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The main purposes of this Act are—
to modernise the processes and structures for determining salaries, allowances and conditions of service for judicial officers in a manner that recognises and maintains judicial independence; and
to repeal the Judicial Salaries Act 2004 and the Judicial Remuneration Tribunal Act 1995; and
to make consequential and miscellaneous amendments to other Acts.
This Part and Part 7 come into operation on the day after the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.
Subject to subsection (3), the remaining provisions of this Act come into operation on a day or days to be proclaimed.
If a provision of this Act does not come into operation before 1 January 2016, it comes into operation on that day.
In this Act—
advisory opinion means an opinion of the Panel given under Division 2 of Part 4;
associate judge of the County Court means a person appointed under section 17A of the County Court Act 1958;
Associate Judge of the Supreme Court means an Associate Judge appointed under section 104 of the Supreme Court Act 1986 and referred to in section 75(4) of the Constitution Act 1975;
chairperson means the person appointed under section 18;
conditions of service means the following—
leave entitlements, including—
annual leave;
personal and carer's leave;
parental leave;
special leave;
additional annual leave arrangements, including purchased leave schemes;
Example
48/52 schemes.
long service leave, including sabbatical leave;
recognition of prior service for long service leave purposes;
the payment out of accrued leave or the transferring or carrying over of accrued leave from previous judicial office or other public office;
allowances;
benefits provided to or on behalf of a judicial officer, whether monetary or not—
but does not include salary, pensions and superannuation;
S. 3 def. of Deputy Chief Judge inserted by No. 31/2021 s. 18(b).
Deputy Chief Judge means the Deputy Chief Judge within the meaning of the County Court Act 1958;
entitlement means the following—
conditions of service;
salary;
pension and superannuation;
entitlement certificate means—
in relation to an own motion recommendation, a certificate issued under section 35(1);
in relation to an advisory opinion, a certificate issued under section 35(3);
Federal Court Judge means a Judge of the Federal Court other than the Chief Justice of the Federal Court;
Federal Remuneration Tribunal means the Remuneration Tribunal established under the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 of the Commonwealth;
Judge of Appeal means a person referred to in section 75(3)(c) of the Constitution Act 1975;
S. 3 def. of judicial officer amended by No. 31/2021 s. 18(a).
judicial officer means the following—
the Chief Justice;
the President of the Court of Appeal;
a Judge of Appeal;
a Supreme Court Judge;
an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court;
a reserve Judge of the Supreme Court;
a reserve Associate Judge of the Supreme Court;
the Chief Judge;
the Deputy Chief Judge;
a judge of the County Court, other than the Chief Judge or the Deputy Chief Judge;
an associate judge of the County Court;
a reserve judge of the County Court;
a reserve associate judge of the County Court;
the Chief Magistrate;
a Deputy Chief Magistrate;
the Deputy State Coroner;
a magistrate other than the Chief Magistrate or a Deputy Chief Magistrate;
a reserve magistrate;
a reserve coroner;
judicial registrar means—
in the case of the Supreme Court, a judicial registrar within the meaning of the Supreme Court Act 1986;
in the case of the County Court, a judicial registrar within the meaning of the County Court Act 1958;
in the case of the Magistrates' Court, a judicial registrar within the meaning of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989;
in the case of the Children's Court, a judicial registrar within the meaning of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005;
in the case of the Coroners Court, a judicial registrar within the meaning of the Coroners Act 2008;
member means member of the Panel;
non-judicial member of VCAT means a member of VCAT other than the President of VCAT or a Vice President of VCAT;
non-salary benefits has the same meaning as in clause 3(5) and (6) of Schedule 1A to the Public Administration Act 2004;
own motion recommendation means a recommendation of the Panel made under Division 1 of Part 4;
Panel means the Judicial Entitlements Panel established under section 15;
part-time service arrangement—
in relation to a Judge or an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court, has the same meaning as it has in the Constitution Act 1975;
in relation to a judge or an associate judge of the County Court, has the same meaning as it has in the County Court Act 1958;
in relation to a magistrate, has the same meaning as it has in the Magistrates' Court Act 1989;
President of the Court of Appeal means a person referred to in section 75(3)(b) of the Constitution Act 1975;
public service body Head has the same meaning as it has in the Public Administration Act 2004;
recommendation statement means a statement of the Attorney-General under section 34;
register means the register established and maintained under section 37;
reserve associate judge of the County Court means a reserve associate judge within the meaning of the County Court Act 1958 engaged under section 17KC of that Act to undertake the duties of an associate judge of the court;
reserve Associate Judge of the Supreme Court means a reserve Associate Judge within the meaning of the Constitution Act 1975 engaged under section 105D of the Supreme Court Act 1986 to undertake the duties of an Associate Judge;
reserve coroner means a reserve coroner within the meaning of the Coroners Act 2008 engaged under section 102L of that Act to undertake the duties of a coroner;
reserve judge of the County Court means a reserve judge within the meaning of the County Court Act 1958 engaged under section 12B of that Act to undertake the duties of a judge of the court;
reserve Judge of the Supreme Court means a reserve Judge within the meaning of the Constitution Act 1975 engaged under section 81B of that Act to undertake the duties of a Judge of the Court;
reserve judicial officer means—
a reserve Judge of the Supreme Court;
a reserve Associate Judge of the Supreme Court;
a reserve judge of the County Court;
a reserve associate judge of the County Court;
a reserve magistrate;
a reserve coroner;
reserve magistrate means a reserve magistrate within the meaning of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 engaged under section 9C of that Act to undertake the duties of a magistrate;
salary certificate means a certificate issued under section 10;
salary of a Federal Court Judge means the salary payable from time to time to that Judge under section 9 of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 of the Commonwealth;
salary of a Supreme Court Judge means the salary fixed from time to time under section 5(1);
salary table means the table to section 5;
Secretary means the Secretary to the Department of Justice and Regulation;
Supreme Court Judge means a Judge of the Court referred to in section 75(3) of the Constitution Act 1975 other than the following—
the Chief Justice;
the President of the Court of Appeal;
a Judge of Appeal.
