Anthony Albanese has asked the independent expenses watchdog to provide advice on overhauling travel perks for MPs, opening the door to changes after a backlash over politicians’ entitlements.
It came as the attorney general, Michelle Rowland, confirmed she has followed cabinet colleague Anika Wells in referring her travel expenses to an independent audit.
Rowland has faced scrutiny this week after reports of $21,685 for flights and travel allowance for a 2023 family trip to Perth.
After more than a week of headlines revealing the scale of MPs’ largesse, Albanese said he had asked the head of the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) to examine possible changes to parliamentary entitlements.
While the prime minister insisted he had been clear about wanting IPEA advice – including at a tense press conference on Thursday – Friday’s remarks were the first time he explicitly said it would be sought.
Pressed on when he asked for the advice, Albanese said: “I’ve done it publicly at multiple press conferences – if you go back and have a look at it.”
Guardian Australia asked the prime minister’s office if Albanese had formally requested the advice in a phone call, or via a letter, to IPEA.
Late on Friday, IPEA released a statement confirming its chief executive had “received a request from the prime minister to provide preliminary advice on certain aspects of parliamentary travel”. The agency only said that it would respond to Albanese’s request “in due course”, saying it would not give any details “on the details of the prime minister’s request or the CEO’s response”.
“IPEA operates independently of government. The CEO works with the members of the authority at arm’s length from government to ensure the agency’s actions and decisions remain impartial,” it said.
The IPEA conducts reviews of parliamentarians’ travel expenses, making findings on whether the specific expenditure is consistent with the rules. However, those reviews generally do not make recommendations about the system overall.
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Albanese also let slip that “at least two” MPs had referred themselves to the watchdog for investigation, although he did not name Rowland, the nation’s first law officer.
“I’ve asked IPEA for advice. At least two members of parliament have referred themselves for the details of their audit. But in addition to that, I’ve said to IPEA, ‘Please give us some advice, and we’ll take that on board’,” Albanese said.
“And when that advice is received, we’ll make a decision in the usual way.”
A spokesperson for Rowland confirmed to Guardian Australia she was the second MP to ask for their expenses claims to be looked at.
“The attorney-general has referred a trip from 2023 to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority for advice,” they said in a statement.
Politicians in Australia can claim nine business class airfares for their spouse to travel from their home city to Canberra each year, according to the parliamentary expense authority, the IPEA. Politicians can also claim three economy fares per child.
For places outside of Canberra, however, politicians can claim three return business class airfares for family members in total.
IPEA's website says: “Family reunion travel can be accessed where: the parliamentarian is travelling for the dominant purpose of conducting parliamentary business, and; the family member/s travels to accompany or join the parliamentarian, and; travel is for the dominant purpose of facilitating the family life of the parliamentarian"
Earlier, the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said she was prepared to work with Albanese to reform the system, offering a truce to a controversy that has extended to politicians from both major parties and the Greens.
“I can sit down with the prime minister anytime and go through measures that he would like to propose to implement to restore that public trust.”
Ley said Wells’ expenses were “scandalous” and questioned whether the minister should stand aside while the IPEA audit was under way.
The opposition leader also called for Wells to be investigated for any breaches of the Ministerial Code of Conduct.
“If he [Albanese] can’t stand there and tell the Australian people that this minister has not breached the code of conduct, then she should resign, stand aside. He should stand there and tell the Australian people clearly, ‘No, she hasn’t breached my code’,” she told Sky News.
Earlier, the health minister, Mark Butler, said the government would “welcome” the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) widening its probe of Anika Wells’ travel claims to include recommendations about the system overall.
If the IPEA recommended legislative changes, Butler told Sunrise on Friday: “I’m sure that’s what we would do.”
The comments from one of Albanese’s closest political confidants confirmed the government was open to changes to the entitlement system, bowing to public pressure after the backlash to revelations about parliamentarians’ travel spending.
Politicians embroiled in the growing expenses scandal – including Wells, Albanese, the trade minister, Don Farrell, and others – have defended their use of the family travel rules to bring their spouses and children to events such as the Australian Open and major NRL and AFL matches, saying it was within the rules.
Guardian Australia revealed this week there is no cap on the amount of spousal flights senior ministers and other officeholders can claim under the rules. Regulations governing politicians’ expenses describe the entitlements as “relevantly unlimited in respect of total expenses claimable each year”.
But politicians have been widely criticised for the spending, including criticism that attending sporting events and even charging taxpayers to attend social occasions or take family members on interstate trips is badly out of step with community expectations.
