Over recent years, the Tribunal has boosted federal judges' salaries by around 4 per cent a year, taking into factors such as inflation, remuneration increases across the senior executive services of the Australian Public Service, and other external factors.

In deciding to defer this year's salary determination, the Tribunal said it was taking into account Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland's recent announcement regarding the proposed changes to the Federal Court system, which include the abolition of the Federal Magistrates Court.

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"The Tribunal will assess the effect of these proposals (particularly their implementation) in settling its conclusion on appropriate relatives," it said.

It also noted, however, that despite difficult economic conditions, it was not be desirable for judges salaries to be "eroded further by inflationary or other pressures."