Defence Minister Peter Dutton has raised almost $28,000 in a flood fundraiser but it's unclear how the money will be distributed to victims amid questions about a group he named as the beneficiary.
Mr Dutton set up the Pine Rivers Community Flood Relief GoFundMe page for local residents and businesses impacted by the floods on February 26.
"I am organising this fundraiser so that people right across the country can support people in our community doing it tough," he wrote at the time.
The appeal raised $28,962 with Mr Dutton announcing that the Dickson Seniors Council would distribute the funds to locals who had applied via his Liberal National Party website.
The group listed as the beneficiary of the funds is not registered as a charity and a single Facebook page is its only online presence.
It's understood Mr Dutton and the Dickson Seniors Council have been hosting an annual seniors' expo in his electorate since 2002 or 2003.
"About six years ago, with a group of dedicated local residents, I established the Dickson Seniors Expo," he told federal parliament in 2008, according to Hansard.
Mr Dutton posted a local News Corp newspaper clipping about the annual event in 2018 on social media.
It said the expo showcased about 60 business and non-profit stalls for locals to "learn about the latest trends in retirement living, or to get some advice on available health services".
Queensland Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman said Mr Dutton's decision to list the Dickson Seniors Council as the beneficiary of the flood appeal funds led to the Office of Fair Trading intervening.
"The Office of Fair Trading has been in contact with the federal member for Dickson Peter Dutton, to inform him that his flood victims GoFundMe did not meet Queensland's own laws," Ms Fentiman told parliament on Tuesday.
"The Office for Fair Trading requested that he fix this ... and I note that he has done so.
"But it is so disappointing to see that rather than a minister advocate for his own government to provide much-needed funds for flood victims, he persists with a community fundraiser page that did not even meet the strict standards we have here in Queensland."
A group called Pine Rivers Community Flood Relief has now been registered in Queensland, however its still unclear how the funds will be distributed and how victims can apply.
AAP has asked Mr Dutton's office about those issues, why the Dickson Seniors Council was initially chosen to distribute the funds and if any of his parliamentary or electorate office staff are involved in running that group.
He has has also been asked whether either of his offices were involved in registering Pine Rivers Community Flood Relief.
