Labor · Paterson (NSW)
Meryl Swanson
Member for Paterson
- On the trail
- $813.26
- Found in breach
- $813.26
- Rule breaches found
- 1
- Repaid
- $1,016.58
Totals only include items with a published figure. Updated 25 October 2026.
The Labor MP repaid $1,016.58 after the expenses watchdog found she and her husband flew from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast at taxpayers' expense for a personal engagement.
Meryl Swanson's review was part of IPEA's series on family travel outside trips to Canberra. It looked at a Melbourne and Sunshine Coast trip in October 2022 and a Queensland trip in January 2023.
She told IPEA she went to Melbourne for a lunch of the Parliamentary Friends of Viticulture, which she co-chairs, before travelling on to the Sunshine Coast for a personal engagement. IPEA accepted the Melbourne leg but found the flights to the Sunshine Coast for her and her husband were personal. She repaid them plus a 25% penalty: $1,016.58.
The money trail
2026
May 2026 · Repayment
Repaid the airfares plus a 25% penalty
−$1,016.58
2023
14 Jan 2023 · Family travel
Trip to Brisbane and the Gold Coast, returning to Newcastle the next day
No figure published
IPEA found this 'not inconsistent' with the rules. No cost published.
2022
31 Oct 2022 · Family travel
Flights from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast for her and her husband, for a personal engagement
$813.26
Who: Swanson and her husband
IPEA found the travel was for personal reasons, not parliamentary business. Amount before the penalty, calculated from IPEA's invoice of $1,016.58.
30 Oct 2022 · Family travel
Trip to Melbourne, with her husband, for a Parliamentary Friends of Viticulture lunch she co-chairs
No figure published
Who: Swanson and her husband
IPEA found this 'not inconsistent' with the rules: it accepted her explanation and found no evidence to the contrary. No cost published.