No show for ABSTUDY travel 010-02100100

If the enquiry is:

• pre-booked travel, or cancellations with more than 24 hours' notice, see Fares Allowance (FAA) authorised in advance of travel for ABSTUDY. Procedure ends here
• via telephony or a Service Centre about missed travel, go to Step 2
• through other channels or Workload Management allocation, see Step 1 in Table 2
• to review a No Show - Penalty, see Step 1 in Table 5

For urgent requests or if the approved traveller is stranded mid-journey, warm transfer the traveller to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Travel Team. The transfer number is in Office Locator see Resources for a link.

For non-urgent requests, locate and select the applicable Booking ID # within the Travel Management Application (TMA) and:

• Go to the Notes tab
• Select Edit
• Add detailed notes within the Notes tab of the booking with the following information:
• Who contacted?
• Contact time and date
• Where is/are the approved traveller/s now?
• Reason for the missed travel, for example, missed flight, no longer wished to travel, illness
• Travel arrangements to be re-booked? Yes/No. If Yes, provide details of the new required travel arrangements
• Overnight accommodation required? Yes/No
• Is there a return trip? Yes/No. If Yes, is the return travel still required? Yes/No
• Contact number
• Is a supervisor required? Yes/No. If Yes,
  supervisor's name
  supervisor's contact number
• Parent/guardian/education representative nominated supervisor to overnight with student if required? Yes/No
• Add any additional comments if required
• Go back to the Bookings tab
• Add the text 'no show- see notes' in the Comments field
• Save the changes and check the Booking Status has changed to Pending Approval. This will then allocate via Workload Management to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Travel Team for action

Procedure ends here.

Where Services Australia receives a no show advice, notify the appropriate contacts of the no show occurrence.

For a:

• secondary boarding/hostel student, phone the education provider/hostel
• secondary private boarding student, phone the parent/guardian of the student
• tertiary student, phone the student

After notifying the appropriate contacts, go to Step 2.

Review the no show advice provided to the agency to identify why the approved traveller did not undertake all or part of a pre-booked journey.

If they missed their travel:

• due to circumstances beyond their control, the booking is recorded as a No Show - No Penalty. Go to Step 3
• because of their own actions/behaviour, the missed travel is considered a No Show - Penalty. Go to Step 3

If the no show was for a:

• whole journey, go to Step 4
• part journey, go to Step 5

To record a no show for a whole journey, locate and select the applicable Booking ID# within the TMA and go to the Bookings tab:

• select Edit
• update the Booking Status depending on the assessment of the no show to:
• No Show - Penalty
• No Show - No Penalty
• add detailed notes within the Notes tab of the booking with the following information:
• Who contacted
• Where is/are the approved traveller/s now
• Reason for the no show, that is, missed flight, no longer wished to travel, illness
• Travel arrangements to be rebooked? Yes/No
• Overnight accommodation, transfers required? Yes/No
• Is a Rebooking and/or Travel Costs Penalty to be assessed/applied? Yes/No
• ABSTUDY Policy that the penalty is being applied under
• Is there a return trip? Yes/No
• Is the return travel still required? Yes/No
• Is an assessment required to cancel the students ABSTUDY? Yes/No
• Valid reason? Yes/No
• If a supervisor is required
• Parent/guardian/education provider contacted? Yes/No. If No, provide reason
• Parent/guardian/education provider nominated supervisor to overnight with student if required? Yes/No
• select Save

Go to Step 6.

If a journey has a forward and return trip and the approved traveller no shows on 1 trip of the journey, key a no show for that trip only. Correct the original booking to show only the successfully completed trip. A new booking for the trip that was missed will be keyed in the TMA with a Booking Status of No Show - Penalty, or No Show - No Penalty.

For trips with multiple legs, key a no show for the missed leg only. Correct the original booking to show only the successfully completed leg/s. A new booking for the leg that was missed will be keyed in the TMA with a Booking Status of No Show - Penalty, or No Show - No Penalty.

Contact must be made with the Travel Management Company (TMC) to cancel any subsequent legs of the journey if these legs cannot be utilised or have already been missed as well.

