Politician expenses over time
Federal MPs' and Senators' parliamentary expenses by category, from IPEA data. By default: real dollars per politician.
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Faded bars are part-years (fewer than four quarters of data). Click a legend entry to hide or show a category.
Compare individual politicians in Compare expenses;
data files and method are on the data page.
Expenses by category: the figures behind the chart
Between 2018 Q1 and 2026 Q3, federal MPs and Senators claimed $1,277,808,086 in parliamentary expenses (nominal dollars, IPEA data). The largest categories were Office Administration ($387,395,831), Office Facilities ($355,771,457), Employee Travel ($291,127,096). In the latest financial year, FY2026–27 (1 of 4 quarters reported so far), claims totalled $49,593,732, with up to 234 politicians filing in a quarter.
All dollars in these tables are nominal (as claimed, not adjusted for inflation); the chart above defaults to CPI-adjusted dollars per politician. Source: Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA). Rows marked * are part-years. Each politician's own figures are on the expenses directory.
| Financial year | Total | Per politician | Office Administration | Office Facilities | Employee Travel | Scheduled Commercial Transport | Travel Allowance | Other Car Costs | International Travel | Unscheduled Commercial Transport | Telecommunications | Family or Nominee Travel | Not stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026–27* (1 qtrs) | $49,593,732 | $211,939 | $16,420,116 | $12,130,007 | $12,768,332 | $2,938,469 | $2,216,810 | $1,821,041 | $617,344 | $234,851 | $166,760 | $280,002 | $0 |
| FY2025–26 | $172,602,243 | $663,042 | $44,624,795 | $46,973,739 | $47,169,826 | $11,925,166 | $7,616,502 | $7,226,369 | $4,164,243 | $889,537 | $678,202 | $1,333,563 | $302 |
| FY2024–25 | $172,561,355 | $722,420 | $54,858,139 | $44,851,494 | $42,787,810 | $10,197,802 | $6,538,108 | $6,981,639 | $3,021,164 | $1,425,305 | $717,923 | $1,181,971 | $0 |
| FY2023–24 | $168,390,415 | $698,361 | $51,435,952 | $44,380,526 | $40,107,224 | $10,185,176 | $7,082,705 | $6,587,914 | $4,618,244 | $1,754,883 | $1,286,020 | $951,772 | $0 |
| FY2022–23 | $147,177,683 | $564,574 | $38,217,788 | $43,460,961 | $34,561,669 | $10,347,524 | $7,412,840 | $6,241,132 | $2,893,869 | $1,262,915 | $1,542,983 | $1,236,002 | $0 |
| FY2021–22 | $121,710,586 | $505,566 | $47,680,871 | $36,623,953 | $19,199,885 | $4,040,362 | $5,074,746 | $5,072,302 | $1,055,463 | $1,112,295 | $1,445,853 | $404,855 | $0 |
| FY2020–21 | $116,721,632 | $501,493 | $40,806,387 | $38,547,638 | $18,954,453 | $3,990,143 | $6,428,141 | $5,020,199 | $31,094 | $1,202,087 | $1,485,699 | $255,790 | $0 |
| FY2019–20 | $119,957,132 | $460,539 | $33,229,313 | $37,740,200 | $24,538,763 | $6,641,337 | $6,269,557 | $5,787,056 | $2,385,508 | $988,945 | $1,646,589 | $729,864 | $0 |
| FY2018–19 | $144,309,213 | $594,785 | $42,667,637 | $34,040,904 | $35,727,974 | $10,913,260 | $6,068,862 | $6,796,442 | $2,900,960 | $2,246,663 | $1,805,239 | $1,141,272 | $0 |
| FY2017–18* (2 qtrs) | $64,784,096 | $271,879 | $17,454,834 | $17,022,033 | $15,311,161 | $5,247,231 | $2,847,147 | $3,310,777 | $2,016,756 | $525,615 | $704,496 | $344,045 | $0 |
“Per politician” adds each quarter's total divided by the number of politicians who filed that quarter.
