Nine of the fifteen Liberal MPs who lost their seats at the 2016 election have since been handed well-paid government jobs.

Former Northern Territory MP Natasha Griggs is the latest to land a lucrative posting, with the Turnbull government on Monday appointing her administrator of Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands - a position that pays $293,000 a year.

Former members Natasha Griggs and Karen McNamara during question time at Parliament House in November 2016. Credit:Andrew Meares

That's nearly $100,000 more than she earned as a backbench MP, not including loadings and allowances. The government says she is well-qualified for the three-year role because of her work on Parliament's external territories committee.

Her appointment brings to 11 the number of former Liberal MPs given government jobs in a little over a year, including nine of the 15 who lost their seats last year.