Media engagement | IPEA - Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority

IPEA is committed to sharing information with the Australian community to increase awareness of our role and functions.

On this page you will find information about:

IPEA communication
Media enquiries
Providing information
Privacy and FOI
More information

IPEA communication

IPEA engages with the Australian community through our website and social media channels. We publish parliamentarians' expenditure reports on our website in a filterable and downloadable format and in csv format at data.gov.au.

A range of guidance and education materials is available on this website.

Connect with us on Twitter at @ipeaAusGov

IPEA engages in a wide range of communication activities to support parliamentarians, former parliamentarians and their staff in their parliamentary business. We provide advice to parliamentarians and their staff on travel related matters in person, over the phone and by email. Regular information sessions are run to increase awareness of IPEA’s functions and related legislative requirements.

Media enquiries

IPEA will help to locate relevant publicly available information and will answer enquiries to the best of our ability. We do not comment on personal information relating to parliamentarians or their staff, these are best referred to parliamentarians’ offices.

We aim to respond to media enquiries within a 48 hour period (business hours) of receiving an enquiry in the media enquiries mailbox. Where possible, we will meet reasonable editorial deadlines.

IPEA's operating hours are Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) 9:00 am to 5:00 pm AEST/AEDT.

Media enquiries should be emailed to mediaenquiries [at] ipea.gov.au.

Providing information

When liaising with the media, IPEA must abide by certain legislative requirements including the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority Act 2017 (IPEA Act), the Privacy Act 1988 and the Freedom of Information Act 1982. IPEA staff are employed under the Public Service Act 1999, and must adhere to the APS Code of Conduct.

Privacy and FOI

IPEA complies with the Privacy Act 1988. To increase transparency, a standard set of work expenses are reported in the Parliamentary Work Expenses section of this website. IPEA releases information consistently with our FOI procedures.

Common media questions

The following information captures key questions received from the media.

If you have a question that is not addressed here, please email mediaenquiries [at] ipea.gov.au.

Question: what is the difference between IPEA & the Department of Finance's respective roles?

When IPEA was established in 2017, a number of functions previously performed by Ministerial and Parliamentary Services (MaPS), a division within the Department of Finance, transferred across to IPEA. MaPS oversees the provision of non-travel related expenses and services to parliamentarians and their respective employees under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (MOP(S) Act). The table below provides an overview of the functions provided by IPEA and MaPS.

Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA)	Ministerial and Parliamentary Services (MaPS)
IPEA delivers against the following functions: Advising parliamentarians and MOP(S) Act staff on their use of travel expenses and travel allowances. Monitoring the travel expenses and travel allowances of parliamentarian and MOP(S) Act staff. Preparing regular reports relating to work expenses, travel expenses and travel allowances claimed by parliamentarians and travel expenses and travel allowances claimed by MOP(S) Act staff. Conducting audits relating to work expenses, travel expenses and travel allowances claimed by parliamentarians and travel expenses and travel allowances claimed by MOP(S) Act staff. Administering claims relating to travel expenses and travel allowances of parliamentarians and MOP(S) Act staff.	MaPS provides a range of facilities and services to assist parliamentarians, their staff, and others as required by the Australian Government in undertaking their duties. These services include: Providing advice and support to clients and stakeholders. Paying accounts relating to work expenses, allowances and entitlements. Managing and maintaining the MOP(S) Act employment framework. Providing client and event transport (car-with-driver) and associated ground transport services to eligible recipients. Managing Commonwealth Parliament Offices and the ministerial wing of Parliament House. Managing the Australian Political Exchange Program and the Australian Political Parties for Democracy Program. Providing property and office facilities management.

Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA)

Ministerial and Parliamentary Services (MaPS)

IPEA delivers against the following functions:

Advising parliamentarians and MOP(S) Act staff on their use of travel expenses and travel allowances.
Monitoring the travel expenses and travel allowances of parliamentarian and MOP(S) Act staff.
Preparing regular reports relating to work expenses, travel expenses and travel allowances claimed by parliamentarians and travel expenses and travel allowances claimed by MOP(S) Act staff.
Conducting audits relating to work expenses, travel expenses and travel allowances claimed by parliamentarians and travel expenses and travel allowances claimed by MOP(S) Act staff.
Administering claims relating to travel expenses and travel allowances of parliamentarians and MOP(S) Act staff.

MaPS provides a range of facilities and services to assist parliamentarians, their staff, and others as required by the Australian Government in undertaking their duties.
These services include:

Providing advice and support to clients and stakeholders.
Paying accounts relating to work expenses, allowances and entitlements.
Managing and maintaining the MOP(S) Act employment framework.
Providing client and event transport (car-with-driver) and associated ground transport services to eligible recipients.
Managing Commonwealth Parliament Offices and the ministerial wing of Parliament House.
Managing the Australian Political Exchange Program and the Australian Political Parties for Democracy Program.
Providing property and office facilities management.

Question: What are IPEA's audit powers?

IPEA has responsibility under the IPEA Act to audit parliamentarians’ work expenses and the travel expenses of their staff.

IPEA has a multi-layered approach to assurance that includes Preliminary Assessments, Assurance Reviews, Audits and Post-Payment Validations. These processes are outlined in our Statutory Audit Function Fact Sheet [PDF 710 KB] [DOC 236 KB].

IPEA handles all allegations of possible misuse of work expenses at arm’s length from government and in line with our protocol for Dealing with Misuse of Parliamentary Work Expenses. IPEA does not comment publicly on any individual matter (including whether a matter is being considered under the Dealing with Misuse of Parliamentary Work Expenses protocol), as it could potentially compromise the conduct and/or outcome of any investigation, and the privacy of individuals concerned.

Upon completion of an audit, the Members of the Authority may decide to publicly release an audit report.

Published audits and further information are available in the Assurance and Audit section of this website.

Question: What are IPEA's reporting obligations?

IPEA has responsibility under the IPEA Act to report on parliamentarians’ work expenses and the travel expenses of their staff.

Further information, including our reporting schedule, is available in the Reporting section of this website.

Question: can you give me details about the legislative framework for parliamentarians' expenditure?

On 1 January 2018, the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 (PBR Act) came into effect. Section 25 of the PBR Act sets out a number of obligations that apply to a parliamentarian’s use of public resources (including work expenses and allowances relating to travel) for the purposes of conducting their parliamentary business.

Further information is available in the Legislative Framework section of this website.

Question: Can you please provide details on a particular parliamentarian's expenditure?

IPEA does not comment on individual (current or former) parliamentarians’ expenditure and recommends that detailed questions in relation to expenditure are best referred to the relevant (current or former) parliamentarian.

This includes updates and/or status changes to debts owed to IPEA, which are included in expenditure reports.

Parliamentarians must comply with the Parliamentary Business Resources principle-based framework when claiming any travel expenses. IPEA provides personal advice to parliamentarians and their staff when requested.

More information

To view IPEA’s Annual Report and Corporate Plan see our Publications & Fact Sheets page.
Additional information on the Principles-Based Framework can be found on the Legislative Framework page.
For advice on all non-travel related work expense matters, email Ministerial and Parliamentary Services at mpshelp [at] finance.gov.au or call (02) 6215 3333.