| Quarter | Politicians filing | Total | Per politician | Office Administration | Office Facilities | Employee Travel | Scheduled Commercial Transport | Travel Allowance | Other Car Costs | International Travel | Unscheduled Commercial Transport | Telecommunications | Family or Nominee Travel | Not stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q3 | 234 | $49,593,732 | $211,939 | $16,420,116 | $12,130,007 | $12,768,332 | $2,938,469 | $2,216,810 | $1,821,041 | $617,344 | $234,851 | $166,760 | $280,002 | $0 |
| 2026 Q2 | 270 | $49,640,982 | $183,855 | $15,204,183 | $11,623,109 | $13,919,647 | $3,617,542 | $2,122,418 | $1,847,298 | $641,617 | $209,630 | $163,469 | $291,767 | $302 |
| 2026 Q1 | 248 | $40,127,281 | $161,804 | $9,795,348 | $11,635,849 | $10,954,684 | $2,667,756 | $1,724,845 | $1,708,834 | $1,087,766 | $167,881 | $175,912 | $208,406 | $0 |
| 2025 Q4 | 256 | $44,386,064 | $173,383 | $10,769,672 | $12,545,210 | $11,706,472 | $2,939,859 | $1,993,722 | $1,938,407 | $1,872,413 | $222,038 | $158,051 | $240,219 | $0 |
| 2025 Q3 | 267 | $38,447,915 | $144,000 | $8,855,591 | $11,169,572 | $10,589,022 | $2,700,008 | $1,775,518 | $1,731,829 | $562,447 | $289,988 | $180,769 | $593,171 | $0 |
| 2025 Q2 | 261 | $47,459,728 | $181,838 | $20,080,569 | $9,859,059 | $10,944,426 | $2,496,848 | $1,051,937 | $1,709,491 | $385,559 | $553,177 | $142,043 | $236,619 | $0 |
| 2025 Q1 | 230 | $37,054,102 | $161,105 | $11,510,187 | $11,480,879 | $8,288,515 | $1,567,830 | $1,229,470 | $1,649,882 | $753,700 | $257,203 | $183,040 | $133,394 | $0 |
| 2024 Q4 | 229 | $43,109,883 | $188,253 | $10,894,579 | $11,588,557 | $11,707,531 | $3,131,591 | $1,958,995 | $1,803,011 | $1,205,791 | $304,303 | $143,283 | $372,241 | $0 |
| 2024 Q3 | 235 | $44,937,642 | $191,224 | $12,372,804 | $11,922,998 | $11,847,338 | $3,001,532 | $2,297,706 | $1,819,255 | $676,114 | $310,622 | $249,556 | $439,716 | $0 |
| 2024 Q2 | 238 | $43,971,209 | $184,753 | $13,524,975 | $11,739,779 | $10,586,055 | $2,726,741 | $1,817,344 | $1,685,055 | $691,782 | $414,972 | $562,472 | $222,032 | $0 |
| 2024 Q1 | 238 | $36,014,675 | $151,322 | $8,947,142 | $11,323,497 | $8,527,700 | $2,185,511 | $1,392,899 | $1,559,966 | $1,390,645 | $301,494 | $205,684 | $180,137 | $0 |
| 2023 Q4 | 243 | $43,199,547 | $177,776 | $13,458,695 | $10,284,754 | $10,978,649 | $2,682,590 | $1,910,428 | $1,633,483 | $1,320,699 | $388,425 | $270,186 | $271,637 | $0 |
| 2023 Q3 | 245 | $45,204,984 | $184,510 | $15,505,140 | $11,032,496 | $10,014,819 | $2,590,333 | $1,962,033 | $1,709,410 | $1,215,117 | $649,991 | $247,678 | $277,965 | $0 |
| 2023 Q2 | 265 | $49,497,325 | $186,782 | $14,035,795 | $11,560,839 | $12,775,159 | $4,471,264 | $2,268,954 | $1,677,424 | $1,161,913 | $474,785 | $604,287 | $466,907 | $0 |
| 2023 Q1 | 246 | $32,588,557 | $132,474 | $8,204,984 | $10,890,359 | $7,220,886 | $1,672,723 | $1,475,659 | $1,524,802 | $932,563 | $252,357 | $188,015 | $226,209 | $0 |
| 2022 Q4 | 258 | $34,270,888 | $132,833 | $9,025,532 | $9,517,418 | $8,547,093 | $2,203,471 | $2,155,507 | $1,571,153 | $467,306 | $328,323 | $264,164 | $190,921 | $0 |
