No show for ABSTUDY travel 010-02100100

If the enquiry is:

• pre-booked travel, or cancellations with more than 24 hours notice, see Authorising and coding pre-booked Fares Allowance (FAA) entitlements for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES). Procedure ends here
• via telephony or a service centre about missed travel, go to Step 2
• through other channels or Workload Management allocation, see Table 2 > Step 1
• to review a No Show - Penalty, see Table 5 > Step 1
• Corporate Travel Management (CTM) providing details of non-refundable costs, see Table 4 > Step 1
• to reassess a No Show - Penalty, see Table 5 > Step 1

For urgent requests or if the approved traveller is stranded mid-journey, warm transfer the traveller to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Travel or Away from Base Teams. Use the Service Australia Workspace Transfer Options list or the transfer numbers in Office Locator.

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
• Advise the customer that the Travel or Away from Base team will contact them to discuss whether:
• a financial penalty may be applied
• travel can be re-booked. Note: if the 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. These travellers will need to pay for their own journey and seek reimbursement

Procedure ends here.

Where Services Australia receives a no show advice, notify the appropriate contacts of the no show occurrence if they did not provide the advice.

If a reason for the no show occurrence has not been provided, obtain this during the contact.

For a:

• secondary boarding/hostel student, phone the education provider/hostel
• secondary private boarding student, phone the applicant
• tertiary student, phone the student

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. Request evidence for any circumstance if necessary to assist with the assessment.

If they missed their travel:

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

If evidence is required to assist with the assessment, record the booking as a No Show - Penalty. Once the customer provides evidence, make a reassessment.

If the no show was for a:

• whole journey, go to Step 3
• part journey, go to Step 4

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 using the no show travel with/without a valid reason DOC template. See the Resources page for the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards
• select Save

Go to Step 5.

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.

To record a no show for one 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
• 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 using the no show travel with/without a valid reason DOC template. See the Resources page for the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards
• select Save

Go to Step 5.

Cancel travel arrangements that are no longer required that have not yet commenced. This includes accommodation and transfers.

To cancel travel arrangements recorded as a no show, locate the applicable Booking ID #, then:

• select the Bookings tab and select Edit
• include details of the cancellation in the Comments field using the Cancellation - No Show Travel Booking Form Comments Template. See the Resources page for the ABSTUDY Travel Minimum DOC Standards
• export the booking/s and send the ABSTUDY Travel Authorisation - Booking Form to Corporate Travel Management (CTM)
• update the Action on the Booking Information sheet to Cancellation

If there are other travel arrangements to be cancelled that have not been recorded as a no show, send them to CTM on the same ABSTUDY Travel Authorisation - Booking Form.

For assistance recording the cancellation and sending the booking/s to CTM for finalisation, see Authorising and coding pre-booked Fares Allowance (FAA) entitlements for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES).

Once all coding has been completed and, if required the cancellation has been sent to CTM, go to Step 6.

Is the Booking Status applying 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, see Table 3 > Step 1
• No, travel can be authorised in advance to re-book their journey. To re-book travel, see ABSTUDY students experiencing disrupted travel. Procedure ends here

A supervisor is mandatory for secondary students under 18 years of age who have incurred 2 or more no shows without a valid reason 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 Table 3 > Step 1

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

Note: for any travel that was approved prior to the no show notification, no reassessment is required to include a supervisor.

Is mandatory supervision already coded?

• Yes, to determine if a penalty will be applied, see Table 3 > Step 1
• 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
• Notify the boarding school/hostel via email of student’s mandatory supervision requirements. See the Resources page for the Quickstep Guide No show without a valid reason template
• To determine if a penalty will be applied, see Table 3 > Step 1

If the approved traveller is secondary school student or a non-student traveller associated with a secondary school student, travel can be re-booked. No re-booking penalty will be applied.

For all other travellers with no valid circumstance for missing travel, the same journey cannot be re-booked and a re-booking penalty will apply.

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

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

• Yes, financial penalties do not apply. Record the Booking Status as No Show - Penalty, with a Penalty Reason of No Travel Costs. For coding instructions, see Table 4 > Step 3
• No, go to Step 2

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

• Yes, and:
• at least one ABSTUDY traveller boarded the charter. No financial penalty will be applied against approved travellers who no showed. See Table 4 > Step 2
• 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. See Table 4 > Step 1
• No, go to Step 3

Contact CTM to determine if the travel provider has charged for the cost or part costs of the ticket. See the Resources page for the Quickstep Guide Request for the Non-Refundable email template.

In the Notes tab of the booking in the TMA, record action taken to determine if any charges have been applied.

Procedure ends here.

Penalties can be processed for travellers:

• who have missed pre-booked travel without a valid reason, but do not incur a financial penalty, or
• where the carrier charges an amount against Services Australia for the missed travel arrangements

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 one penalty reason can be entered per Booking ID# on the Penalties tab.

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

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

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. Record the Booking Status as No Show - Penalty, with a Penalty Reason of Travel Costs. Record the Penalty Amount as 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. Record the Booking Status as No Show - Penalty with a Penalty Reason of Travel Costs. Record the Penalty Amount as 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

Go to Step 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. Record the Booking Status 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. Record the Booking Status as No Show - Penalty with a Penalty Reason of Re-booking Penalty. The approved travellers will then need to pay for their own journey and seek reimbursement

For coding instructions, go to Step 4.

To code a penalty, access the 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 to advise tertiary or secondary non-school students and their associated non-student travellers of a rebooking penalty. 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

Go to Step 6.

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 see Raising Fares Allowance (FAA) debts.

Procedure ends here.

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 which 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 CTM, Service Officers must locate the original email sent in the ABSTUDY Travel National Mailbox and forward the email to CTM requesting they disregard the request as it is no longer required.

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