Position: Leader of the Opposition in the Senate; Shadow Attorney-General; member of the Shadow Cabinet
Michaelia Cash is Leader of the Opposition in the Senate; Shadow Attorney-General; member of the Shadow Cabinet. Michaelia Cash claimed $885,997 in parliamentary expenses over the latest four reported quarters (1 Jul 2025 – 30 Jun 2026, the 2025–26 financial year), which smooths out one-off quarters. That ranks 44th of 224 parliamentarians; the median is $647,706. Latest quarter (Apr–Jun 2026): $251,446. Largest categories: Employee Travel ($368,709); Office Facilities ($250,336); Office Administration ($94,881). Includes family and nominee travel, as in IPEA's own totals.
How these figures differ from IPEA’s
IPEA reports claims quarter by quarter. Political Gadgets adds up the latest four reported quarters to smooth one-off spikes (an election period, an overseas trip), then compares each parliamentarian with the median of all 224 and, for House members, with similar groups. The underlying data is IPEA’s; IPEA is the authoritative source. See IPEA’s Background on Expenditure Reporting.
Comparisons to similar groups
Cluster
Members
Cluster median (last 4 quarters)
This total vs the median
Position: Opposition leadership
5
$622,096
$263,901 above this group's median of $622,096
State: WA
12
$602,465
$283,532 above this group's median of $602,465
Senators are grouped by state or territory and by the highest office they hold (minister, assistant minister, presiding officer, opposition leadership, shadow minister, shadow assistant minister, party leadership, whip, or backbencher); medians use the same rolling four-quarter totals as the headline figure, including family and nominee travel. Clusters with a single member are not shown. Ministry and shadow-ministry roles are from the Parliamentary Handbook.
Michaelia Cash's total in each category over the 2025–26 financial year, compared with the median of all sitting parliamentarians in that category.
Employee Travel – Michaelia Cash, 2025–26
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Employee Travel
$368,709
$114,932
$253,777 above the median of $114,932
Domestic Travel
$368,709
Office Facilities – Michaelia Cash, 2025–26
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Office Facilities
$250,336
$183,185
$67,151 above the median of $183,185
Office Facilities - Not stated
$250,336
Office Administration – Michaelia Cash, 2025–26
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Office Administration
$94,881
$221,473
$126,592 below the median of $221,473
Printing and Communications
$52,972
Office Consumables and Services
$34,636
Publications
$7,273
Scheduled Commercial Transport – Michaelia Cash, 2025–26
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$87,396
$43,715
$43,681 above the median of $43,715
Fares
$87,396
Travel Allowance – Michaelia Cash, 2025–26
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Travel Allowance
$45,848
$31,310
$14,538 above the median of $31,310
Travel Allowance
$45,848
Other Car Costs – Michaelia Cash, 2025–26
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Other Car Costs
$31,858
$27,108
$4,750 above the median of $27,108
Private-Plated Vehicle
$22,417
COMCAR
$9,413
Parking
$27
Family or Nominee Travel – Michaelia Cash, 2025–26
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Family or Nominee Travel
$3,697
$3,367
$330 above the median of $3,367
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$3,564
COMCAR
$133
Telecommunications – Michaelia Cash, 2025–26
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Telecommunications
$1,691
$2,701
$1,010 below the median of $2,701
Telecommunications - Usage
$1,691
Unscheduled Commercial Transport – Michaelia Cash, 2025–26
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Unscheduled Commercial Transport
$1,581
$378
$1,203 above the median of $378
Party Political Duties
$1,511
Parliamentary Duties
$70
Total across all periods: $8,343,033 (1 Jan 2018 – 30 Jun 2026, 34 quarters)
Refunds and credits are netted off. Category names from earlier reporting formats are matched to their current names. Explore quarter by quarter.
