Travel Accommodation, Meal and Other Expenses procedures

Guidance

The procedures cover accommodation, meal expenses and incidental allowances for domestic and international travel. They do not cover procedures for motor vehicle allowance claims.

Guidance

Non-Air Travel Application Form (Appendix E)

This form has been introduced to provide oversight of non-air travel and ensure compliance with the official travel policy and relevant procedures. It serves as a record of travel details for accountability purposes. While completing this form is not mandatory, the form content is and must still be documented and retained in an alternative format, for e.g. in an email.

Employees whose regular job duties require frequent travel within their region are not required to complete the Non-Air Travel Form or equivalent for these trips. This applies only to non-air travel directly related to their regular duties and does not extend to infrequent or out-of-the-norm travel. Travellers must ensure that all travel still complies with other applicable policies and approvals.

Principals are not required to complete the Non-Air Travel Form for intrastate overnight business travel involving fewer than three nights of accommodation. For trips exceeding three nights, approval must be sought from the line manager (Assistant Director of Education or higher) prior to travel. The regional office reserves the right to lower the number of nights that necessitate completing and submitting the Non-Air Travel Form (or equivalent) for approval.

The use of the Non-Air Travel Form for all other employees is not required where the same details and approvals are documented in an alternative written format and retained for audit purposes (achieving the same objective as the form).

Requests for overnight travel should be submitted at least two weeks prior to travel, with justification provided if this timeframe cannot be met.

Purchase cards

Frequent travellers (staff that travel five or more times per calendar year) are strongly encouraged to obtain a Department purchase card.

Where an employee holds a purchase card and the merchant accepts card payments, the employee is strongly encouraged to use it for meal expenditure related to business travel.

Purchase cards must not be used for personal expenses.

Meal and Incidentals

Where an employee is entitled to a travel allowance under the Teachers (Public Sector Primary and Secondary Education) Award 1993 (TA), Public Service Award 1992 (PSA) or applicable industrial agreements, the decision as to what travel is approved and how travel costs are met is that of the department, and not the employee.

The travelling officer is responsible for ensuring that all incurred expenses are reasonable, which includes:

•    the ability to justify that the expenditure incurred was for business purposes

•    ensuring travel costs are in accordance with award conditions and rates.

Where an employee uses a purchase card for travelling meal expenses, they are not entitled to claim any residual from the full allowance as identified in the TA or PSA or receive reimbursement for items which have already been paid for by the department.

Meals are not to be purchased on purchase card or allowances claimed where the cost has been covered by other means. For example claiming a meal allowance when attending a professional development course where meals were provided.

It is not appropriate when using a purchase card to participate in tipping or gratuities.

Purchase Card Acquittals

Purchase card aquittals must contain sufficient information to enable the manager to efficiently and effectively review purchases. This includes providing a copy of the approved travel form and itiniary, ensuring the dates align. While optional, Appendix I – Travel Expense Log for Purchase Card Acquittals of Meals and Incidental is available to assist staff in accurately recroding and acquitting travel meal and incidental expenses.

Guidance

The manager is to exercise discretion when deciding whether to approve travel expenditure.

The officer’s relevant award entitlements are to be used for guidance only purposes:

• for domestic travel the relevant award  (Teachers Award 1993 or Public Service Award 1992)
• for international travel the Australian Tax Office (ATO) Reasonable Expense Amounts for Overseas Travel Allowance rates
• expenditure does not include items not ordinarily required for the purposes of sustenance such as alcohol.

Any higher-than-expected expenditure, should be documented and justified as part of the employee’s support for consideration by the line manager. The following procedure is to be followed:

• the employee must notify their line manager as soon as they realise that their travel expenses will exceed the approved budget
• within five working days of returning, the employee must provide a written justification for higher-than-expected expenditure, either in writing or via email, with all relevant receipts and explanations attached. This documentation must be retained for audit purposes
• the line manager reviews the justification and supporting documentation to determine if the expenses were reasonable and unavoidable. The line manager either approves or rejects the additional expenditure. If uncertain, they may escalate the decision to a higher authority. Where needed, cases can be reported to Standards and Integrity
• any purchases that are excessive or not supported are deemed personal expenses and must be paid back to the Department via standard procedures. For school staff – please refer to Report personal use of a school purchase card (staff only) and for central services staff, please refer to Report personal use of a central services purchase card (staff only).
• the employee submits the expenses (purchase card acquital or application for reimbursement of expenses) through the standard expense management process.
• all related documentation must be retained according to the department’s policies.

