Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has defended her chief of staff's attendance at a meeting that plotted former prime minister Tony Abbott's downfall.

Ms Bishop this morning confirmed her chief of staff Murray Hansen was at the meeting held at Liberal MP Peter Hendy's home, the night before the leadership change.

When quizzed on her loyalty during Question Time, she defended her actions.

"The role of deputy is to be the deputy to the Prime Minister," she said.

"It is a separate role, elected separately. It is not part of a joint ticket and I have fulfilled my responsibilities and my duties as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party since 2007."

Ms Bishop was also asked about the absence of multiple transcripts from the morning after the spill on her website.

She said their absence was consistent with the practice of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade "to remove from my transcripts as Foreign Minister, as they've done with previous Foreign Ministers, any portion of transcripts that relates to internal party politics".

"In light of the allegation that I was seeking to hide something, I contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and asked that these transcripts be put on the Ministerial website," she said.

"They have agreed with me to do that."

Speaking earlier on Mr Hansen's attendance at the meeting, Ms Bishop said she spoke to Mr Abbott as soon she was aware he had lost the confidence of his party, saying Mr Hansen only reported back to her the morning of the challenge.

"I was aware [Mr Hansen] was attending at Peter Hendy's house," Ms Bishop said.

"I did not know who would be attending the meeting and, of course, like all chiefs of staff, they feed back the information that they've learned and it was part of my job, as it had been all year, to find out what the backbench were thinking.

"When I learned who was there on the Monday morning and when Cabinet ministers came to see me I made the first opportunity available to see the prime minister.

"I met him within five minutes of his attendance here in Parliament House."

Before Ms Bishop confirmed the revelation Mr Abbott loyalist and Cabinet Minister Peter Dutton described it as "serious".

"Everybody wants to get behind Malcolm Turnbull so we can win the next election," Mr Dutton told Macquarie Radio.

"Obviously the deputy leader in the party owes a special duty of care and a special loyalty to the leader and I don't even know if this is true, no doubt Julie Bishop will clarify the situation.

"It's a serious suggestion."

South Australian Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi said he found it "incredulous that what's now described as a drinks function was actually the final meeting in a coup to unseat the prime minister".

"If Julie Bishop's chief of staff wasn't involved in that coup he must have been the only observer at it," he said.

"Had I been in the position where a member of my staff had been at a ringside seat of the plotting of the downfall of the prime minister, I would have expected them to inform me immediately and I would have taken the immediate steps to notify the intended victim."

Mr Hendy has deflected questions about the accuracy of the story.

"I've said everything I'm going to say with the respect to that topic, I'd invite you to review the public record and I've got nothing to add, we're looking forward to the future and red tape repeal day today," he said..

Earlier, Tasmanian Liberal senator Eric Abetz, who was dumped from the frontbench after the leadership change, told Sky he would be disappointed if the story was true.

"When I was a minister I would never have countenanced my chief of staff going to such a meeting without my imprimatur and approval and so I think a question does need to be answered whether the chief of staff was there on a frolic of his own or with the imprimatur of the deputy leader," Senator Abetz said.