Changes to positions of responsibility during a council’s term

The Authority will consider proposals from councils who make changes to their governance structures and/or positions of responsibility, during a triennium, which impact on their elected members’ remuneration. The Authority will either issue an amending determination or consult further with the council concerned. For guidance including the criteria for approval, see Governance Remuneration Pool.

The Authority will consider proposals for changes as they are received. The process of developing and producing a determination generally takes up to three months to complete as it has to go through the Parliamentary Counsel Office process to be drafted and published in the New Zealand Gazette.

In all cases where there is a change, councils need to wait till an amendment determination is gazetted by the Authority before they can make the changes to their elected members’ remuneration. However, all amendments including adjustments to annual remuneration are generally effective on and from the day after the date on which the council confirmed the position(s) of responsibility or governance structure and the associated remuneration. The amendments will be backdated in the amending determination to the effective date.

Following its formal decision-making, the council will need to forward their proposal(s) for additional remuneration to the Authority for consideration and inclusion in the next amendment determination by completing and returning one of the following worksheets:

• Proposed remuneration for councillors calculated using dollar amounts [XLSX, 276KB]
• Proposed remuneration for councillors calculated using ratios [XLSX, 52KB]

The next amending determination is scheduled to be issued in late April 2021. Proposals for changes from councils to be included in this amending determination will not be accepted after 31 March 2021.

The Authority will accept proposals from councils no later than three months (normally 31 March) before the expiry of the principal determination (normally 30 June).

If a council agrees to a change in their governance structure, positions of responsibility and/or elected members remuneration during the three months interregnum the amendment(s) will not be included in the principal determination but will be included in the subsequent amending determination. The amendment(s) in the subsequent determination will be backdated to the commencement date of the principal determination (normally 1 July), as the amendment(s) cannot come into force before the commencement date of the principal determination.