Travel Management Application (TMA) 010-20081213

On finalisation of a travel booking, Corporate Travel Management (CTM) sends an email with the itinerary attached to:

• Services Australia via the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox, and
• the traveller, or
• the third party responsible for arranging the travel. For example, the education institution or hostel

CTM aim to issue itineraries 2 business days prior to the requested travel date.

On receipt of all itineraries from CTM, the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Travel Team must:

• check the itinerary for accuracy against the booking request
• upload the itinerary to the travel booking

To view an itinerary for a travel booking, see the Adding attachments in the TMA table.

For enquiries about itineraries, go to Step 2.

To check an itinerary, go to Step 5.

If a person requesting travel contacts the ABSTUDY Smart Centre, Travel or Away from Base Teams to advise that an itinerary:

• is incorrect:
• check the Notes tab on the Booking in the TMA for any details about the discrepancy. For example, alternative travel dates have been booked due to flight availability
• ABSTUDY Smart Centre Service Officers, if there are no notes or the customer would like to discuss the discrepancy further, use the Services Australia Workspace Transfer Options list to warm transfer the customer to the ABSTUDY Travel or Away from Base Teams. Procedure ends here
• ABSTUDY Travel and Away from Base Service Officers, if there are no notes go to Step 5
• has not been received and the requested travel date is 3 or more business days in the future:
• tell them to contact again 2 business days prior to the requested travel date if this has still not been received
  Note: if a third party arranged the travel, for example an education institution or hostel, the customer must contact the provider to ask for the itinerary
• procedure ends here
• has not been received and it is 2 business days or less before the requested travel date, check the Booking Status in the TMA. If this is:
• Requested or Rescheduled, go to Step 3
• Booked, go to Step 4

A TMA Booking Status of Requested or Rescheduled may mean that an itinerary has not been issued. However, it may also be pending getting checked and uploaded to the booking.

ABSTUDY Smart Centre Service Officers must ask the customer to check their junk/spam email folder in the first instance. If they cannot locate the itinerary, use the Services Australia Workspace Transfer Options list to warm transfer the call to the ABSTUDY Travel or Away from Base Teams.

ABSTUDY Travel and Away from Base Service Officers must check the Itineraries folder in the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox to confirm the itinerary has not been issued. If the itinerary cannot be located, contact CTM by phone to issue the itinerary.

If the itinerary has:

• been issued but not received by the traveller or third party, go to Step 4
• been received and is:
• incorrect, ABSTUDY Smart Centre Service Officers must check the Notes tab on the Booking in the TMA for any details about the discrepancy. If there are no notes or the traveller would like to discuss the discrepancy further, use the Services Australia Workspace Transfer Options list to warm transfer the customer to the ABSTUDY Travel or Away from Base Teams. Procedure ends here
• incorrect, ABSTUDY Travel and Away from Base Service Officers, go to Step 5
• correct, procedure ends here

A TMA Booking Status of Booked means the itinerary has been issued, checked and uploaded to the booking. If the person requesting travel has not received the itinerary this must be reissued. The actions needed are determined by whether the student:

• boards at a school/hostel
• is in receipt of an approved third-party Indigenous Scholarship
• boards privately
• is a tertiary student

Note: send all emails using the OFFICIAL security classification.

To re-issue an itinerary for:

• secondary school students and their associated non-student travellers boarding at a school/hostel or receiving an approved Third Party Indigenous Scholarship:
• The traveller must contact the provider who requested the travel to ask for the itinerary
• If the provider has not received the itinerary, ABSTUDY Travel Service Officers must email a copy to the provider from the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox. Use the Reissuing an itinerary template
• bulk or group bookings of 10 or more travellers, ABSTUDY Travel and Away from Base Service Officers must email CTM from the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox using the Itineraries not received template. A copy of the itineraries will be sent to the education/boarding provider
• tertiary students or secondary students boarding privately:
• view the itinerary in the Documents tab in the TMA and provide the itinerary details over the phone. See Step 2 in Adding attachments in the TMA table
• email a copy of the itinerary to the traveller from the ABSTUDY Secondary mailbox. Use the Reissuing an itinerary template
• tell the traveller the itinerary can be printed at a Services Australia Service Centre if required

Procedure ends here.

All itineraries received from CTM must be checked against the booking request to ensure locations, dates, times, transfers and accommodation meet the required booking specifications.

Before checking an itinerary, search the Itineraries folder for the traveller’s name. If more than one itinerary has been received for the same traveller and travel date/s, Service Officers only need to check the most recently received version. All earlier emails must be filed in the Completed Itineraries folder.

