than allowing individual contractual negotiation, the Act reduces the likelihood of employment-related contract disputes. Any dispute would have to be framed as an administrative law challenge to the PM&C Secretary's statutory exercise of power under section 14(3).

For any litigation to succeed under this framework, an applicant would need to establish a clear jurisdictional error or a breach of statutory conditions. For example, if the PM&C Secretary were to make a salary assignment under section 14(3) without executing the mandatory consultation with the President of the Tribunal and the Public Service Commissioner, this would represent a failure to observe a statutory condition precedent. In such a scenario, an affected Departmental Secretary could bring an action under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 seeking to set aside the assignment. However, because public sector executives are generally appointed at the pleasure of the government and operate within a highly collaborative environment, the career costs of pursuing such litigation against the PM&C Secretary act as a powerful informal barrier to legal action. Consequently, the legal boundaries of this Act remain untested in court, surviving entirely as internal administrative practice and audit compliance.

Practitioners, public sector advisors, and compliance officers must be aware of several administrative and legal traps embedded in the mechanics of this legislation.

The PM&C Secretary's Conflict of Interest and Power Concentration

The Act concentrates immense power in the hands of the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Under section 14(3), the PM&C Secretary determines the remuneration of their peers (the other Departmental Secretaries). While the PM&C Secretary's own salary is set independently by the Tribunal under section 14(1)(a) to manage the obvious conflict of interest, this arrangement still establishes an intense centralisation of executive power. A Departmental Secretary who disagrees with the PM&C Secretary on policy or administrative matters faces a structural disadvantage, as their salary is ultimately assigned by that same individual. This dynamic undermines the traditional horizontal parity and independence of different government departments, reinforcing a command-and-control structure centered on PM&C.

The "Consultation" Illusion

Section 14(3) requires the PM&C Secretary to assign salaries "in consultation with the President of the Tribunal and the Public Service Commissioner". Under established Australian administrative law, "consultation" does not mean "agreement" or "co-decision". The PM&C Secretary is legally free to disregard the advice, objections, or concerns raised by both the President of the Tribunal and the Public Service Commissioner, provided a genuine opportunity for input was given. This leaves the ultimate pricing power as a unilateral executive discretion, wrapped in a procedural veneer of consultation.

The Exclusion of Democratic Recourse (No Disallowance)

By exempting MP salary determinations from disallowance under subsection 7(8AA), the Act creates a democratic deficit. If the Remuneration Tribunal issues a salary determination that the public views as excessive during a period of economic hardship, there is no direct parliamentary mechanism to block or reverse the determination. While the Tribunal must publish its reasons under section 7A, this is a purely communicative requirement. The only way for Parliament to override an unpopular determination is to pass a specific, stand-alone Act of Parliament to amend the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 or override the specific determination. This requires significant legislative time, political capital, and the cooperation of both houses, making immediate democratic recourse practically impossible.

The Superannuation Contribution Trap for Salary Sacrificing MPs

While the Act protects the defined benefit entitlements of MPs under the 1948 Act by ensuring that salary sacrifice is disregarded (keeping the superannuation base at the gross level), this creates a complex administrative asymmetry. Superannuation administrators must maintain dual payroll books: one capturing the actual cash salary paid to the MP (net of salary sacrifice) for tax and banking purposes, and another calculating the nominal, gross "parliamentary allowance" for pension accruals and employer contributions. If payroll systems fail to accurately segregate these figures, they risk generating incorrect superannuation reporting, potentially triggering breaches of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 or causing tax compliance failures for individual MPs.

Subsection 7(1A) Pension Reduction Risk

Under section 7(1A) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973, the Tribunal is granted the power to determine that a portion of parliamentary base salary is not "parliamentary allowance" for the purposes of the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1948. This is a highly potent "gotcha" for retired or long-serving MPs. If the Tribunal chooses to increase base pay but simultaneously declares under s 7(1A) that a portion of that increase is excluded from the definition of "allowance", the MPs will receive the higher cash salary in their pocket, but their future defined benefit pension calculations will not benefit from that increase. This allows the Tribunal to quietly control and limit the growth of the highly generous, taxpayer-funded 1948 pension scheme without affecting the headline base salary figure.

Compliance with the Remuneration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2011 is achieved through rigorous administrative adherence to the statutory steps prescribed in the amendments. Because the Act governs public sector payrolls, superannuation schemes, and high-level appointments, compliance must be systematic and fully documented.

