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Approval of ABSTUDY Away from Base assistance 010-02070050

This document outlines the process for approving ABSTUDY Away from Base assistance.

On this page:

Benefit determination

Residential expenses package assessment

Assessment of travel allowance

Single room accommodation and intra-stay transport

Payment of Away from Base funding

Assessing request for non-income tested Living Allowance

Benefit determination

Table 1

Step	Action
1	Non-income tested Living Allowance Is the student claiming non-income tested Living Allowance? Yes, see Table 6 No, to assess: accommodation and meals, go to Step 2 single room accommodation requests, see Table 4 > Step 1 reimbursement of daily travel between off campus accommodation and the education provider (intra stay transport) for a residential school, see Table 4 > Step 4
2	Period of entitlement Away from Base assistance covers the duration of the activity, including: reasonable travel time between the permanent home and activity location accommodation and meals from the first overnight stay up to and including the last overnight stay, including days that fall on a weekend during an approved activity unavoidable overnight stays in transit to or from the activity. This may be due to travel provider availability or transport schedules. Discretion should be used when assessing an overnight stay for this reason. See the Resources page for an example. Note: these stays are not included in annual limits on Away from Base assistance Any accommodation and meals that do not meet the above cannot be paid. Partial funding may be approved, and the balance must be met by the education provider or student. Has the education provider arranged a residential package for accommodation and meals? Yes, See Table 2 No, go to Step 3
3	Activity or participant type Education providers must arrange a residential expenses package for accommodation and meals at a reasonable cost for each student and/or non-student beneficiary per day of the activity unless it would be unreasonable, impractical or not cost effective. This may apply where: a student is undertaking an activity alone for a: placement activity mainstream field trip or residential school where they are the only Indigenous student testing activity with an institution for a mainstream course multiple students are undertaking an activity in separate locations an education provider representative is delivering an activity in a community See the Resources page for examples. Is it unreasonable, impractical or not cost effective for the education provider to arrange a residential package? Yes, go to Step 6 No, go to Step 4
4	Activity location A residential expenses package is not required if the activity is being undertaken in a location where no service providers can, or will, provide a residential expenses package. For example, an activity held in a remote location with limited or no providers able or willing to deliver both accommodation and meals. See the Resources page for an example. Does the location make it unreasonable or impractical to arrange a residential package? Yes, go to Step 6 No, go to Step 5
5	Multiple locations A residential expenses package is not required if: the activity occurs in multiple locations, and no one service provider is responsible for all accommodation and meals throughout the activity. For example, a field trip that spends 3 days in one location and 3 days in another location it is unreasonable or impractical to arrange multiple service providers for accommodation and meals Do multiple locations make a residential package unreasonable or impractical? Yes, go to Step 6 No, the education provider is required to arrange a residential expenses package, as it is reasonable, practical and cost effective. See Table 2
6	Exceptional circumstances It is unreasonable, impractical or not cost effective for a residential expenses package to be arranged for the activity. Accommodation and meal costs will be funded by payment of daily travel allowance. Has the education provider supplied a list of students or are student details known? Yes, See Table 3 No: Tell the person requesting the funding that travel allowance cannot be paid until this information is provided Record details on a DOC on the Organisation record Procedure ends here

Residential expenses package assessment

Table 2

Step	Action
1	Residential expenses package The residential expenses package must include the reasonable cost of accommodation and meals. In some circumstances, the residential package cannot provide all main meals on all days of the activity. For example, a lone hotel in a remote location may be able to provide accommodation, breakfast and dinner, but cannot provide lunch. In these cases, meal allowance is paid to the education provider for any meals not included in the package. Go to Step 2.
2	Travel Allowance calculator See the Resources page for a link to the Travel Allowance calculator. Enter the following information in these fields: Number of Students: the number of participants being assessed Departure and Return dates: the start and end dates of the activity Start time: 06:00am End time: 08:00pm Go to Step 3.
3	Daily rates Travel allowance is a set daily amount payable for accommodation and meals. The rate is determined by the location of the activity and is adjusted each financial year. Although it is used to determine whether costs are reasonable, only the actual accommodation is meal costs are payable. See the Resources page for a link to Australian Taxation Office (ATO) travel allowance rates for the relevant financial year and tables with aspects that are applicable. If the approved activity is occurring in the next financial year and corresponding rates are not published, calculate the travel allowance using current year rates. In the Travel Allowance calculator, fill in the following under Expenses using the ATO rate for the activity location: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Accommodation Note: travel allowance is payable for up to 21 days at the rate set for the specific location. Activities that exceed 21 days can only access 50% of the rate of applicable travel allowance. The Travel Allowance calculator will calculate the 50% rate after day 21. It does not need to be calculated manually. Go to Step 4.
4	Reasonable costs Calculate a separate payment of meal allowance for any main meals not included in the residential expenses package. Residential expenses can only be approved where costs are reasonable. Compare the cost of the residential expenses package, including any separate payment of meals with the rate calculated in the Travel Allowance calculator. Is the cost of the residential package reasonable? Yes, the residential package is approved and the actual cost of accommodation and meals can be paid. See Table 5 No, go to Step 5
5	Residential expenses package not approved The Away from Base activity cannot be approved unless a residential expenses package with reasonable costs is included in the Submission for Away from Base Activity funding form (SY034). Procedure ends here.

