Authorising and coding pre-booked Fares Allowance (FAA) entitlements for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) 010-02100070

Item

Booking Status Use

1

New

Default for individual and bulk requests created by ABSTUDY Travel and Away from Base Service Officers. Bookings in this status cannot be exported.

2

Pending Approval

Status for new bookings, amendments and cancellation requests received via ABSTUDY Smart Centre Call. Bookings in this status cannot be exported.

3

Rejected

Assign based on eligibility assessment.

Note: when assigned, this Booking Status cannot be altered. However, other booking details can be amended, such as travel date.

4

Booked

Assign after the itinerary is received from Corporate Travel Management (CTM).

5

Requested

Assign to travel request that have been exported and sent to CTM.

6

Rescheduled

Assign when a travel variation is received and the travel booking request is still in a status of Requested or Booked. Rescheduled bookings indicate that travel booking has been amended, and new details sent to CTM.

7

Cancelled

Assign when a travel cancellation is approved. Cancelled bookings will not be re-booked.

Note: when assigned, this Booking Status, or other travel details within the booking cannot be altered.

8

No Show - Penalty

Assign when an approved traveller does not undertake travel without a valid reason.

9

No Show - No Penalty

Assign when an approved traveller does not undertake travel due to circumstances beyond their control.

10

Reimbursed

Assign when a reimbursement has occurred for fares and/or additional costs after travel has been undertaken. Bookings in this status cannot be exported.

Note: when assigned, this Booking Status can only be altered to a Cancelled status. Other booking details can be amended, such as travel dates.

Item

Description

1

Booking Form - Booking Information

The Booking Information sheet contains the booking action, travel reason and institution details and is separated into three sections:

• Corporate Travel Management (CTM) Booking Information, consisting of:
  • Action - options are Booking, Amendment, Cancellation or Reimbursement
  • Travel Reason - allows selection of the various travel reasons, for example, Start of Study
  • Restricted Booking - pre-filled with Yes for Secondary Institutions, and No for Tertiary Institutions
  • Student Authorised to Call - pre-filled with No for Secondary Institutions, and Yes for Tertiary Institutions
  • Unrestricted Booking - pre-filled with No for Secondary Institutions, and Yes for Tertiary Institutions
• Institution Contact Information, completed by the institution, and consists of:
  • Education Institution Name
  • Education Institution Customer Reference Number (CRN)
  • Business Hours (B/H) Contact Name
  • B/H Contact Ph
  • After Hours (A/H) Contact Name #1
  • A/H Contact Ph #1
  • A/H Contact Name #2
  • A/H Contact Ph #2
  • Email address/addresses - CTM can issue itineraries to up to 5 email addresses. Where there is more than one, separate each email address with a comma
• ABSTUDY Smart Centre Travel Team Contact Information, pre-filled with contact details

2

Booking Form - Travel Arrangements

The Travel Arrangements sheet contains all travel information for individual travellers. It must be completed for each student and any associated travellers.

• Title
• Surname
• First Name
• DOB - must be entered in DD/MM/YYYY format
• Traveller CRN - must be provided for all travellers including non-student travellers
• Traveller Type - allows selection of the applicable traveller type, such as student, supervisor, education representative. Approved non-student dependents require their traveller type to be coded as supervisor
• Emergency Name #1
• Emergency Phone #1
• Emergency Name #2
• Emergency Phone #2
• Travel Date - must be entered in DD/MM/YYYY format
• Return Date - must be entered in DD/MM/YYYY format
• From State/Territory - prefilled drop-down options
• Travel From - prefilled drop-down options based on the State/Territory selected
• To State/Territory - prefilled drop-down options
• Travel To - prefilled drop-down options based on the State/Territory selected
• Safe Travel Plan (STP) - a Yes or No option
• Linked Travellers Reqd - a Yes or No option. Selecting Yes will allow the booking to be linked on the Linked Travellers sheet
• Travel Mode - Air, Bus, Charter, Motor Vehicle, Rail or Sea
• Comments - any requirements for the travel, for example, accommodation or transfer requirements or address details for private boarders

3

Booking Form - Linked Travellers

The Linked Travellers sheet is used to advise of travellers who will be travelling together. It can be used to pre-link travellers so that this is completed by the TMA when the Booking Form is uploaded.