To record a no show for 1 trip/leg of a journey, locate and select the applicable Booking ID# within TMA and go to the Bookings tab:

• select Edit
• remove the travel date for the trip that the student No Showed. Note: if removing the forward travel date, the remaining return travel date will need to be moved into the Forward Trave Date field. Ensure the correct locations are reflected in the Travel From and Travel To fields
• leave Booking Status as Booked (should now reflect the trip date and locations of the students successfully completed travel)
• select Save

Create a new booking for the trip/leg that was no showed. Whilst still in the relevant customer's record:

• create a new booking, see Coding pre-booked Fares Allowance (FAA) for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• insert the travel date and location of the missed trip and complete all other details as required
• select Save
• update the Booking Status from New to Booked
• select Save
• update the Booking Status depending on the assessment of the No Show to:
• No Show - Penalty
• No Show - No Penalty
• add detailed notes within the Notes tab of the booking with the following information:
• Who contacted
• Where is/are the approved traveller/s now
• Reason for the No Show: that is, missed flight, no longer wished to travel, illness
• Travel arrangements to be rebooked? Yes/No
• Overnight accommodation, transfers required? Yes/No
• Is a Rebooking and/or Travel Costs Penalty to be assessed/applied? Yes/No
• ABSTUDY Policy that the penalty is being applied under
• Is there a return trip? Yes/No
• Is the return travel still required? Yes/No
• Is an assessment required to cancel the student's ABSTUDY? Yes/No
• Valid reason? Yes/No
• Is a supervisor required? Yes/No
• Parent/guardian/education provider contacted? Yes/No. If No, provide reason
• Parent/guardian/education provider nominated supervisor to overnight with student if required? Yes/No
• select Save

Go to Step 6.

Is the Booking Status applied No Show - Penalty?

• Yes:
• For secondary school students under 18 years of age, go to Step 7
• For all other students and non-student travellers, to determine if a penalty will be applied, see Step 1 in Table 3
• No, travel can be authorised in advance to re-book their journey
• To re-book travel, see ABSTUDY students experiencing disrupted travel
• If re-booking of travel is not required, a request for cancellation must be sent to the TMC, see Cancellations of pre booked travel in Coding pre-booked Fares Allowance (FAA) entitlements for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Procedure ends here

A supervisor is mandatory for secondary students under 18 years of age who have incurred 2 or more no shows in a calendar year.

If a No Show - Penalty has been recorded, Service Officers must:

• go to the Bookings tab within the current booking, and
• look for other No Show - Penalty booking statuses within the current calendar year. All historical bookings can be seen within the Customer Bookings table and are sorted 'latest to oldest' date order based on the Forward Travel Date

Are there 2 or more No Show - Penalty statuses present (inclusive of the current booking)?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, to determine if a penalty will be applied, see Step 1 in Table 3

Within the current booking, check Travel Requirements in the Overview tab

Is mandatory supervision already coded?

• Yes, to determine if a penalty will be applied, see Step 1 in Table 3
• No, code the mandatory supervisor fields as follows:
• Mandatory Supervision: Yes
• Mandatory Supervision Start Date: defaults to today's date
• Mandatory Supervision End Date: 1 March in the following calendar year
• Mandatory Supervision Reason: Frequent Missed Travel
• Select Save. A message will appear advising successfully updated booking. To determine if a penalty will be applied, see Step 1 in Table 3

Is the approved traveller a secondary school student or a non-student traveller associated with a secondary school student?

• Yes, travel can be re-booked. No re-booking penalty will be applied. Go to Step 2
• No, as the approved traveller is a tertiary student, secondary non-school student or an associated non-student traveller, and no valid circumstance for missing travel is provided, the same journey cannot be re-booked and a re-booking penalty will apply. Go to Step 2

Depending on the circumstances, a no show may incur a re-booking penalty and a financial penalty.

A financial penalty applies if the travel provider charges Services Australia for the cost, or partial cost, of the ticket. This does not include booking, amendment and Whole of Australian Government (WOAG) fees.

Is the approved traveller an associated non-student traveller for a secondary school student?

• Yes, financial penalties do not apply, however the Booking Status must be recorded as No Show - Penalty, with a Penalty Reason of No Travel Costs. For coding instructions, see Step 1 in Table 4
• No, go to Step 3

Did the missed travel involve chartered transport with ABSTUDY funded passengers?

• Yes, and:
• at least 1 ABSTUDY traveller boarded the charter. No financial penalty will be applied against approved travellers who no showed. Go to Step 8
• no ABSTUDY passengers boarded the charter. The cost of the chartered transport is to be divided by the number of approved travellers who were booked on the charter. Go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 4

Contact the TMC via phone or email to determine if the travel provider has charged for the cost or part costs of the ticket.