Assessment of travel allowance

Table 3

Step	Action
1	Travel allowance Travel allowance is a set daily amount payable for accommodation and meals, regardless of the actual cost incurred by the student(s) and/or non-student beneficiaries. The daily rate is determined by the location of the activity and is adjusted each financial year. Note: meal allowance can be paid for those main meals not provided by a hotel/motel. That is, if breakfast is included in the room cost, the breakfast component is not payable. The calculation must include the correct meal allowance component based on the participants departure and arrival times where known. Go to Step 2.
2	Travel Allowance calculator See the Resources page for a link to the Travel Allowance calculator to determine the travel allowance entitlement. Enter the following information in these fields: Number of Students: 1 Departure and Return dates: enter the dates of the travel to and from the activity Start time: enter the travel start time from the home address to the transport hub on the day of the departing journey by adding: 60 minutes before scheduled departure if home address (or equivalent) is outside a capital city 90 minutes prior to departure if home address (or equivalent) is in a capital city End time: enter the travel end time from the transport hub to the home address on the day of the returning journey by adding: 30 minutes after arrival at transport hub if living outside a capital city 60 minutes after arrival at transport hub if living in a capital city If the start and end times are unknown, attempt to contact the customer to confirm this information. Are start and end time available? Yes, code the calculator as advised above, go to Step 3 No, code the start and end time as 12:00PM, go to Step 3
3	Daily rate See the Resources page for a link to the relevant Australian Taxation Office (ATO) travel allowance rates for the relevant financial year and aspects that are applicable. If the approved activity is occurring in the next financial year and corresponding rates are not published, calculate the travel allowance using the current year rates. In the Travel Allowance calculator, enter the following under Expenses using the ATO rate for the activity location. Do not include expenses pre-paid by Services Australia: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Accommodation Note: travel allowance is payable for up to 21 days at the rate set for the specific location. Activities that exceed 21 days can only access 50% of the rate of applicable travel allowance. The Travel Allowance calculator will calculate the 50% rate after day 21. It does not need to be calculated manually. The total travel allowance entitlement has been calculated. For payment methods, see Table 5.