Traveller 1 and Traveller 2, drop down options, contain a summary of the booking information entered on the Travel Arrangements sheet. Booking information will only display for bookings that have Yes selected in the Linked Travellers Reqd column on the Travel Arrangements sheet.

Item

Scenario

1

Change of non-student traveller

Secondary student Luke has school vacation travel booked to return home for the school holidays next week. Luke’s parent Macy is the current travel supervisor.

Luke's boarding school has submitted a request to change the supervisor as Macy can no longer travel due to work commitments. Luke's parent David will be the new travel supervisor.

The change of supervisor can be approved, however must be assessed and coded separately in the Travel Management Application (TMA). Macy's journey must be cancelled, and a new booking must be created for David.

Scenario

Description

1

No mandatory supervision in exceptional circumstance

Jahli is an 11-year-old boarding student. Jahli is currently in year 7 and boarding away from home for the first time.

Jahli's education provider has lodged a request for compassionate travel request for Jahli to return to their home community in Doomadgee, as Jahli is unwell and at risk of self-harm.

Within the travel request, the education provider has advised that Jahli's Aunt is travelling on the same flight, however this travel was not arranged with Services Australia.

The travel can be approved and prebooked without mandatory supervision for Jahli in this scenario, provided the boarding school/provider understands their responsibility to manage risks and implement the Safe Travel Plan.

2

No mandatory supervision for direct flight in exceptional circumstance

Isaia is an 11-year-old boarding student in Rockhampton. Isaia will be returning home for the school holidays. Isaia's home address is in Mount Isa.

Isaia's education provider has requested school vacation travel and has advised that there is no appropriate supervisor for Isaia. The education provider has advised that Isaia will be escorted to the Rockhampton airport by a staff member to make sure Isaia boards the flight safely. Isaia will be met at the airport in Mount Isa by their parent. The flight from Rockhampton to Mount Isa is a direct flight.

The travel can be approved and prebooked without mandatory supervision for Isaia in this scenario, provided the boarding school/provider understands their responsibility to manage risks and implement the Safe Travel Plan.

3

No mandatory supervision for flight with older experienced traveller in exceptional circumstance

Kirra is an 11-year-old boarding student in Rockhampton. Kirra is from Bwgcolman Community (Palm Island).

The education provider has lodged a request for compassionate travel for Kirra and another 17-year-old boarding student, Flossie, to travel back to Palm Island for Sorry Business.

The education provider has advised there is no appropriate supervisor available, however as Flossie is 17 and an experienced traveller both the school and the parents are comfortable for Kirra to travel with Flossie.

The travel can be approved and prebooked without mandatory supervision for Kirra in this scenario, provided the boarding school/provider understands their responsibility to manage risks and implement the Safe Travel Plan.

Scenario

Description

1

Meals supplied by airline

An education institution submits their bulk school vacation travel and requests that the students and supervisors are all booked with Qantas as this is their preferred airline. The education institution states that Qantas provides meals on board where other airlines do not.

As the student's ABSTUDY boarding entitlement is designed to cover student costs over the entire year, the request for Qantas to be booked is not approved. If a person requires meals whilst travelling, the education institution or boarding provider should arrange to cover the costs of meals in transit.

2

Request for a preferred airport transfer provider due to safety concerns

A boarding provider submits a travel request for a student to return home for compassionate reasons. Their request includes a preference for a specific airport transfer provider due to previous issues experienced with an alternative local transfer provider.

The request states that there have been incidents of dangerous driving with the previous transfer provider, and that the boarding provider does not feel that it is safe for the student to be travelling with this transfer company. The Service Officer confirms the previous incident via a complaint that was lodged by the boarding house.

The request to use a specific airport transfer provider is approved as it satisfies the criteria to ensuring students can safely access FAA.

3

Assessment of accommodation safety concerns

A school in the Northern Territory requests travel for 3 family members to visit a student at their term location in Alice Springs. The school requests a preferred accommodation provider and advises that the usual provider is not suitable.

The Service Officer contacts the school to obtain further information. The school advises that travellers have reported safety concerns at the usual accommodation provider, including signs of drug activity and inappropriate remarks from staff. They also advise that travellers have reported positive experiences at the preferred accommodation provider.

While the Service Officer considers the concerns to be genuine, the preferred accommodation provider cannot be approved solely because travellers have had better experiences there. However, the Service Officer can approve the exclusion of the usual accommodation provider, as the reported safety concerns may prevent family members from travelling safely.