A judicial officer is entitled to the salary in respect of that office determined by or under this Act.
A judicial officer is entitled to the allowances in respect of that office determined—
by or under this Act; or
by any other law.
A judicial officer is entitled to the conditions of service in respect of that office determined—
by or under this Act; or
by any other law.
In this section, any other law includes a Commonwealth Act.
A Supreme Court Judge is entitled to be paid a salary at the same rate as the salary of a Federal Court Judge payable from time to time.
Note
See also section 9 regarding timing of adjustments to salary.
A judicial officer (other than a reserve judicial officer) specified in Column 1 of the salary table is entitled to be paid a salary at the percentage of the salary of a Supreme Court Judge specified for that judicial officer in Column 2 of the salary table.
Note to s. 5(2) amended by No. 3/2016 s. 48.
Note
See sections 6 and 7 for salaries of reserve judicial officers and section 10(1A) of the County Court Act 1958 and section 10(1A) of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 in relation to salaries of dual commission holders.
A judicial officer (other than a reserve judicial officer) to whom a part-time service arrangement applies is entitled to be paid—
in the case of a Supreme Court Judge, a pro‑rata salary of the salary of a Supreme Court Judge; and
in the case of a judicial officer specified in Column 1 of the salary table, a pro-rata salary of the percentage of the salary of a Supreme Court Judge specified for that judicial officer in Column 2 of the salary table.
S. 5 (Table) amended by Nos 31/2021 s. 19, 1/2022 s. 34.
Table of percentages of salary of Supreme Court Judge
| Column 1
| Column 2 Percentage of salary of Supreme Court Judge |
|---|
1 | Chief Justice | 112⋅86% |
2 | President of the Court of Appeal | 106⋅64% |
3 | Judge of Appeal | 103⋅32% |
4 | Associate Judge of the Supreme Court who is the Senior Master |
|
5 | Registrar of the Court of Appeal other than when that office is or was held by a judicial registrar of the Supreme Court |
|
6 | Associate Judge of the Supreme Court other than an Associate Judge referred to in item 4, 5 or 7 of this Table |
|
7 | Associate Judge of the Supreme Court who is or was a Specialist Supreme Court Master |
|
8 | Chief Judge | 100⋅00% |
8A | Deputy Chief Judge | 91⋅98% |
9 | Judge of the County Court other than the Chief Judge or the Deputy Chief Judge |
|
10 | Associate judge or master of the County Court | 84⋅65% |
11 | Chief Magistrate who is or has been a dual commission holder as a Judge of the Supreme Court |
|
11A | Chief Magistrate who has been a dual commission holder as a judge of the County Court under the County Court Act 1958 |
|
12 | Deputy Chief Magistrate | 73⋅65% |
13 | Deputy State Coroner | 73⋅65% |
14 | Magistrate other than the Chief Magistrate or a Deputy Chief Magistrate |
|
Subject to subsection (2), each reserve judicial officer engaged to undertake duties on a full time basis is entitled to be paid a salary in accordance with the rate for the time being applicable under the salary table as follows—
in the case of a reserve Judge of the Supreme Court—
to the holder of the office of Judge of Appeal other than on a reserve basis if the reserve Judge—
was the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal or a Judge of Appeal immediately before the Judge's commission ceased under section 77(4)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) of the Constitution Act 1975; or
is engaged under section 81B of that Act to undertake the duties of a Judge of Appeal; or
in any other case, to the holder of the office of Supreme Court Judge other than on a reserve basis;
in the case of a reserve Associate Judge of the Supreme Court—
to the holder of the office of Senior Master of the Supreme Court other than on a reserve basis if the reserve Associate Judge—
was the Senior Master immediately before the person retired or resigned; or
is engaged under section 105D of the Supreme Court Act 1986 to undertake the duties of the Senior Master; or
in any other case, to an Associate Judge referred to in item 6 of the salary table;
in the case of a reserve judge of the County Court, to the holder of that office (other than the Chief Judge) on other than a reserve basis;
in the case of a reserve associate judge of the County Court, to the holder of that office on other than a reserve basis;
in the case of a reserve magistrate, to the holder of that office (other than the Chief Magistrate and a Deputy Chief Magistrate) on other than a reserve basis;
in the case of a reserve coroner, to the holder of the office of magistrate (other than the Chief Magistrate or a Deputy Chief Magistrate) on other than a reserve basis.