Compliance Steps for the Remuneration Tribunal

  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │         ESTABLISH & MAINTAIN CLASSIFICATIONS           │
  │  - Determine Secretary classification structure (s 13) │
  │  - Hold periodic inquiries (s 13(4))                   │
  └───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │                 DETERMINE SALARIES                     │
  │  - Directly set PM&C & Treasury salaries (s 14(1))     │
  │  - Determine MP base salary & allowances (s 7)         │
  └───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │               TRANSPARENCY & GAZETTAL                  │
  │  - Publish Div 4 determinations within 14 days (s 16)  │
  │  - Publish MP reasons on website & notify Minister     │
  │    (s 7A)                                              │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1. Establish and Review Classifications: The Tribunal must maintain a current, legally binding classification structure for Departmental Secretaries under section 13(1). It should conduct periodic inquiries under section 13(4) to ensure the classifications match the evolving complexity of public sector administration.
2. Execute Direct Determinations: The Tribunal must directly determine the specific salaries for the PM&C and Treasury Secretaries (section 14(1)) and the base salaries of MPs (section 7(1)), ensuring these are recorded in formal, signed determinations.
3. Publish Within Statutory Timelines: Under section 16, the Tribunal must ensure that every determination made under Division 4 is published in the Commonwealth Gazette and uploaded to its website within 14 days of being made.
4. Publish Statement of Reasons: For every MP-related salary determination under subsection 7(1), (1A), (2), or related s 7(4) matters, the Tribunal must compile a comprehensive statement of reasons, publish it on its public website, and formally notify the Minister in writing (section 7A).

Compliance Steps for the PM&C Secretary

  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │                   INITIATE ASSIGNMENT                  │
  │  Identify target Secretary role & matching Tribunal    │
  │  classification band (s 13 & s 14)                     │
  └───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │                 MANDATORY CONSULTATION                 │
  │  Formally consult:                                     │
  │  1. President of the Remuneration Tribunal             │
  │  2. Public Service Commissioner                        │
  │  (Document the process thoroughly)                     │
  └───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │                 EXECUTE & DISTRIBUTE                   │
  │  - Draft written instrument with start date (s 14(5))  │
  │  - Ensure rate is consistent with classification       │
  │  - Provide copy to the Minister (s 14(6))              │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1. Verify Classification Consistency: Before assigning a salary to any Departmental Secretary, the PM&C Secretary must verify that the proposed remuneration aligns strictly with the classification band assigned to that specific office by the Tribunal under section 13(3).
2. Conduct and Document Formal Consultation: The PM&C Secretary must initiate written consultation with the President of the Remuneration Tribunal and the Public Service Commissioner. To mitigate litigation risk, this consultation must be substantive. All correspondence, feedback, and meetings must be thoroughly documented in the department's record-keeping system to prove compliance with section 14(3) in the event of an audit or judicial review.
3. Draft a Compliant Instrument: The assignment must be executed via a formal, written instrument of assignment under section 14(5)(a). The instrument must explicitly specify the date on which the assignment comes into operation (section 14(5)(b)).
4. Notify the Minister: Immediately upon executing the written instrument of assignment, the PM&C Secretary must transmit a complete copy of the signed instrument to the responsible Minister in accordance with section 14(6).

Compliance Steps for Public Sector Superannuation Administrators

1. Apply Salary Sacrifice Disregard: When calculating defined benefit pensions or superannuation contributions under the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1948 or the Parliamentary Superannuation Act 2004, administrators must inspect the MP’s salary record. They must identify any pre-tax salary sacrifice elections made under Part 1 of Schedule 3 to the Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990 and manually "add back" those sacrificed amounts to calculate the correct superannuation base.
2. Monitor Subsection 7(1A) Exclusions: Administrators of the 1948 Act must monitor the Tribunal’s determinations to identify whether the Tribunal has exercised its power to declare any portion of the parliamentary base salary as non-allowance. This excluded portion must be subtracted from the superannuation base to avoid overpaying pensions and breaching the statutory rules.
3. Integrate Secretary Assignments: Administrators of the Superannuation Act 1976 must treat the PM&C Secretary's written assignments under section 14(3) as formal Tribunal determinations for the purposes of calculating the superannuation entitlements of Departmental Secretaries under subsection 5(3AB) of that Act. They must ensure that the payroll systems automatically update the superannuation contribution base on the exact date the assignment comes into operation.