A New York dinner with the actor, his wife and adoption campaigner Deborra-Lee Furness and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is this year's highest earner in a charity auction for the Canberra press gallery's Midwinter Ball.

Dinner with Jackman, Furness and Ms Bishop at Robert De Niro's Nobu restaurant – and two return business class tickets courtesy of Qantas – received a winning bid of $35,500.

That was more than three times more than its nearest competitor, which after a series of late bids, was a meal with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and treasury spokesman Chris Bowen.

Wednesday night's Midwinter Ball in the Great Hall is an annual fixture on Parliament's calendar, with all proceeds donated to charity.

Politicians, business people and journalists attend, with politicians offering themselves up in auctions that have helped raise more than $2.8 million for charities since 2000.

Breakfast with Prime Minister Tony Abbott at Kirribilli House fetched $10,707, while a dinner with Mr Shorten – which had no bids early on Wednesday – had claimed $10,750 by auction's end on Wednesday afternoon.

Dinner at the Canberra home of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull was being pitched as "your own kitchen cabinet" and received $8700, while a meal with Education Minister Christopher Pyne and his political sparring partner Anthony Albanese went for $4500.

Dinner and a football match with new Greens leader Richard Di Natale only went for $2000, while dinner with the Senate's crossbench "powerbrokers" fetched $2125.

This year, the profits will be donated to the Luke Batty Foundation, Rare Cancers Australia and four other charities, including the Mo, Evie and Otis Foundation.