Lismore MP Janelle Saffin will reimburse her Ministerial office budget after an audit found some Sydney travel expenses had been paid from the wrong allowance.

In a statement released late Friday, Ms Saffin said the audit had confirmed expenses associated with official travel to Sydney were “inadvertently” paid from her Ministerial office budget.

Instead, the expenses should have been funded through the Sydney Allowance provided to MPs representing non-metropolitan electorates.

“As a result of the audit, I will reimburse my Ministerial office budget for these travel expenses,” Ms Saffin said.

“Costs associated with travel to Sydney will instead be claimed from the parliamentary Sydney Allowance as appropriate, in accordance with the usual process for MPs claiming parliamentary entitlements.”

Ms Saffin ordered the audit late last month following questions over her travel and accommodation expenses.

She said the review covered all Ministerial and staff travel expenses since she became a Minister in March 2025 and was conducted with advice and support from the Department of Parliamentary Services, The Cabinet Office and the Premier’s Department.

The audit separately examined Ministerial staff travel expenses and, according to Ms Saffin, “has not identified any further issues requiring action”.

“I regret that this administrative error was not picked up and rectified sooner but I hope my experience will result in greater awareness of Ministerial and MPs’ entitlements for everyone,” she said.

Ms Saffin also used her statement to make the case for regional MPs continuing to serve in senior government positions.

“I strongly believe regional MPs should be able to serve as Ministers,” she said.

“Regional communities deserve a strong voice around the Cabinet table, and the practical reality of living outside Sydney should never be a barrier to that.”

She said that during 22 years of public service as an elected official she had always acted with integrity and would continue to do so.

Nationals caught in same expenses controversy

The audit findings come at the end of a bruising week in which the NSW Nationals first stepped up their attack on Ms Saffin, before former Nationals ministers became embroiled in the same expenses controversy.

On Wednesday, Nationals Leader Gurmesh Singh announced the Liberals and Nationals would refer Ms Saffin’s spending to the NSW Auditor-General, arguing the Government had failed to adequately address the issue.

But the following day, the Daily Telegraph, which broke the original Saffin expenses story, reported former Nationals ministers Paul Toole, Dugald Saunders and Steph Cooke had also used their ministerial office budgets to pay for Sydney accommodation while the Coalition was in government.

The newspaper reported the three had charged more than $24,000 in Sydney hotel accommodation to their ministerial budgets during a six-month period in 2022, rather than using the separate allowance available to regional MPs.

The revelation adds a significant new dimension to the controversy, indicating the apparent administrative error identified in Ms Saffin’s audit was not confined to the current Labor Government.

Photo: Janelle Saffin (left), pictured with Mayor Sharon Cadwallader and Member for Richmond Justine Elliot at a function to mark the start of work on the Ballina Twin Bridges on September 1.