The current and former parliamentarians’ six-monthly expenditure reports have today been published on the Department of Finance website.
This is the final time these reports will be published by the Department of Finance. In the future, all expenditure reports will be released by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA).
In order to increase transparency, reporting will move from six-monthly to quarterly and in the future, monthly.
These changes are part of the Turnbull Government’s significant and ongoing program of reform to parliamentarians’ work expenses.
In the past six months, Special Minister of State Senator the Hon Scott Ryan has:
- Ensured the swift passage of legislation to create IPEA. IPEA was established as an executive agency on April 3, 2017 and will begin operation as a statutory authority, independent of government, on July 1, 2017. IPEA will provide advice, report on and audit parliamentarians’ travel and work expenses.
- Abolished the life gold travel pass for all MPs, except former prime ministers and their spouses.
- Overseen the passage of the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 to simplify and better monitor parliamentarians’ work expenses.
- Established new value for money principles around parliamentarians’ expenditure.
“Australians are entitled to expect parliamentarians spend taxpayers’ money wisely, appropriately and accountably,” Senator Ryan said.
“The Turnbull Government is undertaking the most comprehensive reforms to federal parliamentarians’ work expenses in a generation.”