When federal politicians travel the globe on taxpayer-funded delegations, they’re usually obliged to do just one thing when they return: tell the parliament what they did.

But an investigation by Guardian Australia has found delegations that spent tens of thousands of dollars on airfares, hotels and meals are simply copying and pasting large slabs of text in their reports back to parliament.

Five delegations – to Fiji, Romania, Vietnam, Switzerland and the Philippines – have copied content from previous trips when reporting on their experiences. The delegations cost taxpayers a total of $143,113.

At least another six delegations are yet to file reports between five months to three years after their trips. Those delegations claimed a combined $147,869 in airfares, accomodation, meals and travel advances.

One group representing Australia to the 2017 Nato parliamentary assembly in Romania lifted its 135-word conclusion on the trip almost word for word from a report to the same meeting in Norway two years earlier.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A delegation to the 2018 Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Vietnam, led by senator John Williams, described the activities of delegates in almost identical terms to a trip in 2017. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The trips to Romania and Norway both concluded: “Delegation members found attendance at the Nato Parliamentary Assembly to be a valuable opportunity to inform themselves on a wide range of issues, to hear from civilian and military experts in various fields and to exchange views with fellow parliamentarians from Nato member countries and other observer delegations.”

The two-member delegation, led by the Liberal MP Andrew Laming, charged taxpayers $22,300 for the four-day trip. The reports did contain original content but significant chunks were either copied or highly similar to the Norwegian trip.

Laming, who also spoke at the conference, said the report was prepared by a secretariat, despite being signed in his name. He also said the similarities were not unusual, because such reports used “a shell version which changes only the elements relevant to the current summit”.

Nonetheless, Laming said reports should not be “top-and-tailed versions of previous ones”. He said he had written to the department to ensure this did not happen in the future.

The Department of the House of Representatives also said similarities in such reports were “to be expected”, because the conferences usually explored the same themes and followed the same structures. The department said the reports were the responsibility of delegates, though a secretary can assist in their preparation.

“While there is variation in report content to reflect the specific issues addressed at each assembly, the structure and themes of the assemblies are often very similar,” a spokesman said. “The reports of the assemblies have accordingly evolved a generally consistent structure to reflect this.”

The reports do contain sections of original content, and the use of copied text is at times clearly justified, including in sections on the background, history and structure of certain inter-parliamentary forums, which does not change year to year.

Labor ministers knew of SKM bribery claims but continued giving firm work Read more

But Guardian Australia has found the reports often describe behaviour and interactions of delegates at specific conferences – on different continents and in different years – in almost identical terms.

A delegation to the 2016 Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Geneva concluded its report by lauding Australia’s efforts and its excellent reputation among other attendees. Large chunks of the conclusion had been lifted word-for-word from a report by a separate delegation to the same meeting in Zambia five months earlier.

“Again, the Australian travelling party, continued to build on the work of previous delegations,” both reports said in their conclusions. “Formal and informal comments received at the Assembly from standing committees, other parliamentarians and IPU officials again proved that the Australian delegation maintains its reputation as an effective contributor to the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.”

The five-member delegation charged taxpayers $60,432 to attend the Geneva meeting.

A delegation to the 2018 Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Vietnam, led by senator John Williams, described the activities of delegates in almost identical terms to a trip in 2017. Williams told Guardian Australia he did not write the report, saying it was published by the secretariat, and that the trips were more about friendship building between parliaments.

Similar issues were found in the report of a delegation led by the Liberal National party MP George Christensen to Manila in the Philippines in 2017, to attend the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. The report shared close similarities with a report on the same event in Malaysia two years earlier.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The report of a delegation led by George Christensen to Manila to attend the Association of South-East Asian Nations Inter-Parliamentary Assembly shared close similarities with a report on the same event in Malaysia two years earlier. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Large sections of the reports’ forewords and conclusions were strikingly similar, differing only through minor changes to language. The 2017 report’s foreword said:

In addition to attending the AIPA General Assembly, the Delegation also participated in a range of side meetings, some of which were organised with the assistance of the Australian Embassy in Manila. These meetings enhanced the value of our visit. I thank my colleague on the delegation, Senator Alex Gallacher, whose interest in foreign relations, knowledgeable participation in discussions, and collegiate approach made a valuable contribution to our visit. Finally, I wish to record the delegation’s appreciation to the host nation, the Philippines, for its generous hospitality and excellent organisation of the 38th AIPA General Assembly.

The 2015 foreword said:

In addition to attending the AIPA General Assembly, the delegation also had the opportunity to attend an extensive program of side meetings, organised with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. These meetings, details of which are also included in this report, made a very useful contribution to the overall success of the visit. I thank my colleague on the delegation, the Honourable Ed Husic MP, whose interest in the region, connections with Malaysia, and enthusiastic and knowledgeable participation made a valuable contribution to discussions. Finally, I take this opportunity to express the delegation’s gratitude to the host nation, Malaysia, for its warm hospitality and excellent organisation of the 36th AIPA General Assembly.

Christensen referred questions on the report to the international parliamentary relations office.

Other reports by foreign delegations have simply not been filed, including one from more than three years ago. A trip to Africa six months ago, led by the Nationals MP Andrew Broad – who last week announced he would not stand at the next election – has still not tabled its report. Broad said that timeframe was “not unusual”.

“The department secretariat writes the report and then when it is scheduled in parliament, both myself and either Tim Watts or Graham Perrett would speak to the report. One from government, one from opposition,” he told Guardian Australia.

“I’m advised that the time frame is not unusual, but as there are only three sitting weeks left, I will be keen to talk of the opportunities for Australia and Kenya and Ethiopia, when it is tabled by the tabling office.”