Processing Fares Allowance and Away from Base entitlements in advance or reimbursements 010-02100050

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Reimbursing fares and additional costs associated with travel for ABSTUDY

Table 1: This table describes scenarios in which Fares Allowance and additional costs associated with travel for ABSTUDY are payable via reimbursement.

Item	Scenario
1	Customer travels on appropriate mode of transport Mikaela lodges a claim for Fares Allowance for a journey from a university in Melbourne to their permanent home in Townsville, QLD for the Christmas break. Mikaela booked and paid for a cheap, non-refundable flight costing $230. Mikaela qualifies for ABSTUDY Fares Allowance. The trip by public transport is: 45 hours via train 56 hours via bus As the train and bus service exceed the reasonable travelling time, the appropriate mode of transport is economy airfare. Mikaela is eligible for reimbursement of $230, the cost of the air ticket. Because Mikaela travelled on the appropriate mode of transport, the actual cost of the ticket is reimbursed. This is irrespective of whether a quote from Corporate Travel Management (CTM) identifies an air ticket as costing more or less than the $230 amount paid by Mikaela. The actual cost of the ticket is reimbursed and therefore obtaining a quote from CTM is not necessary.
2	Customer travels on inappropriate mode of transport and customer's ticket cost is higher than the appropriate mode of transport cost Jayden lodges a claim for Fares Allowance for the journey undertaken to start a university degree, flying from home in Canberra to the study location in Sydney. The claim is $420 for the cost of the airfare. Jayden qualifies for ABSTUDY Fares Allowance. The trip by public transport is: 4 hours via bus 4 hours via train As the journey by rail service and bus take less than 18 hours, the appropriate mode of transport is rail or bus. Jayden is not eligible for rail fare with a sleeping berth, airfare nor Motor Vehicle Allowance (MVA) for the journey. The travel providers website shows that a bus ticket is $90 and a train ticket is $110.Jayden is eligible for Fares Allowance reimbursement of $90, which is the cost of a bus ticket. This is the most cost-effective appropriate mode of transport for the journey.
3	Customer travels on inappropriate mode of transport and customer's ticket cost is lower than the appropriate mode of transport cost Nellie lodges a claim for Fares Allowance for the journey undertaken to start a university degree. Nellie's home is in Broome and the study location is in Perth. Nellie travelled by bus from Broome to Perth costing $145. Nellie qualifies for ABSTUDY Fares Allowance. The trip by public transport is: 34hours 30 minutes via bus No rail service exists As there is no rail service and the bus journey takes more than 18 hours, the appropriate mode of transport is via an economy airfare. Checks of airline websites found that the cheapest fully flexible economy airfare would cost $470. Nellie is eligible for reimbursement of Fares Allowance for the cost of the bus ticket paid, even though an airfare is the appropriate mode of transport. For journeys taken on an inappropriate mode of transport, the cheaper cost is reimbursed.
4	Calculation of Motor Vehicle Allowance (MVA) where third party transports one or more students Tanya lodges a claim for Fares Allowance for a journey undertaken with son James. Tanya and James travelled from James' permanent home in Chillagoe QLD to James boarding school in Charters Towers, to commence Term 1. They travelled in Tanya's Toyota Prado 3.4L. After dropping James at boarding school, Tanya drove back to Chillagoe. Tanya has provided fuel receipts totalling $150. James qualifies for ABSTUDY Fares Allowance. MVA is the most appropriate mode of transport for the journey as travel by public transport exceeds reasonable travel time and is more cost-effective than economy airfare. As Tanya used a private vehicle to transport a passenger qualified for ABSTUDY Fares Allowance for the journey, Tanya is eligible for: the standard rate of MVA, and an additional $0.0063 per kilometre for the distance James was transported The rate of MVA is calculated by: determining the distance in kilometres by the shortest practicable route between the locations for which MVA is approved, and multiplying that distance by the relevant MVA rate (cents per kilometre) for the engine capacity of the vehicle For example: 1038.2 km x $0.61 = $633.30, plus 519.1 km x $0.0063 = an additional $3.27. Tanya is eligible for reimbursement of ABSTUDY Fares Allowance for $636.57. Note: the above rates are current as at 1 July 2024.
5	Customer travels on inappropriate mode of transport and cost is higher than the appropriate mode of transport cost Johanna lodges a claim for Fares Allowance for the journey undertaken to start a university degree. Johanna's home is in Dubbo and the university is in Cook. Johanna travelled by private vehicle from Dubbo to Cook and provides petrol receipts totalling $110. Johanna qualifies for ABSTUDY Fares Allowance. The trip by public transport is: 8 hours 23 minutes via bus 12 hours 58 minutes via rail service As a bus journey would take less than 18 hours and a rail journey would take less than 36 hours, the appropriate mode of transport is rail or bus. Johanna is not eligible for rail fare with a sleeping berth, economy airfare nor MVA for the journey. The travel providers website shows that a bus ticket is $45 and rail is $78. Johanna is eligible for Fares Allowance reimbursement of $45, the cost of a bus ticket. This is the most cost-effective, appropriate mode of transport for the journey.
6	Organisations who claim reimbursement for multiple students The total amount must be apportioned between each student to reflect their actual individual cost. For: bulk reimbursement claims for 10 eligible students, totalling $5,000. This would be apportioned on each student’s record at $500 each and paid to the organisation bulk reimbursement claims for 10 students, totalling $5,000, however only 5 of the students are eligible. The total amount is still apportioned on each student’s record at $500 each, however 5 of these claims will be rejected, and the other 5 will be paid to the organisation reimbursement claim for a charter flight for 10 students totalling $5000, however only 5 of the students are eligible. The total amount in this case must be apportioned between the 5 eligible students at $1000 each. The other 5 students’ claims will be rejected. Note: as the total cost of the charter has already been reimbursed, any subsequent reassessment of the claim will not result in additional coding/apportionment
7	Reassessments of previously completed activities prior to the entitlement start date Aaron previously claimed Fares Allowance reimbursement for travel prior to the ABSTUDY start date totalling: Fares: $289 Accommodation: $500 Meals: $188 Aaron has now provided an invoice for their airport transfer which was not reimbursed in the original request. Aaron’s new entitlement is: Fares: $311 Accommodation: $500 Meals: $188 As the forward travel date was before the ABSTUDY start date, the Service Officer will need to create a new booking to pay the additional charges from the original assessment. The new booking will only code and pay the difference, which is $22 for fares.

