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Travel within Australia

Parliamentarian

On this page you will find information about:

Travel obligations

Parliamentarians may travel within Australia at government expense if it meets the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 (PBR)obligations:

  • Dominant purpose: travel is undertaken and related expenses claimed are for the ‘dominant purpose’ of conducting parliamentary business.
  • Value for money: parliamentary resources are used for parliamentary business in a way that achieves value for money (using public money efficiently, effectively and economically).
  • Conditions: all travel and claiming conditions are met.
  • Good faith: parliamentarians must act ethically and in good faith when using parliamentary business resources.
  • Personal responsibility & accountability: parliamentarians are personally responsible and accountable for their use of public resources, and must consider how the public would perceive their use of those resources.

Commercial transport

Parliamentarians may travel at government expense on both scheduled and unscheduled commercial transport.

Scheduled commercial transport

is transport operated on a commercial basis with a standard timetable, and includes travel by:

 

  • commercial aircraft
  • buses
  • ferries
  • trains.

 Parliamentarians cannot claim scheduled commercial fares if they are:

  • above business class or cost more than the a business class fare
  • related to road tolls, fines, penalties, or associated administrative costs (for example, the administration fee charged by a toll company to issue a toll).

Unscheduled commercial transport

is transport operated on a commercial basis without a standard timetable, and includes travel by:

  • hired vehicles
  • taxis
  • regulated ridesharing
  • chartered transport.

Unscheduled commercial transport used at government expense must be a commercial arrangement, meaning:

  • the transport provider must be a legally registered entity
  • the arrangement is at ‘arms length’ and there is no conflict of interest.

Within Australia, one or more people, other than family members, may travel with a parliamentarian by unscheduled commercial transport if:

  • the parliamentarian could ordinarily travel without the other person/s
  • no additional costs are incurred to transport the other person/s
  • the travel by the other person/s is reasonably required for the conduct of the parliamentarian's parliamentary business

Transport in Large Electorates

Parliamentarians with large electorates, those greater than 10,000 km2, have access to a ‘Transport in Large Electorates’ (TILE) budget.

The TILE budget may be used to travel by unscheduled commercial transport, for example by charter plane or bus, for the dominant purpose of conducting electorate duties in the electorate.

The Remuneration Tribunal sets the TILE budgets, which are financial year based:

Senators

  • senator for New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia or Tasmania—$14,860 or a senator for Queensland or Western Australia—$26,490
  • senator for the Northern Territory—$65,760

Members

  • member of the House of Representatives with an electorate area of at least 300,000 km2 —$120,000
  • member of the House of Representatives with an electorate area of at least 100,000 km2 but less than 300,000 km2—$38,190
  • member of the House of Representatives with an electorate area of at least 25,000 km2 but less than 100,000 km2—$21,160
  • for a member of the House of Representatives with an electorate area of at least 10,000 km2 but less than 25,000 km2—$10,420.

Using a Private Plated Vehicle (PPV)

The Australian Government provides parliamentarians with a private plated vehicle for a range of uses, such as travelling within, and for the service of their electorate, and private travel.

Key limitations on the use of a PPV

  • Parliamentarians cannot claim unscheduled commercial transport costs for travel within their electorate if they could reasonably use their private plated vehicle for that journey, where the parliamentarian has a private plated vehicle.
  • Parliamentarians who choose the ‘PPV allowance’ instead of a PPV, are expected to use the PPV allowance to cover the cost of their travel by unscheduled commercial transport or COMCAR costs where they would otherwise have used their PPV.
  • A PPV cannot be used for commercial purposes (for example as a paid shuttle service).
  • Private vehicle allowance cannot be claimed for travel in a PPV.

Please contact IPEA—on 02 6215 3000 or enquiries [at] ipea.gov.au-- if you have questions about the use of PPVs.

For queries about PPVs’ administration (for example orders, fuel cards and PPV reimbursements), please contact the SGFleet MaPS Manager on 03 6242 2102 or email MPSVIP [at] sgfleet.com

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