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Reimbursing fares for the use of a private vehicle or taxi for Youth Allowance (YA), Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) 010-04060060

This page contains information regarding eligibility for a customer who claims fare allowance for the use of a private vehicle or for travel by taxi.

Determining FAA for use of private vehicle or travel by taxi

For Fares Allowance Skilled Student Processing staff only

Step	Action
1	Fares Allowance eligibility Note: an Australian Apprentice is not entitled to Fares Allowance for travel related to their Australian Apprenticeship. See Assessing Eligibility for Fares Allowance for Youth Allowance (YA), Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement (PES).
2	Mode of transport Did the customer travel by public transport? Yes, see Reimbursing fares for the cheapest mode of public transport for Youth Allowance (YA), Austudy, Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) No, go to Step 3
3	Determine if private travel practicable If the student has used private transport, they need to provide information to explain why public transport was not practicable. Reasons may include: Where living necessities or personal belongings, such as essential kitchenware and bedding, need to be transported by the student from their family or permanent home in order to undertake study and it is not practicable to transport the items by public transport (for example, due to strict luggage limits or the amount of luggage is difficult to manoeuvre) If their permanent home and place of study are not connected by public transport (including rail, air, bus, ferry) Was it practicable for the student to use private transport? Yes, go to Step 4 No, see Reimbursing fares for the cheapest mode of public transport for Youth Allowance (YA), Austudy, Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) Note: if further information is required to determine the requirement to transport living/study needs, attempt to contact the customer via phone to request further evidence. If contact is unsuccessful issue a Request for evidence for private vehicle travel letter.
4	Determine amount of FAA to be paid The amount of FAA for travel by private vehicle or taxi is based on the number of kilometres travelled. Multiply the number of kilometres travelled by the appropriate per kilometre rate shown in the link to reimbursement rates on the References page. If a student provides a fuel receipt as verification of the trip, reimburse the value of the trip based on the capacity of the car and the number of kilometres travelled, not the value of the receipt.
5	Coding the reimbursement amount Record the amount of reimbursement on the system, and arrange for the customer to receive payment. For PES, go to Coding Fares Allowance (FAA) Pensioner Education Supplement (PES). Procedure ends here. For Austudy or YA: Within the customer's record, go to the One Off Payment (OOP) screen Enter the date of the payment in the Effect Date: field and FAA in the payment type: field and press [Enter] On the Assessment Results (AR) screen, select the One Off Payment field and type OOP in the Nxt: field. Press [Enter] Enter the amount to be paid in the Amount: field and press [Enter] to exit the OOP screen
6	Documenting the decision Record details of the claim and decision in a Fast Note. Select Auto Text option > Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Claims - Students > Fares Allowance GRANT. Finalise the activity.
7	Manual letter Advise the customer, in writing, of the decision of their FAA claim by sending a letter Q021 (Fares Allowance - grant/reject/pay). This advice may be tailored according to whether the claim has been approved, amended or rejected, as per approved wording.