Attorney-General Michelle Rowland will repay a portion of expenses claimed for a 2023 trip, while Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Rowland has "done the right thing" in self-reporting spending.
Rowland is the first MP to pay back expenses following growing scrutiny on politicians' spending, after she referred her travel to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) for advice.
A spokesperson for the attorney-general said in a statement Rowland referred a trip from 2023 to Perth during which she had "at least 10 official engagements".
It's understood the expense was related to a family trip in July 2023 which cost taxpayers more than $21,600.
"The IPEA finalised its advice on Friday 12 December and conveyed a portion of the family reunion travel expenses were outside the guidelines," the statement read.
"The Attorney-General has formally accepted that advice on Friday and commenced steps to make repayment."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells made a joint public appearance on Thursday during a school visit in Canberra. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
"Michelle has done the right thing in asking the IPEA to take another look, as has Anika ... to make sure everything that's happened here is within the rules," he said.
Last week, Communication and Sport Minister Anika Wells defended claiming expenses to attend major sporting events for herself and her husband under family reunion guidelines.
These include attending the Paralympics Australia Adaptive Festival where she claimed $3,000 for her husband and children to join her in Thredbo under the entitlements. The Guardian reported further family travel expenses to Melbourne for the AFL grand final in 2022, 2023, 2024 totalled $8,500.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has asked for advice from the parliamentary expenses watchdog about travel spending, telling reporters on Friday that they'll take on the advice they receive.
"It's important that as parliamentarians we're not sort of deciding things for ourselves, because that would bring obvious criticism," he said.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley has offered bipartisan support to reform the rules for politicians. Ley herself resigned in 2017 while serving as health minister after using taxpayer funds to fly to the Gold Coast to purchase property.
— With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press.
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