The following must be checked:

• Customer Reference Number (CRN) must match travellers (recorded against the Movement Requisition field)
• Traveller name and title on the itinerary matches the name on the Overview tab
• When finalising traveller itineraries, CTM is unable to include apostrophes or upper case and lower case letters in passenger names
• If 2 travellers have the same name, respective itineraries will display SNR or JNR
• CTM may issue itineraries with traveller name titles as follows:
  - Males under 16 listed as Master (or MSTR)
  - Females under 18 listed as Miss, or if they are over 18, Ms
• Itineraries must not be returned to CTM for correction for the reasons above
• Mandatory Supervisor, check the Travel Requirements field on the Overview tab and whether travel dates fall on a weekend or public holiday. Determine if there is a supervisor booked for the traveller by viewing linked travellers on the Parties tab. Check the Notes tab if a supervisor has not been booked
• Parties tab:
• if travellers are linked, Service Officers must check if linked traveller itineraries have been received. Check all itineraries received for the party to make sure travel and accommodation aligns where requested
• where a Notional Student Traveller booking is linked to a non-student traveller booking and all correct linked traveller itineraries have been received, change the Booking Status of the Notional Student Traveller to Booked. No other fields need to be completed
• School Name, for:
• secondary students and their associated non-student travellers boarding at a school or privately and tertiary students, check the Education Details field on the Overview tab
• secondary students boarding at a hostel, check the Notes tab for the name of the board provider who requested the travel
• Travel dates, check the dates are as requested or match any CTM initiated variations
• Travel locations, check the from/to locations and that all legs on the itinerary connect
• Additional Requirements, check any additional requirements have been booked, for example, transfers or accommodation
• Travellers sharing accommodation, check they are listed in the notes of the accommodation component of the supervisor's/family member's itinerary when multiple travellers are booked in same room
  Note: where a car seat or cot has been requested, this will not be included on the itinerary
• Email recipients, check the email from CTM to confirm the itinerary has been sent to all required email address/es as per the booking note on the Notes tab

Ensure the:

• travel times and duration of the journey is appropriate. For example, young travellers are not travelling alone at unreasonable times or for unreasonable durations, see Determining the appropriate mode of transport for ABSTUDY Fares Allowance (FAA)
• traveller has been given reasonable time to move from one terminal to another. For example, reasonable time to travel from domestic terminal to charter is 60 minutes
• mode of transport is correct

Has travel been varied or cancelled?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, and the itinerary is:
• correct, go to Step 10
• incorrect, ABSTUDY Travel and Away from Base Service Officers, go to Step 7
• incorrect, ABSTUDY Smart Centre Service Officers, go to Step 8

If the itinerary is received:

• before a request to vary or cancel travel is sent to CTM and travel is as originally requested, the itinerary is correct
• after a request to vary or cancel travel was sent to CTM, the itinerary is incorrect

Is the itinerary correct?

• Yes, go to Step 9
• No, for:
• ABSTUDY Travel and Away from Base Officers, go to Step 7
• ABSTUDY Smart Centre Officers, go to Step 8

If the itinerary is incorrect, staff must follow up with CTM for the itinerary to be re-issued.

Contact CTM by phone if travel is within 2 business days or there is a discrepancy with travel dates and complete the following:

• If the discrepancy is correct:
• contact the person who requested the travel by phone to advise of the revised travel details and reason for the change
• record detailed notes on each booking using the CTM Amendment - Change to Travel Date/ACM DOC template
• update the travel details in the TMA to reflect the confirmed changes if required
• go to Step 10
• If the discrepancy is not correct:
• update the Booking Reference by inserting the PNR Reference located on the top of the itinerary. Do not change the Booking Status. Correct this to reflect the original status if required
• record the details on the Notes tab of the booking using the Itinerary Error DOC template. See the Resources page for the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards
• file the email from CTM with the itinerary attached in the Completed Itineraries folder in the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox
• procedure ends here

For all other discrepancies where travel is outside of 2 business days:

• update the Booking Reference by inserting the PNR Reference located on the top of the itinerary. Do not change the Booking Status. Correct this to reflect the original status if required
• email CTM from the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox and Cc the ABSTUDY Travel team,. All emails must use the:
• Incorrect itinerary received template
• Correct email signature, and
• OFFICIAL security classification
• record the details on the Notes tab of the booking using the Itinerary Error DOC template. See the Resources for the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards
• ensure relevant details or documents are uploaded to the Documents tab, see, Adding attachments in the TMA table
• file the emails in the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox. For emails:
• from CTM with the itinerary attached, in the Completed Itineraries folder
• to CTM, in the relevant education/boarding provider’s folder
• procedure ends here

When an incorrect itinerary is issued, non-travel staff must complete these follow up actions with the ABSTUDY Travel team and CTM for the itinerary to be re-issued.

If there is a discrepancy with travel dates, obtain Local Peer Support (LPS).