| 2022 Q3 | 274 | $30,820,913 | $112,485 | $6,951,476 | $11,492,346 | $6,018,532 | $2,000,067 | $1,512,720 | $1,467,753 | $332,087 | $207,450 | $486,518 | $351,965 | $0 |
| 2022 Q2 | 263 | $40,709,066 | $154,787 | $19,712,805 | $7,376,301 | $8,435,161 | $1,376,141 | $1,096,523 | $1,624,689 | $163,417 | $379,273 | $306,383 | $238,373 | $0 |
| 2022 Q1 | 230 | $25,212,923 | $109,621 | $7,094,875 | $9,643,891 | $4,148,960 | $949,587 | $1,045,115 | $1,379,103 | $549,175 | $148,278 | $213,104 | $40,834 | $0 |
| 2021 Q4 | 233 | $25,033,999 | $107,442 | $8,101,872 | $9,996,260 | $3,204,457 | $528,007 | $1,429,782 | $1,092,308 | $161,261 | $244,880 | $234,838 | $40,332 | $0 |
| 2021 Q3 | 230 | $30,754,599 | $133,716 | $12,771,318 | $9,607,500 | $3,411,307 | $1,186,627 | $1,503,326 | $976,203 | $181,610 | $339,864 | $691,527 | $85,316 | $0 |
| 2021 Q2 | 229 | $33,855,738 | $147,842 | $10,842,988 | $9,617,114 | $7,263,924 | $1,861,464 | $1,937,778 | $1,498,920 | $24,481 | $440,704 | $256,263 | $112,102 | $0 |
| 2021 Q1 | 230 | $27,112,286 | $117,880 | $7,310,218 | $9,892,139 | $5,322,170 | $1,276,198 | $1,466,868 | $1,293,728 | $-331 | $191,722 | $248,615 | $110,959 | $0 |
| 2020 Q4 | 234 | $27,891,387 | $119,194 | $9,048,102 | $9,817,113 | $4,471,881 | $659,458 | $1,976,039 | $1,244,124 | $23,599 | $332,210 | $288,116 | $30,745 | $0 |
| 2020 Q3 | 239 | $27,862,221 | $116,578 | $13,605,078 | $9,221,273 | $1,896,478 | $193,024 | $1,047,457 | $983,427 | $-16,655 | $237,451 | $692,705 | $1,984 | $0 |
| 2020 Q2 | 244 | $26,974,415 | $110,551 | $12,305,107 | $9,942,752 | $1,975,657 | $98,071 | $1,009,210 | $1,056,216 | $63,409 | $128,202 | $379,140 | $16,651 | $0 |
| 2020 Q1 | 255 | $29,154,650 | $114,332 | $6,675,982 | $10,173,749 | $6,300,353 | $1,836,858 | $1,473,735 | $1,566,266 | $369,867 | $298,038 | $303,229 | $156,573 | $0 |
| 2019 Q4 | 263 | $31,561,817 | $120,007 | $7,014,952 | $8,461,321 | $8,293,230 | $2,276,431 | $1,964,396 | $1,576,746 | $1,049,410 | $317,943 | $410,784 | $196,603 | $0 |
| 2019 Q3 | 279 | $32,266,249 | $115,650 | $7,233,271 | $9,162,379 | $7,969,524 | $2,429,977 | $1,822,215 | $1,587,827 | $902,822 | $244,762 | $553,436 | $360,037 | $0 |
| 2019 Q2 | 260 | $40,875,536 | $157,214 | $16,821,332 | $8,414,208 | $9,055,884 | $2,018,092 | $1,056,726 | $1,813,779 | $294,152 | $820,543 | $355,253 | $225,565 | $0 |
| 2019 Q1 | 236 | $29,093,809 | $123,279 | $6,737,537 | $8,776,998 | $7,231,313 | $2,196,696 | $1,073,741 | $1,496,875 | $660,562 | $367,143 | $328,850 | $224,094 | $0 |
| 2018 Q4 | 236 | $34,818,276 | $147,535 | $7,772,351 | $8,550,851 | $9,365,416 | $3,220,979 | $2,009,658 | $1,773,402 | $875,584 | $660,823 | $293,461 | $295,753 | $0 |
| 2018 Q3 | 237 | $39,521,592 | $166,758 | $11,336,417 | $8,298,846 | $10,075,361 | $3,477,492 | $1,928,737 | $1,712,387 | $1,070,662 | $398,153 | $827,675 | $395,861 | $0 |
| 2018 Q2 | 237 | $36,877,332 | $155,601 | $11,250,310 | $8,412,952 | $8,611,811 | $2,749,699 | $1,684,739 | $1,829,659 | $1,465,768 | $389,967 | $349,199 | $133,228 | $0 |
| 2018 Q1 | 240 | $27,906,764 | $116,278 | $6,204,524 | $8,609,081 | $6,699,350 | $2,497,532 | $1,162,408 | $1,481,118 | $550,988 | $135,648 | $355,298 | $210,817 | $0 |