Employee Travel – Michaelia Cash, all periods
Category
Amount
Employee Travel
$3,485,644
Domestic Travel
$3,408,923
International Travel
$76,721
Office Facilities – Michaelia Cash, all periods
Category
Amount
Office Facilities
$2,406,693
Office Facilities - Not stated
$2,406,693
Office Administration – Michaelia Cash, all periods
Category
Amount
Office Administration
$886,053
Printing and Communications
$615,312
Office Consumables and Services
$184,641
Telephonic Services
$51,747
Publications
$34,352
Scheduled Commercial Transport – Michaelia Cash, all periods
Category
Amount
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$733,661
Fares
$733,661
Travel Allowance – Michaelia Cash, all periods
Category
Amount
Travel Allowance
$414,576
Travel Allowance
$413,580
Cancelled Accommodation
$996
Other Car Costs – Michaelia Cash, all periods
Category
Amount
Other Car Costs
$248,539
Private-Plated Vehicle
$153,420
COMCAR
$94,760
Parking
$359
International Travel – Michaelia Cash, all periods
Category
Amount
International Travel
$72,395
Ministerial Visits
$72,395
Telecommunications – Michaelia Cash, all periods
Category
Amount
Telecommunications
$37,957
Telecommunications - Usage
$37,297
Telecommunications - Residential - Official
$660
Unscheduled Commercial Transport – Michaelia Cash, all periods
Category
Amount
Unscheduled Commercial Transport
$30,534
Electorate Duties
$11,326
Official Duties
$10,361
Parliamentary Duties
$7,336
Party Political Duties
$1,511
Family or Nominee Travel – Michaelia Cash, all periods
Category
Amount
Family or Nominee Travel
$26,981
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$24,919
COMCAR
$2,061
What’s included in these figures
The total for Michaelia Cash is the sum of all expenses charged to Michaelia Cash’s parliamentary office and
reported by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) over the 2025–26 financial year: travel,
office facilities and administration, vehicles, communications and other categories. Refunds and credits
are netted off, so a category can be negative. Family and nominee travel is included, as in
IPEA’s own headline total for a parliamentarian: those claims are attributed to the parliamentarian who made them and shown as their own category,
“Family or Nominee Travel”.
Method and data source
Quarterly claims are taken from IPEA’s open data on
data.gov.au (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia), current to the IPEA release of 2 Sep 2026.
Totals cover the four most recent reported quarters; the median and rank are calculated across all
sitting parliamentarians with claims in the same window. Earlier category names are matched to current ones.
Figures are compiled from IPEA data; IPEA is the authoritative source. Page generated 2026-10-23.
Political Gadgets’ compilation is licensed
CC BY-NC 4.0.
Frequently asked questions
Why four quarters instead of one?
Michaelia Cash’s four-quarter total of $885,997 (1 Jul 2025 – 30 Jun 2026) smooths out one-off quarters such as an election period or an overseas trip. The latest single quarter (Apr–Jun 2026) was $251,446, against an average of $221,499 a quarter across the window.
What is the median and how is it calculated?
The median is the middle four-quarter total when all 224 sitting parliamentarians are ranked: half claimed less than $647,706 and half more. Michaelia Cash’s total of $885,997 is $238,291 above the median of $647,706, which ranks 44th of 224.
Why do some parliamentarians claim much more than others?
IPEA says: “When comparing expenditure between parliamentarians, it is important to take into account the parliamentarian’s role, the size of their electorate, and their electorate’s distance from the closest capital city and Canberra.” Michaelia Cash’s largest category over the window was Employee Travel ($368,709).
Is family and nominee travel included?
Yes. Claims for travel by family members or nominees are attributed to the parliamentarian who made them and counted in their total, as in IPEA’s own totals. For Michaelia Cash this came to $3,697 over the window.
Expenditure data is compiled by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) and released under Creative Commons Licence (data.gov.au).
In all fairness there are some good reasons for variance in expenditure. The IPEA points out: "When comparing expenditure between parliamentarians, it is important to take into account the parliamentarian's role, the size of their electorate, and their electorate's distance from the closest capital city and Canberra. Further information on why some offices may have higher travel expenditure can be found on the IPEA website Background on Expenditure Reporting page."
Former members are not included in the totals, rankings or medians shown here.