February 6, 2025
All Queensland Mayors and Councillors are set to get a pay rise of between 2.5 and 3 per cent from July 1, following a determination from the independent Local Government Remuneration Commission.
The actual rate of pay is determined by the category of the Council, based on size.
Council maximum remuneration rates from July 1, 2025 (by Council category):
A2 – Mayor $122,975, Deputy Mayor $70,946, Councillor $61,486
- Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council
- North Burnett Regional Council
B2 – Mayor $149,895, Deputy Mayor $93,684, Councillor $79,630
- Gympie Regional Council
- Somerset Regional Council
- South Burnett Regional Council
C1 – Mayor $152,068, Deputy Mayor $95,041, Councillor $80,784
- Western Downs Regional Council
D2 – Mayor $203,137, Deputy Mayor $138,501, Councillor $120,037
- Toowoomba Regional Council
The highest paid (non-Brisbane) Council is the Gold City Council (Mayor $286,239, Deputy Mayor $201,596 and Councillor $170,819), just ahead of the Sunshine Coast Regional, Logan City and Moreton Bay City councils (Mayor $258,539, Deputy Mayor $179,130 and Councillor $156,970).
The Commission said it had taken into account CPI data while assessing the new rates as well as the importance of maintaining financially sustainable and fiscally responsible wage growth.
It had also taken into consideration the challenging and unstable inflationary environment, the affordability and sustainability impacts for councils and their communities of wage increases, and the existing disparity in pay between the mayors and councillors in smaller, rural, regional and remote parts of Queensland when compared with larger, metropolitan locations.
It had also considered anecdotal evidence of the desire to attract and retain high quality candidates to these roles, particularly in regional and remote areas.
The Local Government Remuneration Commission handed down its findings on November 29 last year.
Toowoomba Regional Council failed in a submission to the Commission to be lifted into the bigger D3 Category, alongside Townsville City and Ipswich City councils.
South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff emphasised she had declined the use of a council vehicle, for which she was entitled, and also paid for her own fuel.
