Determining the appropriate travel destination for ABSTUDY Fares Allowance (FAA) 010-02100080

If the customer is requesting FAA for graduation travel relating to a tertiary course, go to ABSTUDY Graduation travel. Procedure ends here.

For all other travel requests, go to Step 2.

FAA is paid to eligible students for travel, to or from their normal study location.

FAA can be approved for a journey to, or from, a temporary study location where the student is attending the school activity before seeking FAA.

Examples of school activities that can be considered a temporary study location include (but not limited to):

• work experience
• school based apprenticeship
• Country Week, or
• student in receipt of a Third Party Indigenous Scholarship and required to join a supervised group to travel to their school at the beginning of a school term

Is the student requesting travel to or from their usual study location or a temporary study location?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, FAA is not payable. See Step 8 in Table 2

FAA is paid to eligible students for travel from, or to, their permanent home. The only allowable exceptions to this are:

• unforeseen and exceptional circumstances
• an emergency or disaster
• to reunite with their immediate family who have temporarily moved
• the student cannot return to or travel from their permanent home temporarily due to adverse weather events outside of their control, or
• circumstances where it is deemed more convenient or appropriate for an approved traveller, who requires travel along their usual route, and needs to:
• terminate at a point before reaching the study location or permanent home
• commence their travel from a location along their usual route that is not their normal starting point, or
• have a break in their journey that cannot be avoided along their usual route
• Note: the usual route is defined as the:
• most practical and cost effective mode of transportation for the journey that is reasonable in the circumstances, and
• is between the study location and permanent home, or
• a location approved as destination other than the permanent home

The Resources page contains examples.

Is the student seeking FAA for one of the allowable exceptions above?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No and the student is travelling between a temporary study location and the permanent home, FAA is payable, if FAA is required to be:
• authorised and booked in advance of travel, see FAA authorised in advance of travel for ABSTUDY. Procedure ends here
• reimbursed after the travel has been undertaken, see Reimbursing fares and additional costs after travel has been undertaken for ABSTUDY. Procedure ends here
• No, see Step 1 Table 2

If the student:

• is required to travel to another location due to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances, go to Step 5.
• wishes to attend a funeral and the parents have left their permanent home to commence arrangements early, and there is no family to supervise the student, or to arrange transport for the student to the temporary location of the parents, go to Step 6
• wishes to reunite with their immediate family who have temporarily moved, go to Step 7
• is unable to return to or travel from their permanent home due to adverse weather events, go to Step 8

Where an approved traveller:

• who requires pre-booked travel along their usual route, needs to terminate at a point before reaching the study location or permanent home, or has an unavoidable break in their usual route, go to Step 9
• wishes to commence their pre-booked travel from a location along their usual route that is not their usual starting point, go to Step 9
• is not able to travel along their usual route due to an emergency or disaster, see Assessing eligibility for Fares Allowance (FAA) for ABSTUDY

Unforeseen or exceptional circumstances outside of the student's control, may prevent them from travelling to or from their permanent home. In this situation, their permanent home location does not change. FAA is payable for travel between the study location and the student's temporary location. Approval for a return journey would also apply.

Students travelling from their usual study location may be unable to reunite with their immediate family due Unforeseen or exceptional circumstances

For this to occur:

• The circumstances must be verified before approving FAA
• FAA to or from a location other than the home must be taken via the appropriate mode of transport for the journey between the temporary location and the place of study
• A student who was not previously eligible for FAA will not gain eligibility solely due to the temporary location
• FAA would not be available for travel between the permanent home and temporary location
• If the student can return to the permanent home before returning to study then FAA would again be assessed on the permanent home

For circumstances other than those listed under Unforeseen and exceptional circumstances, Travel and Away from Base Service Officers can seek approval to pay ABSTUDY Additional Assistance in lieu of FAA.

Does the student meet the above?

• Yes, go to Step 10
• No:
• FAA is not payable, see Step 8 in Table 2
• To seek approval to pay ABSTUDY Additional Assistance in lieu of FAA, go to Step 11

The temporary home where the parents are residing is effectively taken to be the permanent home for the purposes of FAA. If the student retains eligibility for FAA based on the temporary home then FAA would be payable for travel between the study location and the temporary home. A return journey would also be approved.