For allowance rates please refer to Apply for travel allowance or a travel advance (staff only).

Refer to the following for the most frequently used allowance rates:

Appendix H Teachers Travel Allowances
Appendix F Public Service Officers Travel Allowances
Appendix G ATO Reasonable Amounts for Overseas Travel Expenses

Guidance

An administration officer can make bookings for approved travel for flights, accomodation and car hire on behalf of the employee.

Where the travelling officer has approval to utilise non-commercial accommodation such as staying with family and friends it is considered that the travelling officer is fully responsible for their own accommodation costs.

The relevant travel application form (Appendix B, C and E) requires approval prior to accommodation bookings being made. The appropriate form requires an estimate of costs. The manager has the discretion to allow an increase in cost up to a nominated tolerance prior to re-application being essential.

Employees are entitled to a reasonable standard of accommodation when travelling. When approving accommodation, line managers should have regard to economy, functionality and safety and take into account proximity of the accommodation to the location of work being performed. Refer to Appendices F, G and H for guidance on reasonable accommodation costs when using a purchase card.

Refer to Appendix E Non-Air Travel Application Form, Appendix B Travel Application Form – Domestic Air Travel and Appendix C – Travel Application Form – International Travel.

Short Stay Accommodation

Whenever possible, accommodation bookings should be made through the Department’s Travel Service Provider or directly with the hotel/motel. The use of short stay accommodation such as Airbnb and Stayz should only be considered where booking is not available through the Travel Service Provider or directly with the hotel/motel.

Guidance

An employee who holds a purchase card is strongly encouraged to use the purchase card for their travel-related meal expenditure, subject to the following: official travel exceeds a radius of 50 kilometres from the employee’s usual place of work

• if travel is for part of a day, calculation of allowed meal expenses is as per the part-day formula in the relevant award. Travel times are to be recorded to inform this calculation
• meals have not already been provided (for example at professional development or breakfast as part of the accomodation package)
• meal expenses have not been paid via another method such as direct billing.

Reasonable costs for a meal are guided by the officer’s relevant entitlement and are not definitive limits (please refer to Appendix F, G and H for guidance):

• for domestic travel the relevant award  (Teachers Award 1993 or Public Service Award 1992)
• for international travel the Australian Tax Office (ATO) Reasonable Expense Amounts for Overseas Travel Allowance rate
• and does not include items such as alcohol.

For clarification, 'per annum’ is considered to be the school calendar year.

In instances where the traveller does not use the purchase card for their travel-related meal expenditure, such as when an EFTPOS machine is unavailable, they may personally pay for their meal and submit a request for reimbursement. Travellers who use the purchase card for meals during a trip are not eligible to claim meal allowances. Only the purchase card expenses or approved reimbursements where the purchase card could not be used are allowed.

Expenditure reimbursement is available through:

• Central and regional services staff refer to Claim out-of-pocket work expenses in Oracle Financials (staff only)
• School staff refer to School payment voucher form (staff only)

Employees who travel frequently (five or more times per annum) are strongly encouraged to obtain a purchase card. Line managers may recommend applying for a purchase card where travel become frequent to streamline payment an acquittals.

If two officers are travelling together and only one holds a purchase card, then the officer with the purchase card may cover the meal expenses for both the travelling officers as long as prior approval has been obtained from the line manager responsible for purchase card acquitals.

Guidance

Purchase cards should only be used where incidental expenses are in excess of award rates.

Receipts are not required when claiming the incidental allowance unless they are additional incidentals that are in excess of the award rates. If additional incidentals are claimed, then the total receipts of all incidental and additional incidental expenses must be retained and only the residual amount of the total incidentals less the incidentals allowance paid should be claimed.

Additional incidental expenses are minor but necessary expenses associated with your work-related travel – for example, a car parking fee, bus ticket or a charge for using the phone or internet for work-related purposes at your overnight accommodation. Items of a personal nature should not be included, for e.g. toiletries, hotel room entertainment or snack bar.

Travellers who do not hold a purchase card refer to the following to claim additional expenses:

• Central and regional services staff Claim out-of-pocket work expenses in Oracle Financials (staff only) or via an expense claim form
• School staff School payment voucher form (staff only)