WA judges awarded $20,000 pay rise and top Premier’s salary, luxury car request rejected

Judges have been awarded a 3.5 per cent pay rise — worth more than $20,000 for the Chief Justice — but a request for bigger luxury car allowances was rejected.

The Salaries and Allowances Tribunal said it received requests for an increase of up to 9.5 per cent, due to “workload, expanded jurisdictions and psychosocial hazards” and acknowledged “attraction and retention” issues.

But the tribunal, chaired by Margaret Seares, opted for a 3.5 per cent increase — above the current inflation rate, but below WA’s wages index and in line with other states.

It increases Chief Justice Peter Quinlan’s annual salary to $608,134, while a Supreme Court judge will earn $527,541 per year.

Premier Roger Cook earns $392,584 a year.

“While remuneration is only one factor, the Tribunal does not believe that salary increases above 3.5% and up to 9% are appropriate at this time,” the report said.

“The increase provided in this report continues to improve the relativities between the Federal Court and WA Puisne Judges, but within community expectations and standards.”

The SAT revealed that stakeholders requested a “significant” increase to their motor vehicle allowance, arguing it should be “large enough for officers to receive top of the line luxury vehicles, such as the Mercedes Benz E Class as standard”.

The Tribunal rejected the request, but said it will “monitor costs” in the future.