PM staffers use twice as many credit cards

Credit cards were issued to one in three Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet staffers under Tony Abbott.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in an answer to a Labor question on notice in parliament on Tuesday that 32 per cent of DPMC had corporate credit cards "for legitimate business purposes" between September 2013 and January 2015.

"Credit cards are issued to staff for legitimate business purposes and within guidelines that have existed under successive governments," he said in his answer.

The department declined to provide details on how much had been spent over the period as it would be "an unreasonable diversion of resources".

An auditor-general report released in 2013 - the last major study of credit card use in the public service - found credit cards were issued to an average 16 per cent of bureaucrats across all departments.

The average spend per cardholder was $8500 a year.

The audit found most of the credit card use in DPMC was on travel and accommodation.

After the 2013 report the DPMC put in place extra controls on its credit card use and oversight.