The blanket refusal has been made despite freedom of information officers in the Education Department seeing no impediment to the release of expense details of Mr Pyne's $30,000 trip to London and Rome in April.

Mr Pyne came under fire after taxpayers were billed $1352 to "day let" a room at a swish London hotel before the minister and his wife, Carolyn, flew back to Australia on the same day. More than $2000 was spent on VIP services at Heathrow Airport for the Pynes.

The documents revealed Mr Pyne had got around guidelines that prevent spouses being funded on overseas trips unless in certain circumstances with a special letter of approval by Mr Abbott's chief-of-staff, Peta Credlin.

The request for documents was made in the Senate after the government refused freedom of information requests by the Transport Workers Union to nine different departments, including Health, Defence, Industry, Treasury and Attorney-General.

The Gillard government routinely released travel cost documents, including six separate requests under FOI laws in relation to the travel expenses of then foreign minister Kevin Rudd.