Single room accommodation and intra-stay transport

Table 4

Step	Action
1	Assessing single room accommodation Single room accommodation may be approved where: the education provider has received a group discount for booking multiple rooms, and/or a student or non-student beneficiary has a verifiable medical, cultural or other issue requiring this Evidence must be supplied by education providers that demonstrates they have received a group discount. This includes but is not limited to: written confirmation from the accommodation provider accommodation contracts quotes/tax invoices that show a discount has been applied to accommodation Where a student or non-student beneficiary requires a single room for a medical, cultural or other reason, advice of this in writing from the education provider is sufficient verification. No further information is required. Does the request for single room accommodation meet one of the above requirements? Yes, go to Step 2 No, go to Step 3
2	Recording single room approval Select the relevant option below: New travel requests Access the booking in the TMA. On the Overview tab, record the following information in the Travel Critical Information field: 'Single Room approved for <course/activity, DD/MM/YYYY>. See DOA DOC dated <DD/MM/YYYY>.' Select Save If the initial assessment did not include approval for single room accommodation, update the AFB Approval in Principle DOA DOC using the 'AIP DOC Annotation: Away from Base Travel Approved' template. For the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards, see the Resources page Procedure ends here No travel request made by the student or non-student beneficiary, and previous travel recorded in TMA Access the TMA and select the most recent Booking ID# On the Overview tab, record the following information in the Travel Critical Information field: 'Single Room approved for <course/activity, DD/MM/YYYY>. See DOA DOC dated <DD/MM/YYYY>.' Select Save If the initial assessment did not include approval for single room accommodation, update the AFB Approval in Principle DOA DOC using the 'AIP DOC Annotation: Away from Base Travel Approved' template. For the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards, see the Resources page Procedure ends here No travel request made by the student or non-student beneficiary, and no previous travel recorded in TMA Annotate the AFB Approval in Principle DOA DOC using the 'AIP DOC Annotation: Away from Base Travel Approved' template. For the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards, see the Resources page Procedure ends here
3	Recording single room accommodation rejection Tell the person who has requested the assessment that accommodation must be arranged on a twin share basis. If single rooms are booked, the cost will not be reimbursed unless additional information is provided to support the reassessment. Record details of the decision in an annotation on the Approval in Principle DOA DOC. For: individuals, do this on the student or non-student beneficiary's record groups, do this on the Organisation and student or non-student beneficiary's records Notify the education provider of the decision via email using the Request for Single Accommodation template. Procedure ends here.
4	Assessing intra-stay transport Where an education institution is conducting a residential school, and accommodation is arranged at an off-campus location, the cost of travel between the accommodation and education provider for each day of the activity may be met where: there is no suitable and convenient form of public transport, and the education institution arranges the transport, and the costs of the transport are reasonable and can be justified To determine if the travel meets the above, see the Resources page for a link to the journey planner for information about available public transport. Is there suitable and convenient public transport? Yes, the education provider is entitled to reimbursement of the daily ticket cost(s) per student. Procedure ends here No, go to Step 5
5	Determine costs for comparison A cost comparison must be completed to determine whether the transport arranged by the education provider is cost effective. To complete the cost comparison: determine costs payable based on the mode of transport arranged by the provider, for example a hired bus email Corporate Travel Management (CTM) using the Request for Quote email template. Request the cost of providing transport between the accommodation provider and campus each day. Note: a quote should only be requested if the most recent comparable quote was obtained more than 12 months prior to activity start date. A comparable quote is between the same accommodation provider, and campus and the vehicle used must cater for the number of students in the reimbursement claim compare the cost of the transport arranged by the institution and quote provided by CTM to determine which is the most cost effective the education institution is eligible for reimbursement at the rate of the most cost effective mode of transport Go to Step 6.
6	Recording intra-stay transport assessment outcome The outcome of the cost comparison must be recorded so that it can be used by other Away from Base Officers where required. To record the outcome, check the Organisation record for a Display on Access (DOA) DOC. If the DOA DOC: has not been created, add a DOA DOC on the Organisation record with details of the cost comparison is already created, record the details in an annotation Procedure ends here.

Payment of Away from Base funding

Table 5

Step	Action
1	Funding method Has payment in advance been requested? Yes, go to Step 2 No, go to Step 6
2	Closing date for advance payment Education providers and students must lodge submissions for Away from Base assistance by the closing date. The timeframes are deemed to be met if: unforeseen or exceptional circumstances have occurred, which disadvantaged the customer lodging the request in time, or by not paying the assistance in advance, it would cause the student to disengage from the study Note: if a claim is accepted within these timeframes, it may not be possible to make payment prior to the activity commencing. Have the timeframes been met? Yes, for payment in advance requested by: an education provider, go to Step 4 a student, go to Step 5 No, go to Step 3
3	Advance payment closing date not met Payment in advance is not approved. The customer will need to pay for the activity and seek reimbursement after it is completed. Make genuine attempts to contact the customer to tell them the outcome. See Advising verbally of an unfavourable decision. For a request from: a student: reject the request for travel allowance, see Processing Fares Allowance and Away from Base entitlements in advance or reimbursements send a Q888 Activity not approved - individual letter an education provider: send an email using the Away from Base assistance not approved (42 days notice) template record details on a DOC on the Organisation record Procedure ends here.
4	Verification of costing If the residential expenses package will cost: $10,000 or less, the customer must provide a single written quote with the submission. However, Services Australia can request additional quotes if it is considered that a more cost effective package could be arranged greater than $10,000 but not exceed $100,000, 3 written quotes are required $100,000 or greater, a formal tender process must be used Has the education provider submitted the necessary verification? Yes, payment in advance is approved. Go to Step 5 No, payment in advance cannot be approved until necessary documentation has been provided: Notify the education provider of the decision via email using the Additional quotes required template Record details on a DOC on the Organisation record Procedure ends here
5	Payment in advance Payments in advance normally only includes funding for accommodation and meals. Fares can be arranged separately and authorised in advance through Corporate Travel Management (CTM). However, if a chartered transport service is required as part of the activity (e.g. a field trip), this can be included as part of the lump sum payment. If participant details have: been supplied, finalise the assessment and issue approved funding. See Processing Fares Allowance and Away from Base entitlements in advance or reimbursements not been supplied: tell the person requesting the funding that assistance cannot be paid until these details are provided record details on the AFB Approval in Principle DOA DOC on the Organisation record Procedure end here.
6	Reimbursement Reimbursement of Away from Base funding can only be paid where proof of payment is provided. Paid tax invoices, original receipts and accounts verifying expenses must be lodged. Quotes and purchase orders are not considered proof of payment. Education providers must confirm: that the participant(s) undertook the activity the period and location(s) of the activity Education providers or individual students remain eligible for reimbursement where the information is provided to state the student has fully participated. This also applies when students who travel to the activity but were absent for one or more days, due to ill health or another similar reason. Finalise the assessment and process the claim, see Processing Fares Allowance and Away from Base entitlements in advance or reimbursements.

