Jacinta Allan bought an apartment for $319,000. Taxpayers have all but paid that back
Prime Minister Jacinta Allan has claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer-funded funding for a second home she owns in Melbourne; the total sum now likely dwarfs the original purchase price of his property.
Allan is one of 18 regional Victorian MPs – including five Labor MPs, three Liberals, eight Nationals and two crossover candidates – who have raised a generous parliamentary allowance to fund the maintenance of their city housing rather than billing taxpayers for staying in hotels while parliament meets.
Age I can reveal that Allan, Member for Bendigo East, bought the flat in the CBD in 2005 for $319,000. Parliamentary records show he requested a total of $291,146.90 in appropriations over the six years to the end of last year.
Only since 2019 have lawmakers been required to disclose their funding requests; The state government under Daniel Andrews overhauled the rules following an expenses scandal involving allegations by two Labor MPs. Allan did not respond when asked on Wednesday how much he was seeking overall, but as prime minister he is currently entitled to a maximum of $56,000 a year.
Finance Minister Jaclyn Symes claimed $132,000 for a flat she owns in Collingwood this parliamentary session. Retired MP and former health minister Mary-Anne Thomas claimed a similar amount for her second homes in Carlton North and Northcote.
Gippsland South MP National Leader Danny O’Brien, who owns a flat in Melbourne’s CBD, has claimed $103,000 since the parliamentary term begins in 2022.
Upper house MP Wendy Lovell, who represents northern Victoria, has claimed the most among Liberal MPs this parliamentary term, at nearly $132,000.
Under parliamentary rules, MPs living more than 80 kilometers from Parliament House are entitled to an allowance to cover the costs of staying in Melbourne on official business, which includes the cost of maintaining a home they own or rent. District MPs who do not own or rent a property can request a nightly allowance for a hotel instead.
But data shows that for long-serving members like Allan, the cumulative cost of a taxpayer allowance for a property they own can exceed the initial investment.
The payments to lawmakers are in addition to their base salary, which is $512,000 for the prime minister, and are paid regardless of the actual costs members incur to maintain their second residence.
Property records show Allan bought a flat in the CBD in 2005 for $319,000. It remains his only listed property, apart from the family home on the outskirts of Bendigo.
The latest statements covered the appropriations requested until the end of last year; This means that if Allan claims his rights for the remaining three fiscal quarters before the November election, the announced allowances will exceed the purchase price of the property. Property documents show there is an active mortgage on the unit.
Property records also show that Allan’s husband purchased a neighboring flat in the same CBD complex in 2024, for which the couple received rental income. There is no suggestion that Allan or her husband received public funds for this property. This unit has no active mortgage, records show.
Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell, who represents the Northern Victoria upper house constituency, had previously requested a living allowance for a CBD flat he owned. But he sold late last year and is now claiming allowance for the rental property he shared with St Kilda-based federal Labor MP Josh Burns.
Purcell said the couple, who had a baby earlier this year, split their time almost equally between Kyneton and St Kilda in his constituency and the arrangement was necessary due to their unique family situations and work requirements.
Purcell said he did not see a problem with the policy, saying it made being a parliamentarian accessible to people from different backgrounds.
“It’s better than staying in hotels and all that comes with it,” he said.
“I will spend an allowance anyway because I am a regional MP and it is not possible to go to parliament from home, especially because of the long hours I spend in the Legislative Council.
“Having a consistent place to go is really important as an MP.”
A Victorian government spokesman said the court had determined the eligibility criteria for claiming the allowance.
“All MPs in the area receive this allowance and must act appropriately and within the guidelines,” he said. “All the Prime Minister’s statements are made in accordance with parliamentary guidelines.”
A Victorian opposition spokesman said all funding requests were made in accordance with parliamentary guidelines.
Disclosures regarding the allowance are only available from 2019. of the age In 2017 it was revealed that parliamentary speaker Telmo Languiller and his deputy Don Nardella had claimed the second residence allowance designed for the country’s MPs by moving their registered homes from the western suburbs electorates they represent to Ocean Grove and Queenscliff.
This investigation led to the establishment of the Independent Charges Tribunal of Victoria and the creation of legislation requiring the proactive and detailed publication of all such claims.
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Daniella White is The Age’s state political correspondent. Contact her at da.white@nine.com.auConnect with: X or email.
