NT councillors, mayors to be awarded four per cent pay hike effective July 1, 2025

Northern Territory mayors and councillors are set to be awarded a pay bump in July.

Northern Territory mayors and councillors are set to be awarded a four per cent pay bump from the start of the next financial year. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Northern Territory mayors and councillors are set to be awarded a four per cent pay bump from the start of the next financial year in a move that will see their allowances increase by thousands of dollars.

The pay hikes come after the NT’s Administrator Hugh Heggie issued a request to the Remuneration Tribunal to “inquire into and determine” the allowances payable to a member of a local council.

As a result of the tribunal’s review, a four per cent pay bump — reflective of salary increases across Australia and the Territory over the past year — will be awarded to councillors and mayors effective July 1.

Total allowances of mayors from five of 17 councils in the Northern Territory. Picture: Datawrapper

The mayoral allowance was increased to address the relativities between the increased councillor allowances, the tribunal’s report stated.

Elected officials to benefit from the increase include Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs, Litchfield, Katherine and nine other regional council areas, as well as the shire councils —Wagait, Belyuen and Commalie.

In total, there are 17 municipalities in the NT.

The tribunal’s decision means Darwin Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis will be eligible for a maximum allowance of $165,334 — up from $158, 975.

City of Palmerston Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell in the Palmerston Library. Picture: Sam Lowe

Same goes for Palmerston Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell, who will soon be eligible for a maximum allowance of $121,264 — an increase from $116,600 — and Alice Springs Mayor, Matt Paterson, who’s pay will rise from $111,550 to $116,112.

The mayors of the Katherine, Barkly, Central Desert, East Arnhem, MacDonnell, Roper Gulf, Tiwi Islands, West Arnhem, West Daly and Victoria Daly councils are also winners, with their allowances soon to total $106,600 — up from $102,000.

The mayors of Belyuen and Wagait Shire will see their mayoral allowances increase to $30,462 from $25,125, with the Coomalie Shire mayoral allowance also jumping slightly from $30,175 to $30,462.

The tribunal increased the professional development allowance to $5000 from $4000, citing travel costs to regional areas as the key reason behind the bump.

Despite the increase, it is up to councils to decide if they will set the salaries of their elected officials at the maximum eligible levels.