Incumbent parliamentarians rarely lose their seats to challengers. Over the last three federal elections, an average of 90% of incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) have retained their seats. Of the 398 of incumbents who contested their seats, 40 were unseated, of which just 11 lost to challengers who were independents or from minor parties.

One explanation might be that incumbency comes with significant financial advantages. Parliamentarians receive financial resources in the form of their salaries, as well as a number of other benefits and allowances. These include—but are not limited to—the parliamentarian’s office, printing and travel allowances, and electorate and personal staff. These resources help parliamentarians represent their electorate, from responding to constituent inquiries and attending local events to participating in parliamentary processes.

Incumbent parliamentarians also enjoy financial security and mobility, affording them the ability to plan for the future. While there are limits on the ways that parliamentarians can use the resources conferred by their office, they are explicitly permitted to use their resources to solicit their own re-election. This is an inbuilt advantage for incumbents during elections.

This report enumerates the financial entitlements of federal parliamentarians. It reveals that Members of Parliament receive at least $996,381 and Senators at least $885,840 worth of incumbency advantages annually. Over a three-year election cycle, this triples to $2.98 million for Members of Parliament, and $2.65 million for Senators. The advantage is increased by the fact that parties and parliamentarians can receive tax-deductible donations at any time during an election cycle, while new candidates can only receive tax-deductible donations towards their campaigns between the declaration of their nomination and election day (a matter of weeks), unless they register their own party. On top of these advantages, established parties and candidates will have received public election funding at previous elections, which can be spent on later campaigns.