Anika Wells claimed more than $8500 in family travel expenses to Melbourne during AFL grand final weekends in 2022, 2023 and 2024, when she received free suite tickets to the matches.

The minister for communications and sport has stood by her use of family travel expenses as within the rules, but the Coalition opposition is demanding reforms to expense rules and an inquiry into Wells’ spending by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, the parliamentary body which tracks and reports politicians’ spending on travel and office expenses.

On Monday, the Nine newspapers reported Wells had used family travel entitlements – available to all MPs to help politicians remain connected with their families – to fly her husband from Brisbane to Melbourne for the Boxing Day cricket test matches in 2022 and 2024.

It came after revelations Wells had used the entitlement to fly family members to the Thredbo ski resort and the Melbourne Formula One grand prix, as well as scrutiny on her travel to to France for sporting events, to Adelaide for meetings coinciding with a friend’s birthday, and nearly $100,000 in airfares for the minister and two staff to fly to New York City.

Wells, as minister for sport, is invited to numerous major matches and tournaments by stakeholders, and does not claim family travel expenses for the vast majority of those.

But Guardian Australia can reveal Brisbane-based Wells also charged taxpayers to fly family members to Melbourne on the weekends of the AFL grand finals in 2022, 2023 and 2024, following analysis of Wells’ register of parliamentary interests and IPEA reports.

Her register of interests declares “2 x Corporate Suite tickets to 2022 AFL Grand Final as guest of AFL” on 24 September that year. Her IPEA report for that period shows a “family traveller” expense of $2,913.68, for travel from Brisbane to Melbourne on 24 September, and a Melbourne to Brisbane leg the following day.

In 2023, Wells declared “2 x Suite tickets to 2023 AFL Grand Final as guest of Australian Football League” on her register of interests. That game, held on 30 September, coincided with four family traveller expenses, for travel between Brisbane and Melbourne on 27 September, and returning from Melbourne to Brisbane on 1 October. The total bill for the four expense claims was $3537.15.

In 2024, Wells declared “2 Tickets to 2024 AFL Grand Final – Guest of the AFL” on her register. That year’s game was held on 28 September. Wells claimed $2126.70 for family travel from Brisbane to Melbourne on 28 September, and returning to Brisbane that same day.

The total bill for family travel to Melbourne coinciding with AFL grand final weekends came to $8577.53.

Wells’ office was contacted for comment.

The family travel rules, according to IPEA, annually allow for nine business class return airfares to Canberra for a parliamentarian’s spouse or nominees, plus three economy fares for each child, from their home city. For travel to destinations outside Canberra, parliamentarians are allowed to claim a total of three return business class airfares in total, not each family member.

There is no suggestion Wells contravened these rules.

“Family reunion travel can be accessed where: the parliamentarian is travelling for the dominant purpose of conducting parliamentary business, and; the family member/s travels to accompany or join the parliamentarian, and; travel is for the dominant purpose of facilitating the family life of the parliamentarian,” according to IPEA’s website.

In a Sky News interview on Sunday, the minister defended her use of the travel allowance, saying she “used my family reunion entitlement within the guidelines, as every parliamentarian can do” for her family’s trip to Thredbo.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese, speaking on the ABC, also backed Wells’ travel to the United Nations and Thredbo, noting the trips were to promote the government’s world-leading social media ban for under-16s and to announce funding for Paralympic sport respectively. Asked about the family travel spending, Albanese replied: “there are family reunion entitlements available. All of the travel was within guidelines.”

Liberal senator Maria Kovacic urged Wells to self-refer her travel spending to IPEA.

“This does not meet community expectations. Australians believe that it is fine, in my view, for parliamentarians to actually be able to spend time with their families. But this is a very different scenario.”

Shadow communications Melissa McIntosh called for a review of travel guidelines and for parliament to “tighten them up”.

“With the Minister, you can’t just say this in the guidelines when your husband’s going with you to the cricket and to the F1… that’s not really what it’s meant to be about,” she told 2CC radio.

“I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt when her kids, you know she’s a mum as well, but now seeing her husband has gone off to the F1 and the cricket, I’ve probably lost any support for her on these ones.”