Prime Minister Scott Morrison has formally granted Malcolm Turnbull and wife Lucy a taxpayer-funded overseas travel entitlement - something no other former prime minister has listed in their allowances.

The arrangement was quietly issued last month and allows for the "provision of resources" when the former Liberal leader is "undertaking international travel as approved by the prime minister in writing from time to time".

But Mr Turnbull has distanced himself from the entitlement, telling Fairfax Media he didn't ask for it.

Malcolm Turnbull says he didn't ask for an entitlement to taxpayer funded overseas travel when on government business. Credit:Getty

Mr Turnbull, who is in New York on a privately funded trip after the Liberal Party removed him as leader in August, has already twice formally represented the government at the United Nations headquarters. The first time was for a high-level panel on building a sustainable ocean economy, the second the launch of an initiative to advance non-tobacco investments.