The federal government is defending recouping questionable debts from welfare recipients as many of its parliamentarians and ministers come under fire for taxpayer-funded travel coinciding with glitzy social functions and personal business.

The string of parliamentary travel expense controversies has grown longer, with revelations Sussan Ley took $13,000 of chartered flights between capital cities and Julie Bishop charged $2,700 to attend a polo event on the Mornington Peninsula.

The announcement on Tuesday that the government plans to clarify the definition of “official business” has not stemmed damaging reports of taxpayer-funded travel claims.

On Wednesday the human services minister, Alan Tudge, said the Centrelink debt recovery system is working despite reports welfare recipients are being wrongly accused of owing debts due to data anomalies.

Tudge distinguished threatening Centrelink notices warning welfare recipients of possible prison time for fraud offences from the lack of punishment for politicians’ questionable expense claims.

Asked about the expenses scandals, Tudge said: “I don’t think, in relation to some of the examples that I have seen in recent times, that people have deliberately sought to defraud the system.”



He told Radio National welfare recipients who had “inadvertently put in incorrect income records” had a chance to rectify records to avoid claims they owe Centrelink a debt.

Sussan Ley, who stood aside as health minister on Monday pending an investigation including into trips on which she bought a $795,000 apartment and attended two New Year’s Eve events at the invitation of millionaire businesswoman Sarina Russo, now faces claims she used charter flights when cheaper domestic fares existed. Ley offered to pay back expenses relating to four trips to the Gold Coast.

Finance department records show that Ley chartered a $7,000 flight from Canberra to Adelaide on 1 May, 2015 and $6,300 for a flight from Canberra to Melbourne on 22 July, 2014.

A spokesman for Ley told Guardian Australia that Ley, who is a licensed pilot, had not flown the charter flights after Fairfax Media reported that “social media accounts indicate she was in the cockpit”.

Ley reportedly took the flights for official ministerial business to attend to childcare policy meetings and talks with GPs.

But ministerial guidelines state that charter flights can only be used under special circumstances “such as where no scheduled commercial services exist or a minister would be unduly delayed by the use of scheduled services”.

Cheaper domestic flights serve the two capital city routes, with two Canberra to Adelaide flights a day costing as little as $190 for economy and hourly flights from Canberra to Melbourne on Qantas starting at $180.

On Tuesday the ABC reported that Bishop attended Portsea Polo as guest of Peroni and Jeep on 9 January, 2016 on the Mornington Peninsula.

A Department of Finance document shows Bishop spent $2,177 on flights to Melbourne, $416 on a car and claimed a $123 travel allowance.

In response to the ABC, a spokesperson for Bishop said: “The minister was invited and attended in her official capacity as minister for foreign affairs and deputy leader of the Liberal party.”

The same report revealed two government ministers and a Coalition senator claimed thousands of dollars for a trip to the AFL grand final in 2013. Among them was the finance minister, Mathias Cormann, whose department oversees politicians’ entitlements.

A spokesman for Cormann said he had “official commitments before, during and after the AFL Grand Final weekend”.

“As well as portfolio-related meetings on Friday, the minister had Melbourne-based media commitments both on Saturday and Sunday morning, as well as a series of other portfolio-related commitments in Melbourne.”

Fairfax media reported cabinet minister Darren Chester settled on an investment property while on a taxpayer-funded trip to Melbourne, where he also attended the Australian Open tennis.

A spokeswoman said Chester’s official business included representing the government at an Australian Defence Force enlistment ceremony at the Shrine of Remembrance on January 27.

The Australian reported that Labor frontbenchers Chris Bowen and Brendan O’Connor charged taxpayers more than $10,000 each to take their families to Darwin during the 2015 July school holidays.

Both said the travel was within the rules as they undertook “official business” including inspecting the Inpex LNG gas facility and meetings with business owners and unions.

MPs are entitled to family reunion travel in limited circumstances to allow their spouse and dependent children to join them on parliamentary, electorate or official business and help “balance their work and family responsibilities”.

A spokesman for Ley said the charter flights were “within the rules and being independently reviewed” by the departments of finance and the prime minister and cabinet.

“Ley is co-operating fully with these reviews and will await their outcomes.”

On Tuesday Guardian Australia reported that Tony Abbott charged taxpayers more than $3,000 for travel that coincided with his attendance at Santo Santoro’s 60th birthday party in Brisbane and has cited a party event and a lecture as reasons for his travel.