An MP who allegedly made more than $54,000 in false claims for a taxpayer-funded allowance will not face court until after the South Australian election.
Troy Bell was charged with 52 counts of deception after an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) probe into the Country Members Accommodation Allowance (CMAA) late last year.
Court documents allege he collected $54,424 over five years by deceiving staff at South Australia's parliament, who approved payment of the allowance.
The independent member for Mount Gambier has previously said he would defend the charges.
"It is not immediately clear to me why a decision has been made to criminally charge me and not others, or why the authorities have waited until now to serve these charges upon me," Mr Bell said in December.
His case was adjourned in the Adelaide Magistrates Court this morning after an application was made via email by his legal team yesterday afternoon.
While the move took the prosecution by surprise, the delay until March 22 — three days after the state election — was not opposed.
Mr Bell had previously confirmed he would contest the poll as an independent.
The CMAA is a nightly payment made to regional MPs who need to be in the city overnight for work and whose usual place of residence is more than 75 kilometres from Adelaide.
Since the ABC began investigating the CMAA last year, more than $100,000 in incorrect or questionable claims have been identified, with MPs explaining the claims as administrative errors or confusion over the rules.