Is the TMC able to advise if any charges have been incurred?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 6

Did the travel provider charge for the cost or part cost of the ticket?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 8

If the TMC are not able to advise at the time of contact whether the travel provider has charged for the cost or part cost of the ticket, do not make any changes to the booking.

• Send an email to the TMC requesting if any non-refundable costs were charged by the travel provider. See the Resources page of Coding pre-booked Fares Allowance (FAA) entitlements for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplements (PES) for the Quickstep Guide: Request for Non-Refundable email template
• Within the Notes tab of the booking in the TMA, record:
• details of the no show, and
• action taken to determine if any charges have been applied

Once the TMC has responded, determine if a charge was applied.

Did the travel provider charge for the cost or part cost of the ticket?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 8

Where the travel provider charged a cost or part cost for the missed travel for approved traveller(s), for:

• Secondary school students, the same journey can be re-booked, however the Booking Status must be recorded as No Show - Penalty, with a Penalty Reason of Travel Costs, and a penalty advice issued. The Penalty Amount recorded is to be the lesser of the amount charged to the agency by the travel provider, or $100.00
• Tertiary students, secondary non-school students and their associated non-student travellers, the same journey cannot be re-booked. The Booking Status must be recorded as No Show - Penalty with a Penalty Reason of Travel Costs, and a penalty advice issued. The Penalty Amount recorded is to be the amount charged to the agency by the travel provider. The approved traveller will then need to pay for their own journey and seek reimbursement

To apply a penalty, see Step 1 in Table 4.

Where the travel provider did not charge for the cost or part cost of the ticket, for:

• Secondary students and/or their associated non-student travellers, the same journey can be re-booked, however the Booking Status must be recorded in the TMA as No Show - Penalty with a Penalty Reason of No Travel Costs
• Tertiary students, secondary non-school students and their associated non-student travellers, the same journey cannot be re-booked. The Booking Status must be recorded as No Show - Penalty with a Penalty Reason of Re-booking Penalty, and a penalty advice issued. The approved travellers will then need to pay for their own journey and seek reimbursement

For coding instructions, see Step 1 in Table 4.

Penalties can be processed for travellers who have incurred additional charges in circumstances such as a No Show - Penalty, or additional costs in relation to meals/accommodation and/or transfers charged by the provider.

If the Booking Status is No Show - Penalty, the following penalty reasons can be applied:

• No Travel Costs - for secondary students and their non-student travellers who miss travel without an approved reason, but do not incur a financial penalty. For example, the student was booked on a fully flexible fare. This penalty reason is also applied to non-student travellers associated with secondary students, regardless of whether the carrier charges an amount against Services Australia for the missed travel arrangements, as these travellers do not incur financial penalties
• Rebooking Penalty - for tertiary students, secondary non-school students and their non-student travellers who miss pre-booked travel without a valid reason, but do not incur a financial penalty. For example, the student was booked on fully flexible fare
• Travel Costs - used for any traveller (other than non-student travellers associated with secondary students) where the carrier charges an amount against Services Australia for the missed travel arrangements

Note: only 1 penalty reason can be entered per Booking ID# on the Penalties tab.

To code a penalty once carrier charges are determined, Access Travel Management Application (TMA) and select the applicable Booking ID#. Go to the Penalties tab:

• select Edit
• select Create Penalty. The penalty details fields will display
• Date of Receipt (DOR) will default to today's date. Alter the DOR if required
• select the relevant Penalty Reason:
• No travel Costs
• Rebooking Penalty
• Travel Costs
• for Travel Costs penalty reason, key the applicable Penalty Amount as follows:
• Secondary students - carrier rebooking charge up to a maximum of $100
• Tertiary, secondary non-school and their associated travellers - carrier rebooking charge
• Missed Travel Date - key the applicable date
• Issue Letter - Yes/No toggle. This field will only display when the selected Penalty Reason is either:
• Rebooking Penalty
• Travel Costs where a Travel Cost penalty of less than $50 is keyed. Note: The Issue Letter toggle will present for all travellers irrespective of their education level. However, this must only be set to Yes for tertiary or secondary non-school students and their associated non-student travellers. For all other travellers, this must be set to No
• ensure the Travel To/From locations on the Bookings tab are capitalised and recorded in the correct format and spelling, as the locations will be utilised in the letter text
• Comments (this field is limited to 255 characters)
• select Save. If the Issue Letter toggle is set to Yes, the Rebooking Penalty letter will generate
• select the Notes tab and document decision

Financial penalties must be keyed in the Income Security Integrated System (ISIS). There is no consequential processing from Process Direct and therefore all debts must be raised and processed via the guided procedure.

