Helen Polley’s parliamentary expenses for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026): $514,943
(1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Helen Polley claimed $514,943 in parliamentary expenses over the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026), which smooths out one-off quarters. That ranks 197th of 226 parliamentarians; the median is $704,511. Latest quarter (Jul–Sep 2026): $161,678. Largest categories: Office Facilities ($126,771); Employee Travel ($116,962); Office Administration ($112,920). 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: Backbencher (no front-bench or leadership role)
30
$550,880
$35,937 below this group's median of $550,880
State: TAS
12
$486,047
$28,896 above this group's median of $486,047
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.
Helen Polley'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.
Office Facilities – Helen Polley, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Office Facilities
$126,771
$188,110
$61,339 below the median of $188,110
Office Facilities - Not stated
$126,771
Employee Travel – Helen Polley, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Employee Travel
$116,962
$124,917
$7,955 below the median of $124,917
Domestic Travel
$116,962
Office Administration – Helen Polley, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Office Administration
$112,920
$262,346
$149,426 below the median of $262,346
Printing and Communications
$88,966
Office Consumables and Services
$21,264
Telephonic Services
$1,367
Publications
$1,323
Scheduled Commercial Transport – Helen Polley, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$58,649
$45,732
$12,917 above the median of $45,732
Fares
$58,649
Travel Allowance – Helen Polley, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Travel Allowance
$45,558
$34,320
$11,238 above the median of $34,320
Travel Allowance
$45,558
Other Car Costs – Helen Polley, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Other Car Costs
$38,107
$28,254
$9,853 above the median of $28,254
Private-Plated Vehicle
$19,766
COMCAR
$18,342
Family or Nominee Travel – Helen Polley, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Family or Nominee Travel
$10,876
$1,839
$9,037 above the median of $1,839
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$10,876
Telecommunications – Helen Polley, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Telecommunications
$2,218
$2,683
$465 below the median of $2,683
Telecommunications - Residential - Official
$1,943
Telecommunications - Usage
$275
International Travel – Helen Polley, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
International Travel
$1,761
$0
$1,761 above the median of $0
Parliamentary Delegations
$1,761
Unscheduled Commercial Transport – Helen Polley, for the latest four reported quarters (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026)
Category
Amount
Median
Difference
Unscheduled Commercial Transport
$1,120
$340
$780 above the median of $340
Parliamentary Duties
$1,120
Total across all periods: $3,180,711 (1 Jan 2018 – 30 Sep 2026, 35 quarters)
Refunds and credits are netted off. Category names from earlier reporting formats are matched to their current names. Explore quarter by quarter.
Office Facilities – Helen Polley, all periods
Category
Amount
Office Facilities
$967,088
Office Facilities - Not stated
$967,088
Office Administration – Helen Polley, all periods
Category
Amount
Office Administration
$906,620
Printing and Communications
$740,155
Office Consumables and Services
$137,977
Publications
$27,122
Telephonic Services
$1,367
Employee Travel – Helen Polley, all periods
Category
Amount
Employee Travel
$435,961
Domestic Travel
$435,961
Scheduled Commercial Transport – Helen Polley, all periods
Category
Amount
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$277,401
Fares
$277,401
Travel Allowance – Helen Polley, all periods
Category
Amount
Travel Allowance
$246,122
Travel Allowance
$246,122
Other Car Costs – Helen Polley, all periods
Category
Amount
Other Car Costs
$234,170
Private-Plated Vehicle
$141,177
COMCAR
$92,794
Cabcharge / Other Car Costs
$199
Telecommunications – Helen Polley, all periods
Category
Amount
Telecommunications
$43,703
Telecommunications - Usage
$27,072
Telecommunications - Residential - Official
$16,631
Family or Nominee Travel – Helen Polley, all periods
Category
Amount
Family or Nominee Travel
$33,270
Scheduled Commercial Transport
$31,910
COMCAR
$859
Cabcharge / Other Car Costs
$501
International Travel – Helen Polley, all periods
Category
Amount
International Travel
$31,407
Parliamentary Delegations
$31,407
Unscheduled Commercial Transport – Helen Polley, all periods
Category
Amount
Unscheduled Commercial Transport
$4,968
Parliamentary Duties
$4,555
Electorate Duties
$319
Official Duties
$94
What’s included in these figures
The total for Helen Polley is the sum of all expenses charged to Helen Polley’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?
Helen Polley’s four-quarter total of $514,943 (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 $161,678, against an average of $128,736 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. Helen Polley’s total of $514,943 is $189,568 below the median of $704,511, which ranks 197th 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.” Helen Polley’s largest category over the window was Office Facilities ($126,771).
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 Helen Polley this came to $10,876 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.
