Labor · Senator for South Australia
Don Farrell
Minister for Trade and Tourism, and Special Minister of State
- On the trail
- $86,401.38
- Found in breach
- $0
- Rule breaches found
- 0
- Repaid
- $0
Totals only include items with a published figure. Updated 25 October 2026.
The trade and tourism minister claimed more family travel than any other federal politician in 2024-25. IPEA's records show $86,401 over two years. No review has found a breach.
When the ABC added up 2024-25 family travel claims, Trade Minister Don Farrell came out on top at $48,178, ahead of Senator Fatima Payman ($41,438), former opposition leader Peter Dutton ($36,542) and Nationals MP Andrew Willcox ($33,758). Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was seventh, at $28,229.
IPEA's own quarterly reports, which record each claim when it was paid, show Farrell's family travel at $45,926.84 in 2024-25 and $40,474.54 in 2025-26: $86,401 over two years.
Farrell says all his claims complied with the rules. IPEA has not published any review of them, and there is no finding that they broke the rules as they stood. Since January 2026, family members must fly economy, and trips to places other than Canberra are limited to one a year.
The money trail
2026
30 June 2026 · Family travel
Family or nominee travel, April to June 2026
$7,426.49
2025-26 total by IPEA's figures: $40,474.54. IPEA renamed the category 'family or nominee travel' from this quarter.
31 Mar 2026 · Family travel
Family travel, January to March 2026
$7,653.31
Feb 2026 · Family travel
Reported: his wife accompanied him to a function at Uluru
No figure published
Who: Farrell and his wife
Date and cost of the trip not published. Farrell said he complied with all the rules, called the reports a misrepresentation, and said that as tourism minister he must travel to promote Australian tourism; he also met 20 Red Centre tourism operators.
Reported, no findingSource: The Nightly (from news.com.au), 15 Feb 2026 (opens in a new tab)
2025
31 Dec 2025 · Family travel
Family travel, October to December 2025
$10,566.07
30 Sept 2025 · Family travel
Family travel, July to September 2025
$14,828.67
30 June 2025 · Family travel
Family travel, April to June 2025
$21,883.33
His highest quarter. 2024-25 total by IPEA's figures: $45,926.84. An ABC analysis put his 2024-25 family travel at $48,178, the highest of any federal politician; IPEA reports each claim in the quarter it was paid, which may explain the difference.
31 Mar 2025 · Family travel
Family travel, January to March 2025
$5,550.62
2024
31 Dec 2024 · Family travel
Family travel, October to December 2024
$11,318.81
30 Sept 2024 · Family travel
Family travel, July to September 2024
$7,174.08
Jan 2024 · Travel
Travel to Melbourne around the 2024 Australian Open
No figure published
One of eight politicians in IPEA's review of travel around the 2024 Australian Open, with Anika Wells, Michelle Rowland, Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton, Bridget McKenzie, Anne Ruston and Mark Butler. IPEA found the travel 'not inconsistent' with the rules and took no further action. No cost published.