Making a claim

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have complied with your obligations under the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 (PBR Act) and met all conditions that apply to an expense which you claim. Where you make a claim and it is subsequently found that you did not comply with the PBR obligations or you contravened condition(s), you will be required to repay the claim and, if more than 28 days have elapsed, you will be required to pay a penalty loading equal to 25% of the claim.

IPEA can provide personal advice on the use of office expenses under the PBR Act. An optional pre-claim assessment can be requested from IPEA. 

Making a PBR claim

Claims may be for:

1. reimbursement of expenses already paid by you, or direct payment to a supplier for goods or services you have received, for example payment of costs for printing.
2. expenses that have been incurred by you and paid directly under the Commonwealth’s contractual arrangements with the goods or services provider; for example: office stationery and supplies ordered from the preferred service provider.

Claims, other than those from Commonwealth-contracted suppliers, must be submitted to IPEA through PEMS or by completing the relevant form.

Claims should be submitted with:

• a valid tax invoice that clearly setting out the supplier, description of the goods or services provided, each item, quantity, unit cost, total cost date of purchase and cost (including GST component, where applicable) and the date of purchase or service period. Where services are provided over a period of time, the relevant service dates or period must be included. All pages of the tax invoice must be submitted and statements/receipts will not be accepted in lieu of an invoice.
• Invoices must contain sufficient detail to demonstrate the nature of the expense and how it relates to parliamentary business. Where invoices are bundled or multiple items, a breakdown should be provided if requested. 
• if claiming a reimbursement – proof of payment (e.g. a payment receipt or a bank statement extract showing payment (including any associated transaction fees), where the tax invoice is also provided). 
• if the claim relates to a printed item or, electronic material or an audio poster – a sample, printer’s proof or final print-ready copy, transcription of any audio, and if the item is not in English, an English translation. 
• if the claim relates to website development, design or upgrade – the URL of the website. 
• if a claimed item was previously assessed under the pre-claim assessment process - the IPEA reference number. 

Tax invoices must meet the requirements as per guidance issued by the Australian Taxation Office.

A separate claim (including certification) is required for each invoice submitted.

Where a claim is made against the office budget, the budget is debited based on the date the goods or services are received or delivered, not when the expense is ordered, invoiced or claimed.

IPEA generally conducts an assessment of communications material once it is claimed. This is in addition to any optional pre-claim assessment process.

PEMS guides

Office expense claims, such as office supplies, printing and postage must be submitted through PEMS with required supporting documentation.

A range of help guides are available to assist in selecting the correct work expense category and communication expense dates.

For further information please refer to the help guides:

• Personalise my claims dashboard
• Create an expense claim
• Action a returned claim
• Work expense categories
• Date guidelines for communication work expenses
• Australia Post claims
• View and manage debts
• Office budget usage
• Group Manual Certification of Office Claims

Timing of claim

With the exception of website hosting and subscriptions for publications and media monitoring services, no prepayments or progressive payments may be claimed as IPEA must be satisfied that the resources (whether goods or services) have been delivered in full prior to payment. In addition, you should be aware that if you cease to be a parliamentarian during the course of a pre-paid subscription or website hosting which you have claimed, you may be required to repay the cost of the claim that exceeds the length of your parliamentary term as well as any corresponding penalty loading. The 25 per cent penalty loading applies where more than 28 days have elapsed since the original claim date. IPEA has no discretion to waive the penalty loading.

Claims should be submitted promptly to ensure:

• timely and accurate processing of payments and reporting
• providers are paid for their services, before the invoice is overdue
• late fees and penalties are not incurred.

Where a claim is made against your office budget, the budget is debited based on the date the goods or services are received not the date an order is placed/invoiced or a claim is submitted.

Always keep accurate records of your expenses and evidence to support claims. This will help with any future auditing requirements.

Provision of further information

IPEA may require further information about your claim. In this case, you should provide the information to IPEA within a reasonable period. Claims will not be processed until IPEA has received all relevant information relating to a claim.