For all other itinerary discrepancies where travel is within 2 business days:

• forward the itinerary to the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox for follow up, include in the subject header - 'CRITICAL - ITINERARY REQUIRES CORRECTION'
• update the Booking Reference by inserting the PNR Reference located on the top of the itinerary. Do not change the Booking Status. Correct this to reflect the original status if required
• record the details on the Notes tab of the booking using the Itinerary Error DOC template. See the Resources page for the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards. Ensure relevant emails or documents are uploaded to the Documents tab, see Adding attachments in the TMA table
• once actioned, file the email from CTM with the itinerary attached in the Completed Itineraries folder in the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox
• itinerary errors identified after 2pm Melbourne/Sydney time with travel booked for the next day must be escalated to an ABSTUDY Travel Officer via the ABSTUDY Travel – Group Microsoft Teams chat. To escalate the itinerary:
• tag @Travel Staff CRITICAL itinerary hand off, and
• date of travel

For all other itinerary discrepancies where travel is outside of 2 business days:

• update the Booking Reference by inserting the PNR Reference located on the top of the itinerary. Do not change the Booking Status. Correct this to reflect the original status if required
• email CTM from the ABSUTDY Travel positional mailbox and Cc the ABSTUDY Travel team,. All emails must use the:
• Incorrect itinerary received template
• Correct email signature, and
• OFFICIAL security classification
• record details on the Notes tab of the booking using the Itinerary Error DOC template. See the Resources page for the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards
• file the emails in the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox. For emails:
• from CTM with the itinerary attached, in the Completed Itineraries folder
• to CTM, in the relevant education/boarding provider’s folder

Procedure ends here.

Itineraries received for travel bookings that have been cancelled or where dates, times, transfers, accommodation and destinations have been varied that are received before the request to cancel or vary is sent to CTM must be uploaded to the booking for reference purposes.

To complete the process:

• for varied bookings only, update the Booking Reference by inserting the PNR Reference located on the top of the itinerary. If a request to vary travel has been sent to CTM and an updated itinerary has not been received, do not change the Booking Status. Correct this to reflect the original status if required
• attach the itinerary to the booking, see the Adding attachments in the TMA table
• ensure the correct itinerary is attached to the Documents tab and it is opening correctly
• record the details on the Notes tab of the booking using the Itinerary Uploaded DOC template, see the Resources page for the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards
• file the email from CTM with the itinerary attached in the Completed Itineraries folder in the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox

Procedure ends here.

When the correct itinerary is received, upload the itinerary and update the booking to reflect any changes, see Authorising and coding pre-booked Fares Allowance (FAA) entitlements for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES).

To complete the process:

• update the Booking Reference by inserting the PNR Reference located on the top of the itinerary
• update the Booking Status to Booked
• attach the itinerary to the booking, see the Adding attachments in the TMA table
• ensure the correct itinerary is attached to the Documents tab and it is opening correctly
• record the details on the Notes tab of the booking using the Itinerary Uploaded DOC template, See the Resources page for the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards
• file the email from CTM with the itinerary attached in the Completed Itineraries folder in the ABSTUDY Travel positional mailbox

Procedure ends here.

The Notes tab within the TMA provides specific details relating to travel bookings and decisions made.

To view existing notes in a travel booking, access the TMA in the relevant customer's record and locate the applicable booking, then:

• select the applicable travel request
• with the correct Booking ID# in context, select the Notes icon

Notes are displayed in date/time order, with the most recent at the top. Each note includes:

• a timestamp, and
• the logon ID of the Service Officer who created it in the User column

Notes can be added to a travel booking to record and capture important circumstances and the life cycle of the travel booking.

Adding notes is mandatory for all travel bookings. The notes must clearly detail the contact and discussion. For example:

• Who contacted
• Date of contact
• Reason for contact, for example, variation/cancellation request
• Travel circumstance has been approved/rejected
• Any discussion/s that have taken place, including the email or fax information
• Details of evidence discussed and/or attached
• ABSTUDY policy reference that supports the decision

For more information, see:

• Online Document Recording (ODR) Resources page for Act References
• Creating, reviewing and deleting documents (including Fast Notes and DOA DOCs)
• ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards

There are specific requirements for ABSTUDY Telephony Service Officers to record notes in a new booking request. For additional information, see Authorising and coding pre-booked Fares Allowance (FAA) entitlements for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES).

To add notes to an existing travel booking, access the TMA (see the TMA overview table) in the relevant customer's record and locate the applicable booking, then:

• select the applicable travel request
• with the correct Booking ID# in context, select the Notes icon and select Edit
• select New
• add the note ensuring the details entered meet the Getting it Right (GIR) DOC Minimum Standards, see:
• Online Document Recording (ODR) Resources page for Act references
• Creating, reviewing and deleting documents (including Fast Notes and DOA DOCs)

Once completed, select Save.