Points to note:

• FAA to a temporary home location must be taken via the appropriate mode of transport for the journey between the temporary home location and the place of study. The Resources page contains an example
• A student who was not previously eligible for FAA will not gain eligibility solely due to a temporary move
• FAA would not be available for travel between the permanent and temporary homes
• If the family moves back to the permanent home before the student returns to study, then FAA would again be assessed on the permanent home

Does the student meet the above?

• Yes, Go to Step 10
• No, FAA is not payable. See Step 8 in Table 2

A student's immediate family moves temporarily.

For this consideration, the move must be more than the family choosing to be in another location for short periods. It does not include such things as shopping, sporting participation, events, entertainment, or for a vacation.

A temporary move involves the family maintaining their permanent home and taking up temporary accommodation in a new location.

The types of circumstances considered as a 'temporary move' are circumstances such as:

• undertaking work in another location
• access to significant health or medical treatments
• accessing education opportunities for children
• supporting extended family through ill health, or death in the family

Has the immediate family temporarily moved due to one of the reasons above?

• Yes, go to Step 10
• No, see Step 1 in Table 2

Adverse weather events outside of the student's control, may prevent them from travelling to or from their permanent home. In this situation, their permanent home location does not change. FAA is payable for travel between the study location and the student's temporary location. Approval for a return journey would also apply.

This would include:

• cyclones
• flooding
• road closures
• airport closures/ flight grounding

Students travelling from their usual study location may be unable to reunite with their immediate family due to adverse weather events. This could include the immediate family becoming cut off within the home community due to floodwaters. Therefore, FAA may be payable for the student to travel to stay with another family member at an alternate location.

For this to occur:

• The circumstances must be verified before approving FAA
• FAA to or from a location other than the home community must be taken via the appropriate mode of transport for the journey between the temporary location and the place of study
• A student who was not previously eligible for FAA will not gain eligibility solely due to the temporary location
• FAA would not be available for travel between the permanent home and temporary location
• If the student can return to the permanent home before returning to study then FAA would again be assessed on the permanent home

Does the student meet the above:

• Yes, Go to Step 10
• No, FAA is not payable. See Step 8 in Table 2

Where it is more convenient or appropriate, and the point/location is along their usual route, an approved traveller who requires FAA can request to:

• terminate at any point before reaching the study location/permanent home
• start from any location along the usual route to permanent home or study location, or
• have a break in their journey that cannot be avoided along their usual route

Note: FAA will not cover any fares incurred after termination of the journey or before the commencement of the usual route, to and from the study location.

Points to consider:

• Determine the usual route for the journey first to ensure the point/s they need to start and/or stop are along that route
• The usual route is defined as the:
• most practical and cost effective mode of transportation for the journey that is reasonable in the circumstances, and
• is between the study location and permanent home, or
• a location approved as a destination other than the permanent home
• If the approved traveller:
• Has travel pre-booked via their usual route, but
• Now wants to change the departure or destination location to a point along their usual travel route, follow the procedures regarding variation to pre-booked travel. See Fares Allowance (FAA) authorised in advance of travel for ABSTUDY

Does the student meet the above:

• Yes, Go to Step 10
• No, FAA is not payable. See Step 8 in Table 2

Travel costs must not exceed the level of FAA entitlement for previously approved travel between the permanent home and place of study. Review itineraries on past bookings for FAA entitlement previously approved or obtain quotes from the Travel Management Company if required.

Do the travel costs exceed the level of FAA entitlement for previously approved travel?

• Yes, and:
• FAA is not payable. See Step 8 in Table 2
• To seek approval to pay ABSTUDY Additional Assistance in lieu of FAA go to Step 11
• a response has been received from Level 2 Policy Helpdesk providing approval to pay ABSTUDY Additional Assistance, go to Step 12
• a response has been received from Level 2 Policy Helpdesk declining the request to pay ABSTUDY Additional Assistance, see Step 8 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 12

Where travel costs exceed the level of FAA entitlement for previously approved travel, or for circumstances other than those listed under Unforeseen and exceptional circumstances, Travel and Away from Base Service Officers can seek approval to pay ABSTUDY Additional Assistance in lieu of FAA by completing a direct SSO referral to the ABSTUDY Travel and Away from Base SO5. See Tier 0 technical support – self-sufficiency.

