The "skills development" funding is designed to "enhance constituent interactions, and particularly for staff, provide them with regular development to improve skills, knowledge and career opportunities," the report said. The 2.5 per cent pay rise will boost an MP's base salary from $161,040 to $165,066 a year. This will be matched by a 2.5 per cent across-the-board increase to their existing entitlement to an electoral allowance, a general travel allowance and a base communications allowance. Regional MPs will also see a boost to their "Sydney allowance" and "electorate to Sydney travel" budgets. On top of their base salary, MPs are paid an electoral allowance between $64,940 to $169,185, depending on where their electorate is located, which is intended to cover the costs of performing their parliamentary duties. They are not required to demonstrate to Parliament how, or if, they have spent this allowance and the unspent amount can be treated as taxable income. Legislative Assembly MPs can also spend between $80,000 to $100,000 for communication costs such as printing flyers and letterhead, website maintenance and newsletter distribution. MLCs have a communication budget of $4580.

When it comes to travel, Sydney-based MPs are entitled to more than $6000 in "general travel" expenses a year, while regional MPs in electorates such as Bega, Dubbo and Orange can claim more than $22,000. Barwon MP Kevin Humphries, whose electorate spans almost half of NSW, can spend more than $97,000 on travel. In addition to this, MPs who live between 70-140 kilometres outside Sydney are given a "Sydney allowance" the equivalent of $307 for 105 nights, "without the need to substantiate to the Parliament expenses up to the daily rate". They can choose to have it paid as an annual allowance or at a daily rate but any unspent money must be paid back. They are also entitled to 104 single-trip economy class flights between their electorate and Sydney each year. However, in a move that will improve the transparency of the entitlements system, the Tribunal also ordered that MPs publicly report their spending from July 1, 2019, with disclosures to be published twice a year.

In NSW, politicians' expense claims are currently not published and accessible by the general public. Instead, expenses are published in the annual reports of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council Amounts, where they are only disclosed in aggregate for each MP by entitlement type. The Tribunal determined that an online Members’ Entitlements Reporting system be created to allow a "high level reporting of actual expenditure" by every MP for their travel and communication expenses. The order is in line with a recommendation from the NSW Auditor-General's Office, which in 2016 called for the creation of an online, searchable platform for MPs' expenses. The cost of the online platform could exceed $2.82 million in the first year and would need ongoing recurrent funding of $343,000 indexed each year, the Tribunal's report said.

It recommended this funding be allocated in the 2018-19 budget, which will be handed down by Treasurer Dominic Perrottet next week. The Tribunal also allocated funding for an extra full-time researcher position for the opposition in the Legislative Council to assist the leader and deputy leader roles.