Labor Minister Lauren Moss charged taxpayers more than $360,000 to fit out her new electorate office after moving locations earlier this month, government documents show.

The massive bill was more than enough to hire two cops for more than a year and $140,000 more than the Fyles Government committed to community suicide prevention programs this financial year.

Ms Moss recently opened her new Casuarina Village electorate office on Bradshaw Terrace after moving earlier this month from Casuarina Plaza on the corner of Trower Rd and Vanderlin Dr.

It was unclear why the move was necessary after the Casuarina Plaza building had recently undergone renovations.

Ms Moss, who is Environment Minister and also the Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and Youth and Seniors, released a statement in August celebrating annual grant funding of $222,750 for programs and activities to address suicide prevention across the entire Northern Territory.

According to tenders awarded by the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, the contract for the office fit outs was awarded to Maxcon Constructions for $362,340 in June. It was put through a public tender process.

In January 2021, it was revealed that Infrastructure Minister Eva Lawler charged taxpayers $308,832 for her new office fit out at Gateway Shopping Centre, which was more than double what the government paid to have a youth drop-in centre fitted out down the road around the same time.

That office fit out contract was not put out to public tender which permitted Gateway to charge whatever it wanted to fit out the tiny office space and was on top of monthly lease rates that have never been disclosed.

The tender details for Ms Moss’s office fit out show that her electorate office was moved into “an existing tenancy” at Casuarina Village and that the works included “new partitions, doors and ceilings, water and sewer connection, new air conditioning system, fixed furniture, glass security screens, security duress, data and communications plus floor coverings”.

DIPL chief executive Andrew Kirkman did not respond to questions about why the office fit out would cost $362,000, or why the government did not seek to delay or withdraw the fit out when the figure came in.

By comparison, earlier this year it was revealed at Estimates that Labor Member for Blain Mark Turner moved his office into another space at Oasis Shopping Centre at no cost to taxpayers, with the centre picking up the costs of the office fit out.

Ms Moss also did not respond to questions, including whether anyone in her office had sought to find a more cost efficient solution for taxpayers and how she could justify $362,000 being spent on an office, while committing $225,000 to be spent on suicide prevention programs for the year.

She also would not say why her office needed to be relocated.