James Paterson
Senator for Victoria · Liberal–National Coalition
Shadow Minister for Defence
Pay
- Base salary
- $239,270
- Salary
- $239,270
- Electorate allowance, on top
- $39,700
Senators all receive the same electorate allowance. The rate for this office is not published.
Registrable interests
the whole registerAs declared on the Register of Senators’ Interests, in James’s own words. The register records what an interest is, not what it is worth, and does not separate a senator’s interests from their family’s.
Real estate
Real estate, and the purpose for which it is held.
- Melbourne, Victoria · Investment property
- Canberra, ACT · Residential
- −Melbourne, Victoria, investment property · 7 April 2026
Liabilities
The nature of any liability and the creditor concerned.
- Mastercard · Commonwealth Bank
- Mortgage on investment property · Advantedge Financial Services, backed by NAB
- +Mortgage, Macquarie Bank Limited · 7 April 2026
- −Mortgage on investment property, Advantedge Financial Services, backed by NAB · 7 April 2026
Savings and investment accounts
Saving or investment accounts, their nature and the institution holding them.
- Access account · Commonwealth Bank
Other assets over $7,500
Any other asset valued over $7,500, excluding household and personal effects.
- Superannuation account, Australian Super
Other sources of income
The nature of any other substantial source of income.
- Rental income, investment property
- −Rental income, investment property · 7 April 2026
Gifts
Gifts valued over the threshold set by the Senate resolution.
- Continuing complementary electorate office Foxtel subscription
Sponsored travel or hospitality
Sponsored travel or hospitality received.
- Chairman's Lounge membership, Qantas
- Beyond membership, Virgin Australia
- +Return flights to Canberra for family to attend McKinnon Prize event, courtesy McKinnon · 8 July 2026
- +One ticket to Press Gallery Mid-Winter Ball, Parliament House, Canberra, 1 July, courtesy News Corp · 8 July 2026
- +Two tickets to the Press Gallery Mid-Winter Ball, courtesy of The Australian · 14 September 2025
- +Flights, accommodation and hospitality to participate in Centre for Independent Studies Consilium conference, Gold Coast, 23-25 October, courtesy CIS · 19 November 2025
- +Upgrade to Business Class, Melbourne to Canberra, 12 November, courtesy Qantas · 19 November 2025
- +Partial contribution towards travel costs to attend the Australian American Leadership Dialogue and visit the United States, 12-19 July, courtesy Mr Charles Kiefel · 20 July 2026
- +Return flights and accommodation in Sydney to deliver the 2026 Commencement Address to the Ramsay Postgraduate Scholars, 23-24 July, courtesy Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation · 26 July 2026
Office holder of, or donor to, an organisation
Being an office holder of, or a regular or substantial donor to, any organisation or body.
- Liberal Party of Australia, Victorian Division
- Member of the advisory Council of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University
Other interests
Any other interest that could give rise to a conflict of interest.
- Policy holder, CommInsure
- Policy holder, HCF
- Member, Richmond Football Club
- Member, Institute of Public Affairs
- Member, Centre for Independent Studies
- Member, Menzies Institute
- Member, Athenaeum Club
- Member, Samuel Griffith Society
- +Policy holder, Allianz · 7 April 2026
- +Ongoing legal assistance, courtesy of Arnold Bloch Leibler · 14 September 2025
- +Associate Member, Hawthorn RSL · 21 April 2026
- −Policy holder, CommInsure · 7 April 2026
Nothing declared under shareholdings, trusts and nominee companies, directorships, partnerships, bonds and debentures.
Voted consistently for
95% or more of their votes supported these positions.
- same-sex marriage equality
- temporary protection visas
- privatising government-owned assets
- storing all citizens' telecommunications data for access by government agencies
- revoking citizenship of dual nationals involved with terrorism offences by the minister
- Senate electoral reform
- increasing parliamentary entitlements for current MPs and Senators
- imprisoning immigration detention workers who record or reveal information from their work
Voted consistently against
5% or fewer of their votes supported these positions.
- increasing trade unions' powers in the workplace
- restricting foreign ownership
- increasing funding for road infrastructure
- requiring a warrant to access citizens’ telecommunications records
- building Australia’s new submarine fleet in South Australia
- protecting whales within Australian waters
- increasing the diversity of media ownership
- stopping tax avoidance or aggressive tax minimisation
Voted both ways
Positions where James’s votes fall on both sides. Each of these policies groups dozens of divisions across many years, including procedural motions and narrow amendments. Follow a link to see the votes.
Work expenses
all expenses$586,683 claimed over 4 quarters (Jul–Sep 2025 to Apr–Jun 2026), 0.99× the median for VIC.
- Employee Travel$202k
- Office Facilities$150k
- Office Administration$86k
- Scheduled Commercial Transport$52k
- Other Car Costs$46k
- Travel Allowance$36k
How to read this
- They Vote For You groups related divisions into plain-language "policies" and scores how often each member voted with that position. Those groupings are editorial judgements made by the OpenAustralia Foundation, not official parliamentary categories.
- An agreement score in the middle of the range means the member voted on both sides of that policy over time. That is normal: policies aggregate dozens of divisions across many years, including procedural motions and narrow amendments. We deliberately publish no "flip-flop" score, because when we measured it, almost every member qualified — it reflects how the scoring works, not anyone's conduct.
- Attendance excludes periods before a member was elected, but members may be absent for legitimate reasons including illness, parental leave, or official duties. A low rate is not by itself evidence of anything.
- Only members currently serving are included. A vote is recorded against the person, not the seat.
- Work expenses cover offices, staff, travel and communications. Claims are certified by the parliamentarian and administered by IPEA.
- Totals are not directly comparable between members. Electorate size drives travel costs, and ministers travel more than backbenchers. Members are therefore compared against the median for their own state or territory.
- Former parliamentarians — including former prime ministers, who retain certain entitlements — are reported separately and excluded from member comparisons.
- IPEA publishes quarterly and later issues adjustments for administrative errors. Figures for recent quarters may change slightly.
Full record for James Paterson at They Vote For You, licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL). Retrieved 2026-07-31.