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Latest data · Jan–Mar 2026
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Parliamentarian profile · Jan–Mar 2026

Darren Chester

NationalsVICGIPPSLAND

Claimed in Jan-Mar 2026

$143,821

1.0× medianmedian MP $142,411 in Jan-Mar 2026

Of which $97,338 was discretionary (excludes Office Facilities). Repaid to the public purse this quarter: $0.

Lifetime claimed since Apr-Jun 2023: $6.8 million across 12 quarters.

Quarterly trend

2023Q02 → 2026Q01

What was claimed, by category

Categories in Jan–Mar 2026, ranked by amount.

  1. Office Administration
    $55,324
  2. Office Facilities
    $46,483
  3. Employee Travel
    $11,271
  4. Other Car Costs
    $11,246
  5. Travel Allowance
    $10,618
  6. Scheduled Commercial Transport
    $6,917
  7. Telecommunications
    $1,920
  8. Unscheduled Commercial Transport
    $42

Largest individual claims this quarter

  1. Aggregated Total
    Office Facilities
    $46,483.09
  2. Printing and Communications 27 Feb 26
    Office Administration
    $11,600.00
  3. Aggregated Total
    Employee Travel
    $11,271.25
  4. Printing and Communications 1 Dec 25
    Office Administration
    $6,391.56
  5. Regional Radio Broadcasting Services 11 Dec 25
    Office Administration
    $2,996.00
  6. Printing and Communications 3 Dec 25
    Office Administration
    $2,779.64
  7. Printing and Communications 1 Feb 26
    Office Administration
    $2,739.29
  8. Lease rental 25/12/2025 to 24/01/2026
    Other Car Costs
    $2,641.29
  9. Flags 1 Jan 26
    Office Administration
    $2,304.25
  10. Printing and Communications 7 Jan 26
    Office Administration
    $2,223.71

Sources

  • Headline, category breakdown, and largest claims: IPEA quarterly expenditure report, 2026Q01 — sourced from data.gov.au/data/organization/ipea.
  • Trend line: same source across 12 quarters (2023Q02 → 2026Q01). Median-MP comparison computed across all parliamentarians active in each quarter.
  • Identity: party, state, electorate, and role are read directly from the source CSV. From 2022Q03 onwards, MPs are tracked by a stable IPEA OfficeCode; earlier rows match by name.
  • Repayments sourced from the IPEA quarterly repayments CSV (available from 2022Q03 onwards). They are reported as a separate line, not netted off the gross total — ReportingPeriodId on a repayment marks when the money was paid back, not when the original claim was made. Adjustments are still not integrated. See methodology for the full list of caveats.