Federal politicians receive several payments in addition to their basic income, including an electorate allowance to help them conduct their day-to-day duties. The electorate allowance is worth $32,000 a year and can rise to as much as $46,000 for MPs with geographically larger electorates. The payment is made directly into the bank account of MPs, who are not required to declare how they spend it. If, at year's end, an MP has not spent the entire amount, they are able to pocket the remainder as additional taxable income. Monash University public law and politics expert Dr Yee-Fui Ng said the payment was intended to help MPs engage with their communities. "MPs have electorate responsibilities as well. They have to go out and talk to their constituents," Dr Ng said.

Loading Both Mr Hinch and Mr Wilkie are convinced some MPs rort the scheme. "The politicians who don't use the allowance and add it to their salary are disgusting," Mr Hinch said. Mr Wilkie agreed, saying: "I suspect some spend none of it and suddenly you've got an extra $32,000 in income … it's a misuse of the allowance," he said. A spokeswoman for Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the electorate allowance was paid to support MPs' work in the community and determined at arms length.

"This is part of the remuneration and work expenses arrangements for federal members and senators as determined by the independent Remuneration Tribunal," the spokeswoman said. Tax office data Analysis of Australian Taxation Office data from the 2016-17 financial year reveals legislators in Australia’s top tax bracket receive 15 times more in allowances on average than the typical taxpayer and claim 12 times as much in tax deductions. The tax office data for legislators includes 857 MPs, 3305 local councillors and 21 state governors. There were a total of 4183 legislators in 2016-17, and 567 of them were in the top tax bracket of more than $180,000. The figures show at least 428 MPs were in the top tax bracket, but the data is not fine-grained enough to provide a definitive total.

Of the legislators earning more than $180,000 a year, 88 per cent claimed allowances as part of their income, with the average claim being $54,000. By comparison, just under one in five Australian taxpayers disclosed an allowance as part of their 2016-17 income, with the average amount being $3623. Senator Cormann's spokeswoman said the tax rules for MPs and senators were determined independently by the tax office.

"All members and senators are required to comply with those rules," the spokeswoman said. Use the interactive below to see whether people in your job received income from allowances in 2016-17, as well as the average amount they disclosed:

The interactive shows typical income and sources and deductions by occupation and is not intended as tax advice. Mr Hinch and Mr Wilkie say they have used their allowances to donate to men's sheds, sporting clubs and families in financial need – the types of payments for which they are intended. In February 2017, the Coalition and Labor blocked a move by the Greens that would have required politicians to prove they spent the full $32,000 allowance each year. At the time, Greens leader Richard Di Natale called the allowance an "unregulated $32,000-a-year bonus".

Loading The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), which oversees MPs' use of travel but not electorate allowances, has guidelines stipulating MPs are "personally responsible" for deciding if their use of public resources "achieves value for money", is "publicly justifiable" and "ethical". MPs should also be "prepared to publicly justify your use of public resources" and "bear community expectations in mind because your use will be measured against these", the guidelines say. MPs potentially profiting from their travel allowance were also flagged by Mr Hinch and Mr Wilkie. Politicians receive a fixed daily payment of $288 to cover costs when in Canberra for parliamentary sittings.

Loading "Most people would either pay no more than that amount, or less … you can easily profit from it ... it's a tax-free windfall," Mr Wilkie said. Mr Hinch was more concerned with politicians claiming interstate trips as "official business", when they were actually personal trips. The IPEA has published three audits since it was established in 2017. Former Labor MP Emma Husar paid back $2300 after the authority found 21 expenses breaches. Barnaby Joyce and his partner and former staffer Vikki Campion were cleared.

Beyond its published audits, IPEA said it "does not generally comment on any individual matters." Both Mr Hinch and Mr Wilkie agreed it was all too easy for a politician with ill intentions to increase their take-home pay above their base salary, which recently increased to more than $200,000. Legislators are also more likely than typical taxpayers to claim work-related deductions, and in larger amounts. About 64 per cent of workers claimed work-related deductions in 2016-17, with an average amount of $2381. By comparison, 84 per cent of legislators claimed work-related deductions, with the average amount being $11,194.