To delete a note from an existing travel booking, access the TMA (see the TMA overview table) in the relevant customer's record and locate the applicable booking, then:

• select the applicable travel request
• with the correct Booking ID# in context, select the Notes icon and select Edit
• select Delete next to the document to remove
• select Yes when prompted

Once completed, select Save.

Relevant documentation must be added as an attachment to a travel booking or a reimbursement.

This includes all correspondence sent and received via the ABSTUDY Travel or Away from Base mailbox and may include:

• evidence to support a travel eligibility decision (for example, compassionate travel), or
• the documentation required for payment of a reimbursement (for example, a copy of a ticket or receipts for accommodation)

To view attachments in an existing travel booking, access the TMA in the relevant customer's record and locate the applicable booking, then:

• select the applicable travel request
• with the correct Booking ID# in context, select the Documents icon
• select the applicable document to view

To add attachments to a travel booking, access the TMA (see the TMA overview table) in the relevant customer's record and locate the applicable booking, then:

• select the applicable travel request
• with the correct Booking ID# in context, select the Documents icon and select Edit
• select Upload Document
• under the Upload Document dialogue box:
• select Browse in the Select File to Upload field
• once the correct file is located, select Open
• enter a name for the document under the Description field (ensure users can clearly identify what the document is)
• select Create to attach the document
• the document will then appear on the Documents tab
• select Save
• delete all the customer information from desktop and local drives when all required action is taken

To remove an attachment in an existing travel booking, access the TMA (see the TMA overview table) in the relevant customer's record and locate the applicable booking, then:

• select the applicable travel request
• with the correct Booking ID# in context, select the Documents icon
• select Edit
• select Delete next to the document to remove
• select OK
• select Save

Pre-booked Fares Allowance letters in the TMA are auto-created and sent to customers in the following circumstances:

• Rejection of pre-booked travel
• Rebooking Penalties
• Travel Cost penalty of less than $50. The Issue Letter toggle will present for all travellers irrespective of their education level; however, it should only be used to advise tertiary or secondary non-school students and their associated non-student travellers of a rebooking penalty

Fares Allowance reimbursement and Away from Base letters in the TMA are auto-created and sent to the payee/s upon completion of:

• Reimbursement activities including reassessments
• Away from Base activities including reassessments and acquittals

When an assessment is finalised in the TMA, separate letters will auto-generate for each payee recorded. The letter only shows the outcome of the components relevant to the respective payees. For example, within a reimbursement claim, customer claims fares and a third party claims for accommodation and meals. The customer will only see the fares component outcome, whereas the third party will see both the accommodation and meals components.

If a Service Officer determines a letter to the customer is not required (for example, they have notified the claimant by phone call), they can prevent the letter from sending by selecting No in the Issue Letter toggle.

• To view, reissue or cancel an auto-generated letter, go to Step 2
• For tertiary or secondary non-school students and their associated non-student travellers who have incurred a Travel Costs penalty less than $50, go to Step 3

To view or reissue a letter auto-generated within the TMA, Service Officers can use either the History Summary (HS) screen in Process Direct or Search Outbound Correspondence tool in Customer First. See Viewing or reissuing a letter or electronic message.

Cancelling an auto-generated letter within the TMA must occur within one working day from the date created. To cancel an auto-generated letter, see Customer First - requesting information table of Circumstance Change Monitor (CCM).

Where tertiary or secondary non-school students and their non-student travellers incur a Rebooking Penalty only, a letter is auto-generated by the TMA after coding the Penalties tab, see No show for ABSTUDY travel.

For tertiary or secondary non-school students and their non-student travellers, who are subject to both a Financial Penalty and a Rebooking Penalty, the Account Payable advice generated by the Raise a Debt guided procedure includes details of both penalty types.

However, where the Financial Penalty is less than $50, the debt will be auto-waived by the system and no Account Payable advice will be generated to advise these travellers of the rebooking penalty. In these cases, the Rebooking Penalty letter must be sent to advise travellers who miss pre-booked travel without a valid reason, see No show for ABSTUDY travel.

Note: the Issue Letter toggle will present for all travellers irrespective of their education level, however it should only be used to advise tertiary or secondary non-school students and their associated non-student travellers of a rebooking penalty.

The ABSTUDY Operational Information OI reports can be accessed by approved Smart Centre representatives and used for:

• securing safe travel for ABSTUDY students and non-student travellers (for example, in cases of emergencies)
• Program Management reporting, and
• Reimbursement Reports

A specific role is required to enable access to the ABSTUDY OI suite of reports.

The ABSTUDY OI reports - Access and User Guide provides information on how to request access and generate the reports. The Resources page contains a link to the ABSTUDY Operational Information (OI) reports - Access and User Guide.