Rival senate candidates have questioned Liberal Senator Zed Seselja's use of time and taxpayer funds posting handwritten birthday cards to voters.
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Their comments come after an inner south resident was surprised to receive 30th birthday wishes from Mr Seselja in the post last week.
Politicians often send out Season's Greetings cards or acknowledgements to recipients of community and national awards and this correspondence falls within the scope of a parliamentarian's Printing and Communications Entitlement.
The guidelines outline the entitlement must only be used for parliamentary or electorate purposes, and must not be used for party business or commercial purposes, or for the production of how-to-vote material.
While Mr Seselja's birthday cards adhere to the guidelines, he is the only senator or senate candidate of the upcoming July 2 federal election to send them to ACT constituents.
Labor Senator Katy Gallagher said she had "not ever sent taxpayer-funded birthday cards".
"I think there are many better ways of connecting with people like attending functions, community newsletters or through social media," she said.
Greens senate candidate Christina Hobbs said she didn't have "the luxury of $40,000 communications allowance" provided to those in office, and if elected she would focus on generating two-way conversation with people.
"I think that whether these cards are being sent for genuine purposes or not, there has to be an expectation the people who receive them could feel, particularly in the lead up to an election, dubious about the intention," she said.
Mr Seselja wouldn't respond to questions about how much time or money his office spent on birthday correspondence, which milestone birthdays were deserving of a card, and how many were sent.
He instead sent a statement acknowledging one of the great privileges of his role was to "help local residents celebrate significant occasions".
"I can't think of anything more important I could do as a Senator than to let Canberrans, particularly those who are lonely or isolated, know that they are a valued member of our community, their special day is important, and that I hope they have a great day."
Griffith resident Lisa Gaukroger, newly registered to vote in Canberra, was surprised to receive a 30th birthday card from Mr Seselja.
"If you are turning 100 sure, but on your 30th birthday it was very odd," she said.
"If he sends it to everyone who turns 30 I don't think it's a big enough milestone to warrant that, and if it is done purely as something in the lead up to the election to get name recognition I don't agree with that either."