Assessing request for non-income tested Living Allowance

Table 6

Step	Action
1	Requirement to make a request Only students who have been assessed as eligible to attend an approved Away from Base activity can claim non-income tested Living Allowance. Non-income tested Living Allowance does not affect the education providers submission for approval of an activity, or part of the claim for accommodation and meal costs. Individual qualifying students must make a verbal or written request for non-income tested Living Allowance to be assessed. Has a request for non-income tested Living Allowance been made? Yes, go to Step 2 No, the student is not eligible for payment of non-income tested Living Allowance. Procedure ends here
2	Loss of normal source of income A student can qualify if they will lose their normal source of income while undertaking the approved activity. The normal source of income must be derived from either: a form of Australian Government assistance (for example, Department of Social Services), or employment (that has no study leave provision and the student is required to access leave without pay to participate) Will the student lose their normal source of income from one of the above sources while undertaking the activity? Yes, go to Step 3 No, go to Step 5
3	Confirmation of loss of income The student will be required to confirm the loss of income for the period of the activity. This can occur by either: providing a letter from their employer(s), or confirmation from the government agency responsible for the student's income support payment Has the student's cessation of income been confirmed? Yes, go to Step 4 No, go to Step 5
4	Confirmation of leave A student whose income source is employment, must provide written confirmation from their employer that paid study leave is not available, and that they have been required to access leave without pay to attend the activity. This must also list the days of unpaid study leave granted. Has the confirmation regarding leave been provided by the employer? Yes, go to Step 6 No, go to Step 5
5	Not eligible for Living Allowance payment The student is not eligible for payment of non-income tested Living Allowance. Advise the student of the outcome: via a Q999 Non-income test Living Allowance - Rejected letter that non-income tested Living Allowance is not approved of their review and appeal rights. See Review of ABSTUDY and Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) decisions Record the outcome of the assessment on the student's record. Create a Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > ABSTUDY Travel > AFB Living Allowance Procedure ends here.
6	Eligible for non-income tested Living Allowance The student is eligible for non-income tested Living Allowance for the Away from Base activities. Determine the student's maximum rate of ABSTUDY Living Allowance based on their age and status. Note: the maximum rate of Living Allowance is not affected by any means testing. Calculate the daily rate of the applicable regular Living Allowance for the student by dividing the fortnightly rate by 14. Multiply the daily rate by the number of days of the activity for which the student has lost their source of income. Note: for travelling days include any additional time outside of the actual period of the activity that requires a student to travel from their permanent home to the location of the activity. A student will be required to utilise the appropriate mode of transport for the journey. They must undertake travel at a time that will allow arrival at the destination as close as reasonable to the commencement period of the activity. The result is the maximum amount of non-income tested Living Allowance payable for the activity.
7	Payment of non-income tested Living Allowance Due to system limitations the Living Allowance payment must be coded on the Payment Adjustment (PYAJ) screen. The payment will be delivered within two business days and show on the Payment Summary (PS) screen. Note: when using the PYAJ screen the date keyed cannot be a date in the future. If paying non-income tested Living Allowance for a future date, adjust the dates accordingly on the PYAJ screen. Add the actual dates the payment is for in the Reason for Payment field. To make the payment using the PYAJ screen, see Using the Payment Adjustment (PYAJ) screen, then complete the steps below. Record the outcome of the assessment on the student's record. Create a Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > ABSTUDY Travel > AFB Living Allowance. Advise the student of the rate and period of payment of non-income tested Living Allowance via a Q999 Non-income test Living Allowance - Approved letter.