If a reserve judicial officer engaged to undertake duties on a full time basis is entitled to—
a non-contributory pension under a relevant Act within the meaning of section 16A of the State Superannuation Act 1988; or
because the person has held a public office in another jurisdiction, a non-contributory pension under any other law—
the amount of pension to which the reserve judicial officer is entitled must be deducted from the salary payable to that reserve judicial officer under subsection (1).
Subject to subsection (2), each reserve judicial officer engaged to undertake duties on a sessional basis is entitled to be paid a salary at the sessional rate per sitting day which is—
in the case of a reserve Judge of the Supreme Court—
1/235th of the salary of the holder of the office of Judge of Appeal who is not a reserve Judge if the reserve Judge—
was the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal or a Judge of Appeal immediately before the Judge's commission ceased under section 77(4)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) of the Constitution Act 1975; or
is engaged under section 81B of that Act to undertake the duties of a Judge of Appeal; or
in any other case, 1/235th of the salary of a Supreme Court Judge who is not a reserve Judge;
in the case of a reserve Associate Judge of the Supreme Court—
1/235th of the salary of an Associate Judge who is the Senior Master who is not a reserve Associate Judge if the reserve Associate Judge—
was the Senior Master immediately before the person retired or resigned; or
is engaged under section 105D of the Supreme Court Act 1986 to undertake the duties of the Senior Master; or
in any other case, 1/235th of the salary of an Associate Judge referred to in item 6 of the salary table who is not a reserve Associate Judge;
in the case of a reserve judge of the County Court, 1/235th of the salary of a judge of the County Court (other than the Chief Judge) who is not a reserve judge;
in the case of a reserve associate judge of the County Court, 1/235th of the salary of an associate judge of the County Court who is not a reserve associate judge;
in the case of a reserve magistrate, 1/235th of the salary of a magistrate (other than the Chief Magistrate and the Deputy Chief Magistrates) who is not a reserve magistrate;
in the case of a reserve coroner, 1/235th of the salary of a magistrate (other than the Chief Magistrate and the Deputy Chief Magistrates) who is not a reserve magistrate.
A reserve judicial officer engaged to undertake duties on a sessional basis who is entitled to—
a non-contributory pension under a relevant Act within the meaning of section 16A of the State Superannuation Act 1988; or
because the person has held a public office in another jurisdiction, a non-contributory pension under any other law—
must be paid a salary at the sessional rate per sitting day which is calculated in accordance with the following formula—
where—
S means the sessional rate for the time being applicable under subsection (1) to the reserve judicial officer;
P means the annual pension to which the reserve judicial officer is entitled that is referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).
The salary of a judicial officer determined under section 5, 6 or 7 is to be rounded up or down to the nearest whole dollar.
If the amount by which the salary is to be rounded is 50 cents, it is to be rounded up to the nearest whole dollar.
Any adjustment of the salary of a Supreme Court Judge only takes effect on the later of—
(a) if an adjustment of the salary of a Federal Court Judge takes effect and the relevant determination of the Federal Remuneration Tribunal is not disapproved of by a resolution passed by either House of the Parliament of the Commonwealth under the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 of the Commonwealth, the beginning of the day after the last day on which either House of that Parliament could have passed a resolution in respect of that determination; or
the date on which that relevant determination of the Federal Remuneration Tribunal takes effect.
The Attorney-General must issue a salary certificate specifying—
the salary of a Supreme Court Judge; and
the salaries of the judicial officers specified in the salary table; and
the sessional rates per sitting day of reserve judicial officers.
A salary certificate must be issued as soon as practicable after any adjustment to the salaries or sessional rates referred to in subsection (1) takes effect.
A judicial officer is entitled to the conditions of service provided for in any entitlement certificate applicable to that office.
Note to s. 11 inserted by No. 3/2016 s. 49.
Note
See also section 10(1A) of the County Court Act 1958 and section 10(1A) of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 in relation to conditions of service of dual commission holders.
This section applies to the following judicial officers (other than a reserve judicial officer)—
a Judge of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal and a Judge of Appeal;
an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court;
S. 12(1)(c) amended by No. 31/2021 s. 20.
a judge of the County Court, including the Chief Judge and the Deputy Chief Judge;
S. 12(1)(d) amended by No. 38/2017 s. 68(a).
an associate judge of the County Court;
S. 12(1)(e) inserted by No. 38/2017 s. 68(b).
the Chief Magistrate.
A judicial officer to whom this section applies is entitled on the resignation, retirement or death of that judicial officer to payment out of the accrued sabbatical and long service leave entitlements (if any) in respect of the judicial officer not exceeding a period of 12 months.
S. 13 amended by No. 38/2017 s. 69.