Raise a manual debt for processing (where applicable) by using the Raise A Debt guided procedure as follows:

• access the relevant debtor's record in Customer First, see Payees responsible for ABSTUDY FAA debts in Raising Fares Allowance (FAA) debts)
• select the Raise a Debt guided procedure
• select the Add button, then select Next
• select the Benefit Type based on the student's study level:
• ABS - ABSTUDY Schooling is used for primary/secondary
• ABT - ABSTUDY Tertiary is used for tertiary/secondary non-school students and/or their non-student travellers
• select the applicable Debt Reason code:
• NAS - ABSTUDY Secondary Fares Allowance penalty
• NAT - ABSTUDY Tertiary Fares Allowance penalty
• Section of Act: defaults to SAA 39 (Student Assistance Act - Section 39)
• Date of Event, Start Date, and End Date to be keyed as the date of the missed travel
• Calculated Amount is the same as the Penalty Amount coded in TMA. In the event the penalty amount is less than $50, the system will auto waive the debt activity
• if the responsible debtor is not the student (for example, the debt is for a Boarding student under 16 years of age and is being raised on the parent/applicants CRN), the Additional Reference No field must be keyed with the students CRN. See Raising Fares Allowance (FAA) debts
• in the How was the debt calculated? field, key Manually. Select Next
• the guided procedure will move to the Component Details section. Select Add, select component type Fares Allowance, then select Next
• the Letter Details section will default with correct Account Payable advice text/debt amount and missed travel date. Where the Debt Reason of NAS is used, the Account Payable advice text will require updating based on whether the responsible debtor is the student, or a parent/guardian. Remove the non-applicable text from '(you/your child/your children)' to correctly reflect who missed the travel
• key the debt amount in the Total Received field, and key the Contact Name (name of the person creating the debt) and Phone details (Call Centre phone number). Select Next
• on the Finalise Action section, key 'Activity finished, proceed with assessment finalisation' in the Finished field. Select Next. The free text field allows additional information to be added to the auto-generated DOC
• select the Finish button located at the top left of the screen to complete the process

See Create a new debt record manually on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS).

ABSTUDY Smart Centre Travel Service Officers can review a No Show - Penalty if further information is given to support the traveller's reason for failing to undertake travel. The Service Officer may decide to request documentation/evidence to assist with the review.

Has information or evidence been provided that supports a No Show - No Penalty, where travel was missed due to circumstances beyond the traveller's control?

• Yes, go to step 2
• No, go to step 3

To change the No Show - Penalty Booking Status, locate and select the applicable Booking ID# within the TMA and go to the Bookings tab:

• select Edit
• change the Booking Status to No Show - No Penalty
• Add detailed notes within the Notes tab of the booking with the following information:
• Who contacted
• Reason for the no show
• Outcome of reassessment
• ABSTUDY Policy that the penalty is being applied under
• Parent/Guardian/Education provider contacted? Yes/No. If No, provide reason
• Select Save

Go to Step 4

Recording the decision to uphold the No Show - Penalty:

• Select the applicable No Show - Penalty Booking ID# and on the Notes tab, add detailed notes with the following information:
• Who contacted
• Reason for the no show
• Outcome of reassessment
• ABSTUDY Policy that the penalty is being applied under
• Parent/Guardian/Education provider contacted? Yes/No. If No, provide reason
• Select Save

Procedure ends here

If the request for the non-refundable cost has already been sent to the TMC, Service Officers must locate the original email sent in the ABSTUDY Travel National Mailbox and forward the email to the TMC requesting they disregard the request as it is no longer required. See National ABSTUDY Travel Quicksteps.

Has a financial penalty been raised as a debt on the relevant debtor's record in Customer First? See Payees responsible for ABSTUDY FAA debts Yes, the debt will need to be finalised no debt

• Go to Raising Fares Allowance (FAA) debts. Procedure ends here

• No, Procedure ends here