Assurance Review Memorandum 2024/011 - Garma Festival 2023

This assurance review assessed the use of Commonwealth-funded travel for 7 parliamentarians and 16 of their staff, travelling to the Northern Territory for the Garma Festival in August 2023. The festival was sponsored by the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA). Some travel-related expenses were covered for guests officially invited by the NIAA. Six of the 7 parliamentarians identified in this Assurance Review attended the festival as officially-invited guests, sponsored by the NIAA. IPEA found that the expenses claimed by parliamentarians and their staff, with one exception, were consistent with the Parliamentary Business Resources Framework and the Commonwealth-funded Staff Travel Framework. No expenses were claimed under the Parliamentary Business Resources or Commonwealth-funded Staff Travel Framework that duplicated the expenses already covered by the NIAA-sponsored Garma Festival tickets. A staff member of one parliamentarian voluntarily contacted IPEA to identify that the travel allowance rate claimed by the parliamentarian had been incorrect and requested an invoice for repayment to align with the correct amount. The parliamentarian has repaid the invoice.