Amendments to the Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Act 2002 (the LGP Act)

Changes to the Life Gold Pass (LGP) Scheme

1.What changes have been made to the LGPscheme?

The LGP scheme has been abolished prospectively so that it is no longer available to those entering or re-entering the Parliament at or after 6March2012. Also:

  • the number of domestic return trips available to existing LGP holders, who have never held office as Prime Minister,and their spouse or de facto partner has been reduced from 25 to 10 per annum;
  • the entitlement of a spouse or de facto partner of current Senators and Members who have qualified for a LGP has been reduced from 25 to 10return trips to Canberra per annum; and
  • a transitional provision has been established, for the last quarter of 201112, to reduce the number of available trips to two, where a LGP holder, their spouse or de facto partner, and the spouse or de facto partner of a sitting member of Parliament who has qualified for a LGP has at least two remaining trips from their 201112 entitlement.

2.When will the changes take effect?

The LGP entitlement was closed to those entering or re-entering the Parliamenton or after 6March 2012. The reduced travel entitlement will apply from the following dates:

  • the transitional provision willapply from 1April2012 to 30 June 2012; and
  • the number of return trips available under the LGP entitlement has been reduced to 10 per financial year from 1 July 2012.

3.Does a sitting member of this Parliament continue to accrue an entitlement to a Life Gold Pass?

Yes. A member of the current Parliament who was sitting before6March2012 remains eligible to receive a LGP at the end of his or her current period of Parliamentary service subject to serving the necessary qualifying period, as determined by the Remuneration Tribunal in Remuneration Determination 2012/04: Members of Parliament - Entitlements(the Determination).

However, should a sitting member cease to be a member of Parliament before they have served the qualifying period set out in the Determination, that person will not be eligible to receive a LGP, even if they are re-elected as a member of Parliament in the future and serve in the Parliament for the balance of the LGP qualifying period.

Some members of the current Parliament may have accrued periods of prior service. These will be used in calculating their entitlement to a LGP. However, the remainder of the relevant qualifying period must be served in a continuous manner.

4.If a member of the current Parliament, not currently entitled to a LGP, changes houses of Parliament,will that person continue to accrue an entitlement to a LGP?

Yes. The LGP Act provides that where a member of the current Parliament changes house (for example, a Senator who is elected to a seat in the House of Representatives), that person’s service is deemed to be continuous so long as the change occurs within three months of ceasing to be a member of the other chamber.

5.Why has a transitional provision been introduced for a reduced number of return trips for LGP holders, who have never held office as Prime Minister, for the remainder of this financial year?

In its initial report, the Remuneration Tribunal (the Tribunal) recommended that the LGP scheme be closed now and that the LGP travel entitlement be reduced now to 10 domestic return trips. To implement the intent of the Tribunal’s recommendation, the Government has decided that, for the last quarter of 2011-12, the number of domestic return trips be reduced to two, where a LGP holder (or the LGP holder’s entitled spouse or defacto partner) has more than two unused domestic return trips remaining in their 201112 entitlement, immediately before 1 April 2012.

Where the entitled person has fewer than two return trips remaining from their 201112 entitlement, they are entitled to use the remainder of their available trips.

The transitional provision appliesfrom 1 April 2012 to the travel entitlement of LGP holders, who have never held office as Prime Minister, and an entitled spouse or defacto partner.

6.Where can a Life Gold Pass holder obtain information abouttheir LGP entitlement?

LGP holders should contact their Entitlements Manager or consult their most recent entitlements usage report for the latest record of their use of the LGP entitlement in 2011-12.

LGP holders are expected to maintain their own records, and are required to certify, on a six monthly basis, that all travel paid for by the Department of Finance and Deregulation was within entitlement and was for non-commercial purposes, or reimbursement will be sought.

7.What are the qualifying periods for a LGP?

The qualifying period for a LGP is set by the Remuneration Tribunal and is currently:

Office / Qualifying Period
Prime Minister / 1 year
Ministers
President of the Senate
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Leader of the Opposition / 6 years
Parliamentary Secretaries
Senators and Members / 20 years or the life of 7 Parliaments

8.What is a domestic return trip?

A domestic return trip is defined by the LGP Act to mean a return trip that is wholly within Australia, not for a commercial purpose and on a scheduled transport service or a combination of scheduled transport services.

A return trip is wholly within Australia if, and only, if a trip begins at a place (the starting place) within Australia; and the destination is a place within Australia; each stop-over (if any) is at a place within Australia and the trip ends at the starting place.

Travel on a domestic return trip is to be at the same class of travel determined from time to time for a Senator or Member by the Remuneration Tribunal. Remuneration Tribunal Determination 2012/04: Members of Parliament – Entitlements provides that when a Senator or Member is travelling by air, rail or sea at government expense, the fare shall not exceed the cost of a business class air fare for the most reasonable and usual route, between the departure and destination points.

9.Is information on travel by Life Gold Pass Holders publicly available?

Yes. Information on travel by Life Gold Pass holders is available in the report on Former Parliamentarians’ expenditure on entitlements paid by the Department of Finance and Deregulation (Finance) tabled biannually in the Parliament and published on the Finance website at

1