Audit office will examine Parliamentary Expenses Management System after referral from Special Minister of State Don Farrell

The audit office this week confirmed it would examine the controversial Parliamentary Expenses Management System, after Special Minister of State Don Farrell referred the matter in November last year, as The Canberra Times revealed.

The system was introduced in 2018 and is used to manage and monitor office and travel expenses such as staff leave, staff allowances, MP travel claims, office budgets, printing, phone and internet bills.

But Senator Farrell paused quarterly reporting on expenses after finding the program could not produce accurate accounts of how parliamentarians and staff were spending taxpayer dollars.

That reporting is due to resume in the second half of this year.

"In government, I referred the project to the ANAO for a full performance audit, and I thank them for now accepting this referral," Senator Farrell said in a statement.

"This should never have happened. Australians should not have to doubt the systems that are designed to ensure transparency and accountability.

"I look forward to the ANAO's findings, and rectifying this matter as soon as possible."

The expense system was introduced in 2018 by the Turnbull government in the wake of the "Choppergate" saga, which saw former speaker Bronwyn Bishop spend more than $5000 of taxpayers' money on a helicopter flight.

But it has been the subject of complaints from staff and parliamentarians, with reports of overpayments, underpayments, late payments, incorrect claims, incorrect reports and money sent to the wrong recipients.

Originally budgeted to cost $38.1 million, that figure had blown out to $68 million by December 2022, with a further $4 million allocated in funding for the 2022-23 financial year.

Senator Farrell began asking questions about the rising costs and delays to the program in opposition, finding it had already blown out to more than $50 million by May 2021.

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The audit will examine whether the Department of Finance, the agency responsible for the program, has managed it effectively and achieved agreed-upon deliverables. It will also investigate whether the system aligns with legislative requirements.

Opposition spokesperson the special minister of state, Senator Jane Hume, said she welcomed the audit.

"As we have heard at Senate Estimates, the delays that have now seen the impact of timely and transparent reporting of parliamentary expenses is not acceptable," the Senator said in a statement.

"We will work with the government to ensure that this is rectified and that any recommendations from the ANAO are considered appropriately."