The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is under fire for flying 23 bureaucrats business class to Paris to discuss ways to save money.
The travel bill for the two-day conference, which included staying at the four-star Mercure Paris Centre Eiffel Tower Hotel, is estimated to have cost taxpayers about $215,000.
But the department's new secretary Frances Adamson was unable to provide a full breakdown of the costs when she appeared before a Senate committee hearing on Thursday.
That's because the money was sourced from a number of training funds within the departments, she said.
Another departmental official justified the choice of Paris, saying it was a transport hub.
"If you're bringing people from the Europe region rather than going somewhere on the edge of Europe, the centre of Europe makes sense," department chief people officer John Fisher said.
Ms Adamson confirmed 22 staff were sent on the trip along with another diplomat who was going on a posting.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was not involved in the decision.
The conference was held at the Australian Embassy, meaning there were no venue hire costs for the 46 other bureaucrats from Europe and other posts participating.
Officials said Skype and video conferencing had been considered but the department decided some aspects of the training needed to be done in person.
Crossbench senator Nick Xenophon said bureaucrats needed to justify their travel like politicians.
But all they appeared to have justified in this case was how to waste money.
"This is what I love about bureaucrats, they spent $215,000 going to Paris to a conference on how to save money - don't you love these guys? Isn't that incredible?" he told reporters in Canberra.
"Only in Canberra could they come up with that.
"I would've given them some of my frequent flyer points - just to make it a bit cheaper for them."
Labor frontbencher Louise Pratt said it was extraordinary for the government to spend that amount sending bureaucrats to Paris while it cracked down on the poorest Australians.
"It simply doesn't make sense."
