Susan McDonald’s parliamentary expenses for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026): $812,562
(1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Position: Shadow Minister for Resources; Shadow Minister for Northern Australia; member of the Shadow Cabinet; Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate
Susan McDonald is Shadow Minister for Resources; Shadow Minister for Northern Australia; member of the Shadow Cabinet; Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate. Susan McDonald claimed $812,562 in parliamentary expenses over the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026), which smooths out one-off quarters. That ranks 74th of 226 parliamentarians; the median is $704,511. Latest quarter (Jul–Sep 2026): $246,406. Largest categories: Employee Travel ($256,558); Office Facilities ($174,339); Office Administration ($135,195). 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 226 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: Shadow minister (cabinet or outer)
9
$652,501
$160,061 above this group's median of $652,501
State: QLD
12
$798,757
$13,805 above this group's median of $798,757
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.
Susan McDonald's total in each category over the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026), compared with the median of all sitting parliamentarians in that category.
Employee Travel – Susan McDonald, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Employee Travel
$256,558
$124,917
$131,641 above the median of $124,917
Domestic Travel
$256,558
Office Facilities – Susan McDonald, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Office Facilities
$174,339
$188,110
$13,771 below the median of $188,110
Office Facilities - Not stated
$174,339
Office Administration – Susan McDonald, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Office Administration
$135,195
$262,346
$127,151 below the median of $262,346
Printing and Communications
$104,855
Office Consumables and Services
$26,104
Publications
$4,236
Scheduled Commercial Transport – Susan McDonald, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$115,286
$45,732
$69,554 above the median of $45,732
Fares
$115,286
Other Car Costs – Susan McDonald, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Other Car Costs
$63,603
$28,254
$35,349 above the median of $28,254
Private-Plated Vehicle
$32,660
COMCAR
$30,879
Parking
$64
Travel Allowance – Susan McDonald, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Travel Allowance
$41,329
$34,320
$7,009 above the median of $34,320
Travel Allowance
$41,329
International Travel – Susan McDonald, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
International Travel
$21,577
$0
$21,577 above the median of $0
Parliamentary Delegations
$21,577
Telecommunications – Susan McDonald, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Telecommunications
$2,426
$2,683
$257 below the median of $2,683
Telecommunications - Usage
$2,426
Unscheduled Commercial Transport – Susan McDonald, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Unscheduled Commercial Transport
$2,247
$340
$1,907 above the median of $340
Parliamentary Duties
$1,952
Official Duties
$295
Total across all periods: $4,776,221 (1 Jul 2019 – 30 Sep 2026, 29 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 – Susan McDonald, all periods
Category
Amount
Employee Travel
$1,423,693
Domestic Travel
$1,423,693
Office Facilities – Susan McDonald, all periods
Category
Amount
Office Facilities
$929,783
Office Facilities - Not stated
$929,783
Office Administration – Susan McDonald, all periods
Category
Amount
Office Administration
$839,069
Printing and Communications
$648,177
Office Consumables and Services
$156,605
Publications
$19,066
Telephonic Services
$15,222
Scheduled Commercial Transport – Susan McDonald, all periods
Category
Amount
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$644,828
Fares
$644,828
Travel Allowance – Susan McDonald, all periods
Category
Amount
Travel Allowance
$309,370
Travel Allowance
$309,370
Other Car Costs – Susan McDonald, all periods
Category
Amount
Other Car Costs
$302,992
Private-Plated Vehicle
$164,174
COMCAR
$137,307
Parking
$1,511
Unscheduled Commercial Transport – Susan McDonald, all periods
Category
Amount
Unscheduled Commercial Transport
$255,166
Official Duties
$125,419
Electorate Duties
$69,624
Parliamentary Duties
$60,123
International Travel – Susan McDonald, all periods
Category
Amount
International Travel
$35,593
Parliamentary Delegations
$35,593
Telecommunications – Susan McDonald, all periods
Category
Amount
Telecommunications
$30,616
Telecommunications - Usage
$30,616
Family or Nominee Travel – Susan McDonald, all periods
Category
Amount
Family or Nominee Travel
$5,112
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$5,112
What’s included in these figures
The total for Susan McDonald is the sum of all expenses charged to Susan McDonald’s parliamentary office and
reported by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) over the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026): 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 11 Nov 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 2026-11-12.
Political Gadgets’ compilation is licensed
CC BY-NC 4.0.
Frequently asked questions
Why four quarters instead of one?
Susan McDonald’s four-quarter total of $812,562 (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026) smooths out one-off quarters such as an election period or an overseas trip. The latest single quarter (Jul–Sep 2026) was $246,406, against an average of $203,140 a quarter across the window.
What is the median and how is it calculated?
The median is the middle four-quarter total when all 226 sitting parliamentarians are ranked: half claimed less than $704,511 and half more. Susan McDonald’s total of $812,562 is $108,051 above the median of $704,511, which ranks 74th of 226.
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.” Susan McDonald’s largest category over the window was Employee Travel ($256,558).
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 Susan McDonald this came to $0 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.
