Guidance: Travel under the Parliamentary Business Resources framework

At a glance

Travel by parliamentarians supports the function of the Parliament and enables parliamentarians to represent their constituencies and complete their parliamentary duties. 

• Parliamentarians must meet the obligations set out in the Parliamentary Business Resources (PBR) framework, including dominant purpose and value for money.
• Domestic travel includes travel to and from Canberra, travel within the electorate, and travel to other locations in Australia for engagements connected with parliamentary business.
• A range of travel expenses are covered by the PBR framework – each with its own provisions for claiming. 
• Travel by parliamentarians and their staff is administered by IPEA. These expenses are published in the public expenditure reports on the IPEA website. IPEA does not approve travel as the parliamentarian is responsible for meeting all relevant obligations and requirements. 

Key definitions

PBR framework includes the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 (PBR Act) and the Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017 (PBR Regulations), and subordinate determinations.

Obligations are the five obligations that are set out in the PBR Act that all parliamentarians must meet when they claim expenses for travel.  These are:

• Dominant purpose – travel is undertaken for the dominant purpose of conducting parliamentary business.
• Value for money – means using money efficiently, effectively and economically.
• Conditions – all travel and claiming conditions must be met.
• Good faith – parliamentarians must act ethically and in good faith when using, or accounting for their travel expenses.
• Personal responsibility and accountability – parliamentarians are personally responsible for, and accountable for their travel expenses, and must be prepared to publicly justify their travel and any expenses claimed. 

Parliamentary business is defined in the PBR framework. Parliamentary business is an activity undertaken in a parliamentarian’s capacity as a Member or Senator under the following four streams:

• Parliamentary duties – activities directly related to the parliamentarian’s role as a member of federal Parliament. 
• Electorate duties – activities undertaken that support or serve the parliamentarian’s constituency, or activities undertaken in the parliamentarian’s capacity as their constituents’ elected representative.
• Party political duties – certain activities undertaken by the parliamentarian in their capacity as a member of the federal Parliament and related to their political party; certain activities undertaken in collaboration with another group of parliamentarians in the context of a federal election; or certain activities related to redistribution or abolition of their electoral division. 
• Official duties – activities undertaken in the parliamentarian’s role as an office holder or minister.

What travel expenses can be claimed?

Subject to the PBR framework and any conditions that apply, parliamentarians may claim the following expenses for travel within Australia: 

• Transport costs (for example, flights, hire car and other transport used to undertake the travel).
• Travel allowance to cover the cost of accommodation and meals where overnight travel is required.
• Private vehicle allowance where a parliamentarian chooses to drive to Canberra in their privately owned vehicle rather than flying.
• Other travel-related costs provided for under the PBR framework (such as parking, fuel costs for hire cars, and public transport costs).

What restrictions apply to domestic travel?

The PBR Act sets overarching obligations for the use of public resources. 

• Parliamentarians can only claim travel under the PBR framework where they are travelling for the dominant purpose of conducting their parliamentary business, which means the main or prevailing reason for undertaking the activity must be parliamentary business.
• Parliamentary business does not include an activity with the dominant purpose of providing the parliamentarian or another person with a personal benefit or pursuing a commercial purpose.  This includes fundraising activities for a political party or candidate. 
• While IPEA can provide advice on specific travel scenarios in relation to the dominant purpose test and whether the proposed travel meets the provisions of the legislative framework, parliamentarians are responsible for meeting their PBR Act obligations. This includes being prepared to publicly justify their travel if asked – it is not enough to say that advice was sought from IPEA. 
• Parliamentarians can only claim travel while they are undertaking parliamentary business. Any personal matters during parliamentary business must be incidental.
• Travel cannot be claimed where parliamentary business has not yet commenced or has ceased. There are no provisions in the PBR framework that allow for a parliamentarian to claim expenses to spend personal time in a location or have a personal stopover before or after their parliamentary business. 
• Where travel has been claimed, and IPEA finds that the travel is outside the legislative provisions, an invoice will be raised for the cost of that travel.