23 March 2023
General observations
- The Tribunal’s Members of Parliament Guidelines (MP Guidelines) govern the use of work-related parliamentary allowances and the Electorate Office and Communications Budget (EO&C Budget). It is important that proposed changes to the regulatory framework, for example, the introduction of a parliamentary ethics committee, complement this role.
- In some cases, it would be desirable to align the Guidelines with other jurisdictions, particularly the Commonwealth Government. For example, there are different definitions of ‘party political activity’ in the Victorian and Commonwealth approaches. This means that a marquee/tent can display a party logo at the Commonwealth level, but would not be permitted under the Victorian approach.
Authorisation requirements
- Prior to the last election, the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) issued guidance to MPs that if communication material was deemed by the Victorian Electoral Commission to require authorisation, then it would not be eligible for reimbursement from the EO&C Budget.
Approval processes
- DPS does not have a pre-approval process, whereby MPs can purchase items and be assured that they will be able to claim back from the EO&C Budget. Rather, DPS may state upfront that they do not see an issue with the purchase, but may deny the claim as non-compliant with the MP Guidelines once submitted.
- A potential improvement would be for DPS to proactively produce and maintain a ‘bank’ of examples of permitted communications materials. For example, pictures of pens with permitted detail would be helpful.
- There were examples, including for tent logos and pens, where there were successful appeals that other MPs were unaware of, or inconsistent advice from other DPS staff.
Joint advertising
- DPS’ interpretation of the Guidelines means that MPs are restricted from advertising with more than one member. Any joint advertising also has to be within the MPs electorate. It would be better value for money if MPs were permitted to jointly advertise with multiple MPs, including with MPs from different geographic areas.
- The demise of local papers, particularly in metropolitan areas, means that advertising in state-wide publications is increasingly important.
Adequacy of EO&C Budget
- Increases in Australia Post charges means that it the EO&C Budget is only sufficient for one communication mail-out per year, rather than two.
- Australia Post provides discounted rates for bulk mail outs to Commonwealth MPs and local councils, but not to State MPs.
Opportunity for greater use of shared services
- There is an opportunity for DPS to explore greater use of shared services. For example, each MP incurs multiple subscriptions costs for software licences, for example, Adobe professional.
- MP often pay for expensive items on their credit cards, for example, a couch for their electorate office, and have to wait 8 -12 weeks for reimbursement, resulting in additional credit card charges.
Role of an MP
- The outbreak of COVID-19 resulted in a substantial increase in the number of queries to MPs’ electorate offices. While the volume of queries has since reduced slightly, the volume is still much higher than pre-COVID-19 years.
- The use of social media to communicate with, and respond to, constituents is also much more common than previous years.
Post-election expenditure prior to the return of the writs
- Returned MPs are unable to claim for expenditure incurred in accordance with the Guidelines until the return of the writs. This means that for example, MPs are unable to send out Christmas cards to constituents due to mail deadlines.
- An alternative would be to allow MPs who expect to be re-elected based on provisional results to incur the expenditure, and then be reimbursed on return of the writs (i.e. the MP would bear the risk).
Parliamentary accommodation sitting allowance (PASA)
- The PASA enables eligible regional MPs to have a stable residence in Melbourne in which to stay when undertaking their public duties, including undertaking Committee business. This is a particular issue for MPs with family responsibilities.
- If the PASA was not available, MPs would have to rely on claiming the travel allowance, a more cumbersome process in terms of collecting and submitting receipts compared to claiming the PASA on a once a year declaration.
Other matters
- MPs support retention of the existing 28km boundary for claiming the travel allowance for undertaking parliamentary business, committee business or Ministerial business.
- Consideration should be given to allowing road tolls to be claimed from the EO&C Budget.
- Further clarification could be provided about allowable use of the EO&C Budget, for example, seedlings for the local fete; school breakfasts; small gifts for delegations visiting Parliament.
- If new parliamentary committees are created, consideration should be given to how Chairs and Deputy Chairs of those committees are remunerated.
- Regional electorate staff are unable to claim reimbursement for travelling to their principal place of work, which may be 2-3 hours away in some cases.
- Need to carefully consider consequences of any further roll-in of allowances to salary, for example, impacts on superannuation entitlements.
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