Australian Public Expense Tracker

Tracking Australian public expenditure using official government data. Non-partisan. Data visualisations and summaries.

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

Reported parliamentary expenses increased from $119m in FY2020–21 to about $175m in FY2025–26—an increase of roughly 47%.

These IPEA figures cover parliamentarians and their offices; they are not politicians’ personal income.

https://t.co/ZPJXy0nQtX

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

@Ryandally08 The Hon Milton DICK MP
Australian Labor Party · QLD

FY2025-26 annual · Annual
Top International Travel $269,628

FY2024-25 annual · Annual
Top International Travel $160,442

Search for politician chart appearances here https://t.co/Yt6ySJMY0p

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

@Lisa9Sophia You can search for Anika Wells' parliamentary expenses here https://t.co/Nh3vVGViK4

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

@DHughesy See Australian parliamentary spending by high level category here
https://t.co/0vXPeVaoxz

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

3/3 These are projects grouped by funding commencement year. They should not be read as the number of grants newly announced or cash payments made in that year.

Search APET’s ARC grants data:
https://t.co/DUHtHoM5sH

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

1/3 The number of ARC-funded projects commencing each year has changed substantially. The dataset records 1,917 projects starting in 2003, compared with 1,127 in 2025. 🧵

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

2/3 Project counts generally trended lower after the early 2010s: 1,719 began in 2012, 1,268 in 2015, 1,000 in 2024 and 1,127 in 2025. Counts alone do not show the size, duration or quality of each project.

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

@FinancialReview The forecast date matters. Spending can exceed an earlier forecast while finishing below a later revised estimate. Treasury says FY2025–26 payments were $1.4bn below the May 2026 Budget estimate. Both comparisons should identify their baseline.
https://t.co/nzCr3RRgoX

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

@PaulineHansonOz APET lists a $68,136 Home Affairs grant to Multicultural Youth Centre Ltd for Community Language Schools Grants (GA379577-V1), 11 Jun 2024–19 Dec 2028. This is an award value; the record doesn't establish security checks or misuse. https://t.co/MJlyxZ4P7V

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

PNG accounted for 13.7% of Australia’s total ODA that year. APET’s chart includes only transactions carrying a recipient-country code, so it should not be read as a complete country allocation of every aid dollar.

https://t.co/UM7S3qRyG0

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

Papua New Guinea was the largest country-coded destination in APET’s FY2024–25 foreign-aid data, with $688.1m in reported disbursements—almost twice Indonesia’s $367.8m. What sits behind that figure? 🧵

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

DFAT’s official figures also record $688.1m in total Australian ODA to PNG for FY2024–25: $505.8m through country programs, $40.1m regional, $15.6m global/other and $126.6m through other Australian Government departments.

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

For readers examining the $6m Marrickville Golf Club grant, Commonwealth grant records can help distinguish the recorded recipient, program, purpose and funding dates from wider claims about the selection process.

APET's GrantConnect search:
https://t.co/MJlyxZ4P7V

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

Other large IATI-coded sectors included multisector programs ($571.2m) and emergency response ($516.6m). These are reported disbursements including adjustments—not budgets or commitments.

https://t.co/UM7S3qRyG0

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

The largest detailed sector in APET’s FY2024–25 foreign-aid data was “Government & Civil Society—general”, with $794.6m in reported disbursements. That label covers much more than direct payments to governments. 🧵

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

DFAT describes this area as including public-sector policy and management, public financial management, tax systems, law and justice, elections, media and human rights, social protection, employment and other governance-related work.

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

APET’s figures are DFAT IATI-reported disbursements, including adjustments. They exclude commitments and budgets. Use the activity search to inspect individual records and official links.

https://t.co/UjVzaEkwxc

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

The largest “activity” in APET’s FY2024–25 foreign-aid data is a $300.8m line called “Departmental”. It is not a $301m aid project or grant to one organisation. So what does it represent? 🧵

[Australian Public Expense Tracker @auspublicexp]

The next largest entries were $128m for the Asian Development Fund’s ADF13 core investment and a $99.6m disbursement linked to Australia’s 2024 PNG general budget-support loan. The full PNG loan was $570m over 20 years.