Taxpayers have covered more than $425,000 in international travel for eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant and accompanying staff, with the regulator’s global trips far exceeding the overseas spending of her own minister.

Figures reported by The Daily Telegraph show eSafety spent $246,114 on international travel for Inman-Grant since November 2022, along with $179,392 for staff who joined her on selected trips. Over the same timeframe, Communications Minister Anika Wells, who has held portfolio responsibility for eSafety since mid-2022, recorded $180,000 in international travel costs.

Inman grant 420k spent on overseas travel . 11 countries.
Wow no wonder she wants to censor the internet she doesn't want you to know what's she's been up to and the enormous waste. pic.twitter.com/5HdZc1v0un

— Question (@Philssay) November 13, 2025

Inman-Grant’s itinerary spanned 11 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Singapore, Japan, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands. The travel involved meetings with major global tech players such as Apple, Google, Meta and OpenAI, as well as engagements with the United Nations, European Commission and OECD.

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Among the most expensive outings were two journeys to Davos for the World Economic Forum in 2023 and 2024, which together cost taxpayers $51,741. The 2024 event featured keynote speeches from Chinese Premier Li Qiang, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

An eSafety spokesman told News Corp that Inman-Grant’s visits to corporate headquarters and major global events were designed to “maximise her engagement and have these important negotiations”. The spokesman said, “Consistent with eSafety’s remit, the commissioner is required to undertake regular travel within Australia and, less frequently, overseas to meet key industry decision makers, community representatives, researchers, law enforcement partners and fellow regulators, and to attend public forums as a global leader in online safety education and regulation”.

What the hell is Inman-Grant doing going to Davos, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Singapore, Japan, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands, on the taxpayers cent?

Her remit only covers Australia! The courts have confirmed that!

She should be made to pay for this travel herself! pic.twitter.com/CLSFJym8Pe

— John Banks (@John_Banks12) November 13, 2025

The spokesman added, “It is engaging with company decision makers and engineers at corporate headquarters, or at global conferences where they convene, where the eSafety Commissioner can maximise her engagement and have these important negotiations,” claiming that “The vast majority of international conferences and speaking engagements she is invited to, she declines, so strategically builds trips to maximise her engagement overseas.”

In response to questions put to Wells, a government spokesman distanced themselves from eSafety’s ‘independence,’ saying the agency is “an independent statutory authority”, and that its travel is governed by the Remuneration Tribunal (Official Travel) Determination 2024.