The federal government has defended the appointment of a former senior Labor staffer to help in the transition following the party's election win last year.
Ben Hubbard, a former prime ministerial chief of staff to Julia Gillard, was contracted by the government to help ministers and their office staff engage with bureaucrats in their relevant departments and agencies.
The three Creswell Advisory contracts - with the Australian Public Service Commission, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Home Affairs - totalled just under $134,000.
The DPMC contract, which came to just under $50,000, was extended by $3100 from its original cost to take in extra travel expenses.
A Senate estimates hearing on Monday was told Mr Hubbard engaged with all ministers and their offices and delivered a report on his work, which involved ensuring the offices understood the roles and responsibilities of government departments.
Liberal senator Simon Birmingham told the hearing there was "understandable interest" in the contract.
Asked whether the report could be made public, officials took it on notice.
Cabinet minister Penny Wong said the work was not a "partisan point".
"It is about trying to make sure particularly those who have not been ministers ... are as good as we are able to be in the roles that we have," she said.
"They are big roles and challenging roles."
