Victoria’s former deputy speaker Don Nardella has agreed to repay nearly $100,000 he claimed in second residence allowances, despite his “ardent belief” that he followed all the rules.

The disgraced MP, who now sits as an independent, has reportedly struck a deal to repay in instalments the $98,000 he claimed in parliamentary allowances.

It’s understood Mr Nardella will repay the money by taking a pay cut between now and the November 2018 election.

He will also pay a further $16,000 as a lump sum by November 24 next year.

The Melton MP, in Melbourne’s western suburbs, claimed $175,000 in living allowanced intended for country MPs for a home in the Ballarat suburb of Lake Wendouree and an Ocean Grove caravan park.

He was forced to resign from the parliamentary Labor Party more than two months ago after he refused to repay the money.

Mr Nardella said he still believed he had done nothing wrong.

“I have taken this decision despite my ardent belief that I followed at all times the regulations as set down by the Parliament,” he said in a statement.

“I always sought and fully accepted advice from the Parliament of Victoria to make sure I was within the administrative guidelines.”

But Mr Nardella said the issue was distracting from the “excellent work” of the Government.

“Although I am confident that I have always acted within the rules of the Parliament, I must now address the significantly negative impact and distraction that my position is having on my family, friends and colleagues in the Labor Caucus and within the Andrews Government,” he said.

“The past several weeks have been very stressful and difficult for my family and I now wish to continue focusing on looking after the needs of my constituents and electorate.”

Opposition push for sacking, police investigation

Shadow attorney-general John Pesutto said it was “almost as if he’s on Easy Street, repaying this money back”.

“If that’s not bad enough, he gets to keep his job. And Don Nardella does not deserve to keep his job.

“It took Don Nardella many, many weeks to finally admit that he’s got to pay the money back,” he said, adding the Coalition would continue to push for a police investigation.

Earlier this week, Premier Daniel Andrews said the Parliament would vote to recover the money Mr Nardella claimed under the allowance if he did not repay it himself.

“If he does not pay that money back before these bills come into the Parliament in just a couple of months’ time, I think all of us across the Parliament will take that out of Mr Nardella’s hands and we will recover that money,” he said.

Mr Andrews announced sweeping changes to the MP entitlements on Monday, forcing MPs who have been wrongly paid perks to repay the money.

Cabinet ministers agreed to establish an independent remuneration tribunal to set salaries and allowances as a result of the expenses scandal surrounding former speaker Telmo Languiller and Mr Nardella.

In other changes, only regional MPs would be eligible for a second residence allowance, and travel entitlements would be tightened.

Mr Nardella said he fully supported the proposed reforms, saying they would “make the system transparent and clearer and remove any ambiguity”.