Industry, innovation and science minister Greg Hunt has charged taxpayers in excess of $20,000 for more than a decade of travel to Queensland for him and his family, according to reports.

News Corp reported Mr Hunt had visited Queensland holiday resorts 12 times in a period of 15 years with his family. The total cost of all his and his family’s travel to Queensland holiday areas was more than $20,000.

A spokesman for the former environment minister Mr Hunt told News Corp the MP “used this [Noosa] as a base for multiple electorate or portfolio visits, events or meetings over a number of days”.

Records showed Mr Hunt had charged taxpayers to travel to Noosa five times and Hayman Island six times. Hayman Island hosts the ADC Forum which Mr Hunt attended in between 2003-2016.

Mr Hunt was accompanied by family on four of those trips. His four night trip with his family to Hayman Island in 2012 cost taxpayers nearly $5000.

Labor frontbencher Michelle Rowland has also been exposed for charging taxpayers $7000 in September 2015 for a business class trip to Perth for her and her family.

Ms Rowland went to Perth to speak at a campaign function for a West Australian Labor candidate.

Mr Hunt nor Ms Rowland broke any rules with their travel bills.

The revelations come as health minister Sussan Ley stepped down from her portfolio to allow an investigation into her travel expenses to the Gold Coast.

Ms Ley bought an apartment on the Gold Coast while travelling on ministerial business in 2015.

Ms Rowland is under fire for a travel expense. Photo: AAP

Current entitlement rules allow families to travel at the taxpayers expense with MPs and senators on some trips.

This is due to the “non-family-friendly- nature of the job.

The yearly family travel budget is calculated on the basis of nine business-class return trips to Canberra for a spouse or partner, and three business-class return trips for each child.

Family members can also accompany politicians on three interstate business-class return trips annually.

The government has pledged to make changes the parliamentary entitlements rules in the first half of 2016.

Julie Bishop, Peter Dutton and Mathias Cormann have also been embroiled in expenses controversies this week.