Sports Minister Anika Wells has not ruled out the possibility that she held a “meeting” at a birthday party during a taxpayer funded trip which the parliamentary watchdog said was within the rules.
It comes after the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) ordered Ms Wells to pay back more than $10,000 to the taxpayer for breaking the rules.
The authority revealed four of Ms Wells’ 25 taxpayer-funded family trips did not fully meet regulations governing parliamentary benefits.
However one of the trips, in which Ms Wells travelled business class from Brisbane to Adelaide to attend a 40th birthday was deemed within the rules.
During that trip, Ms Wells attended the celebrations of her friend Connie Blefari, whose husband is South Australian Health Minister Chris Picton.
Documents released by IPEA revealed Ms Wells told the watchdog that a scheduled meeting with the office of Trade Minister Don Farrell “ran over time”.
This meant that a subsequent meeting with Mr Picton did not proceed as planned but Ms Wells told IPEA she “held a sideline meeting during a function later that evening”.
The watchdog accepted that explanation, concluding “it was reasonable for the minister to remain overnight and travel back the next morning”.
Ms Wells’ office declined to say where the “sideline meeting” occurred and has not denied it took place at Ms Blefari’s birthday celebration.
Ms Wells apologised after the IPEA findings were released on Friday, describing the incidents as “honest mistakes”.
“These were four cases where I chose what I thought was the more sensible, cheaper option, but those choices were not allowed according to the rules,” she said.
Ms Wells said she “accepted and respected” the findings and had paid back the $10,000 owed to taxpayers with a penalty loading.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his minister, noting she had referred herself to the independent watchdog and repaid the money.
“Anika Wells has apologised, she has paid back the money as was appropriate,” Mr Albanese said.
“Anika Wells is a very good minister.”
Ms Wells was forced to front the media in December 2025 after SkyNews.com.au revealed Ms Wells spent $94,000 for flights to New York for herself, a staffer and a departmental official.
She then faced weeks of scrutiny as more and more controversial travel expenses emerged from her parliamentary travel log.
“All of these costs have been submitted through the usual guidelines. They have been found to be within the rules and the usual guidelines,” she said at the time.
Asked if she would concede that the expenses “don’t pass the pub test”, the minister again insisted she had abided by parliamentary entitlements.