Email the following template and any supporting documents and/or details of verification of the circumstance to the ABSTUDY Travel and Away from Base SO5 once the direct SSO referral has been submitted:

We are seeking approval for (traveller/s) to travel (to/from) an alternative location due to (reason).

Summary of case

• Travel dates:
• Traveller/s:
• Destination or departure location:
• Permanent home:
• Study location:
• ABSTUDY Award of student:
• Additional costs for ACM/MEA: Yes/No
• Number of nights:
• Reason for request:

The Booking Status of the traveller/s is to remain as New until a Level 2 Policy Helpdesk response is received.

Record details of the travel request on the traveller/s booking/s.

Procedure ends here.

The Student and/or approved traveller is eligible for ABSTUDY FAA

• To be authorised and booked in advance of travel, see FAA authorised in advance of travel for ABSTUDY. Procedure ends here
• To be reimbursed after the travel has been undertaken, see Reimbursing fares and additional costs after travel has been undertaken for ABSTUDY. Procedure ends here

A student's permanent home may change during the study period if the student's immediate family have moved permanently to a new residence.

Where the student's immediate family have moved house permanently, the new residence is taken to be the permanent home for FAA purposes.

Has the student completed or discontinued their course?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 4

A student who completes or discontinues their course is expected to travel home within 3 months of ceasing study.

If the student does not return to the permanent home within 3 months, it would be assumed that they remained at the study location for reasons other than for study. This suggests that they have now established their permanent home at the study location. They would, therefore, forfeit further FAA to the previous permanent home location.

Check the Student End Date field in Process Direct on the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen or in Customer First on the Education Course Details (EDC) screen to determine the date the student ceased study in the course. That date must be less than 3 months from the travel date.

Note: if the student did not return home within the 3 months due to circumstances beyond their control, such as illness or injury, they will not be regarded as having changed their permanent home. The student would need to provide a medical certificate to confirm their condition.

Has the student returned home within 3 months of ceasing study (or has been prevented from returning by circumstances beyond their control such as a verified injury or illness)?

• Yes, FAA is payable. Go to Step 7
• No, the student's permanent home is now deemed to be their current address. FAA to return to the previous permanent residence is not payable. Go to Step 8

A continuing student who does not return to the permanent home for the long vacation at the end of the year will be deemed to have established a permanent home at the study location unless they did not return because:

• they were prevented by illness or injury. A medical certificate will be required to confirm this
• they had obtained ongoing part-time employment during the study year which they would lose if they went home, or
• they must undertake a deferred exam or attend a summer school program as part of their study and appropriate study facilities are not available at home

Did the student remain at the study location at the end of the year for any other reason?

• Yes, the student's permanent home is now deemed to be their current address. FAA to return to the previous permanent residence is not payable. Go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 5

Has the student applied for and /or obtained:

• rental accommodation through the local State/Territory Housing Authority, or
• purchased housing

Note: check the Type of Rent field on the Accommodation (AC) screen to determine if student is in government housing or has purchased housing.

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 7

The student is considered to have established permanent residency at the study location.

Eligibility for state or territory housing is only available for people who declare themselves as permanent residents of the particular location offering the housing.

FAA to travel to the former permanent residence is not payable.

Go to Step 8.

The appropriate travel for FAA purposes is between the student's permanent home and the place of study.

Determine if the student requires FAA to be:

• Authorised and booked in advance of travel, or
• Costs reimbursed after the travel has been undertaken

Students claiming reimbursement will be required to complete an ABSTUDY Fares Allowance Claim (SY032).

All claims for ABSTUDY FAA are processed by an ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing Team. See Processing arrangements for ABSTUDY claims and enquiries.

Procedure ends here.

Advise the student they are not eligible for FAA, as they are not travelling to or from their usual study location and permanent home.

If the travel request has been received by ABSTUDY Smart Centre Telephony, record details of discussion on a DOC. Explain their review and appeal rights. See Initial contact about a decision and the review of decision process.

If the travel request has been received by the ABSTUDY Travel Team, finalise the travel request in the Travel Management Application (TMA) with a Booking Status of 'Rejected' and record details of the decision in the Notes tab. See Coding pre-booked Fares Allowance (FAA) entitlements for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES).