Police were asked to investigate a parliamentary staffer's travel allowance claims, a new audit report has revealed.
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Australia's national audit office flagged the inquiry in its report on the agency overseeing rules for MPs and staffers claiming parliamentary expenses.
The Australian National Audit Office said, along with the Australian Federal Police, the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority received allegations concerning the travel allowance claims of a parliamentary staffer in 2019.
The authority conducted a preliminary assessment, however agreed that the AFP would take responsibility for investigations.
"As at February 2021, IPEA advised the ANAO it had not received any information from the AFP about the outcome of the investigation," the audit report said.
The ANAO report said the parliamentary expenses authority had identified nearly $50,000 in expense claims that didn't comply with the rules over two years, including $31,000 in 2019-20.
In many cases the non-compliant expenses involved domestic flight connections for international travel not related to parliamentary business, the use of vehicles or taxis, and the use of COMCAR within a parliamentarian's own electorate. Travel expenses administered by the authority fell dramatically last year during COVID-19.
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