The government insists the two-day trip to Melbourne, which cost nearly $3000, was for "professional development" and not political purposes.

But the opposition said the explanation didn't stack up, accusing Labor of using public money to fund "political junkets" just months out from an election.

Ministerial travel records show four staffers employed by Mr Barr travelled to Melbourne on December 5 and 6 for meetings with the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet, as well as members of Mr Andrews' office.

The staffers included the director of the government's communications unit and three communications advisers.

The Canberra Times sent questions to Mr Barr's office about the December trip, including why it was funded by taxpayers and not ACT Labor head office.

In a statement, his spokeswoman said the group took part in "professional development sessions" with their Victorian Labor counterparts. They focused on digital communications, traditional media engagement and team structure.

They also discussed how to communicate through "new and emerging channels while continuing to resource media engagement".

She said there were no sessions on election campaigning, nor any meetings with Victorian Labor party officials. Professional development was common practice across all industries, she said, and the media advisers' pay agreement included allowances for such trips.

But opposition public sector management spokeswoman Candice Burch said the explanation was insufficient.

"The Chief Minister must explain why he is using taxpayers' money to send political operatives to learn from interstate counterparts," Ms Burch said.

"Labor's explanation doesn't stack up. It's bad enough that 'comms staff' have ballooned under Barr. Now he is using taxpayer money on political junkets."

The travelling party spent $1500 on flights to Melbourne and $1360 on accommodation, transport and other expenses, according to the travel records.

The Opposition intends to use freedom of information laws to further probe the trip.

Asked why the group chose to visit Mr Andrews' Labor team - and not another state government's media unit - Mr Barr's spokeswoman told The Canberra Times it was considered "best practices when it comes to government communications".

Mr Andrews is a prolific social media user, posting regularly to his more than 615,000 followers on Facebook, 113,00 followers on Twitter and 39,000 followers on Instagram.

The premier, who led Labor to a convincing win at the 2018 Victorian election, has used social media to make major policy announcements and bypass traditional media.

Mr Andrews last week used Facebook to announce the government's plan to introduce a container deposit scheme in Victoria.

Mr Barr talked up his desire to communicate with voters without the "filter of journalists" in a now infamous speech in 2018, in which he declared he hated journalists and was "over" the mainstream media.

He later apologised for the comments, but maintained that he was committed to exploring new ways to communicate with Canberrans.

While Mr Barr posts regularly to his social media accounts, The Canberra Times cannot recall any example of him using the platforms to make a major policy announcement.