Q999 letter template - institutions

Table 2:

Activity outcome

Q999 letter text

AFB activity not approved - institution

To whom it may concern,

Under Chapter 94 of the ABSTUDY Policy Manual, we are unable to approve the <residential block/placement/field trip/testing and assessment> activity held in <AFB activity location> over the period <date> to <date> as part of <level and course detail> because <insert reason>.

Include the Appeal paragraph.

Reimbursement Report

Table 3:

Item	Description
1	Create report The Reimbursement Report is sent with the Q999 letter to institutions claiming bulk reimbursements. Select the Reimbursement Report icon. For more information on reports, see ABSTUDY Operational Information (OI) reports table in Travel Management Application (TMA). Filter the Reimbursement Report to obtain the relevant travel/Away from Base activity: Travel Date Range: enter the date range of the activity as it is coded within the booking in the TMA Payee Name: match the payee name of the booking in the TMA Travel Reason: for Away from Base activities use AWAY FROM BASE, otherwise field is optional if report is for FAA reimbursements After results display, select the Download to Excel icon.
2	Check report Check the information in the Reimbursement Report to ensure it matches the claim information. Delete any rows from the Excel spreadsheet not relevant to the activity. Copy all the rows with data. Do not copy the headings. Open the FAA or AFB Reimbursement Report template: select cell A2 right click > Paste Special > Paste Values 123 Review the Reimbursement Report template, if the information is: incorrect, re-run the Reimbursement Report, see Item 1 correct, save the Reimbursement Report template in PDF format with title of ‘Institution Name - Group Booking ID’ (for example ‘Test College - Group Booking 123456’)
3	Issue report and letter Print and issue the Reimbursement Report and Q999 letter to institutions claiming bulk reimbursements via post or email. Note: the Reimbursement Report has an approved header which is visible once the document has been saved/printed. Upload a copy of the report and letter to the Organisation’s CRN on the group booking in Process Direct.

Letters and electronic messages

Services Australia has endorsed the letter or electronic message for use. It is the latest version. Do not use locally produced letters or electronic message.