Interstate travel for ABSTUDY 010-02100220

Students travelling interstate to do their course or Away from Base activity will need an interstate travel assessment to determine if they are eligible for FAA to be:

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

ABSTUDY Travel Service Officers are responsible for completing, recording and issuing the advice of the interstate travel assessment outcome.

A student wants to apply for FAA for travel interstate

• ABSTUDY Smart Centre Telephony Service Officers, go to Step 2
• ABSTUDY Smart Centre Travel Service Officers, for students:
• attending an Away from Base activity, go to Step 3, or
• travelling for other reasons, go to Step 6

If an interstate travel assessment is needed for a new travel request, key this in the Travel Management Application (TMA). Record details of any discussion about interstate travel in the Notes tab.

When the travel request is complete, the Booking Status will:

• default to Pending Approval, and
• transfer to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Travel Team for assessment and finalisation

If there is no travel request from the student, but an interstate travel assessment is needed:

• record details of the discussion, and
• send a Fast Note - ABSTUDY Interstate Travel to be Assessed to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Travel Team:
• Select Auto Text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > ABSTUDY Travel > ABSTUDY Interstate Travel to be assessed
• Select Confirm

Procedure ends here.

If the activity is a:

• testing and assessment program, go to Step 4
• placement or field trip, go to Step 5
• residential school, go to Step 8

FAA is payable for the student to attend a testing and assessment program interstate.

Note: if a student is successful in obtaining a place in a course interstate, their entitlement to FAA for travel to commence the course must be assessed separately.

Go to Step 11.

Interstate travel is available only if the:

• student will be travelling between the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales
• student lives near a State/Territory border and they will attend an institution at a nearby interstate location, or
• placement or field trip provides experiences or training essential for the successful completion of the minimum requirements of the course not available within the home State/Territory. Note: the student must get verification of this situation from the institution

Do any of the above criteria apply to the student and has verification been supplied where required?

• Yes, go to Step 11
• No, go to Step 10

Is the student a secondary school student?

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

FAA for travel interstate is payable only under the following circumstances:

• The student lives near a State/Territory border and they will attend a school at a nearby interstate location. Note: the student's home address is to be used to determine whether the student lives near a border
• Interstate travel is more cost effective than intrastate. For the method used to determine cost effectiveness, see Definition of cost effectiveness and intent of interstate travel. Note: if a student is applying for fares allowance to travel interstate from the ACT to another State or Territory, escalate the case to the Level 2 Policy Helpdesk
• The student has a sibling or family member attending the interstate school already approved for interstate travel based on cost effectiveness. Note: this includes any time the student attends the boarding school at the same time as a sibling or family member who was or has been approved to attend the interstate school, if they have the same carer
• There are no available boarding places at a boarding school in their home State/Territory. The ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing Team can advise whether such an approval applies in a given year. Note: a letter may be provided by the Northern Territory Transition Support Unit (TSU), confirming exemption from the interstate travel restriction. This is because the interstate boarding arrangement provides appropriate levels of support that are not currently available in their home state or territory
• The student has been approved for the away from home rate due to 'Home Conditions' and does not have reasonable access to a Special Assistance School in their home State/Territory
• The student is doing an approved special secondary course at a government school and the course is unavailable in their home State/Territory
• The student has been awarded a Third Party Indigenous Scholarship at an interstate location approved by the Minister of Social Services
• The student has been approved for the away from home rate due to receiving a Boarding School Scholarship at an interstate location
• The student has been offered a Transition School Scholarship at Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS) to assist in the successful transition into a scholarship opportunity at a high performing school, or based on being offered a scholarship at a MITS partner school as a result of completing the MITS program, or
• The student has been approved to live away from the permanent family home under the Continuity of Study provisions
• The student is attending an approved special school or a special assistance school not available in their home state/territory

Once an ABSTUDY secondary school student is approved for interstate travel (except when awarded a Third Party Indigenous Scholarship, Boarding School Scholarship or a Transition School Scholarship), they remain eligible for the duration of their secondary education.

However, the student's eligibility only remains if they:

• remain at the same school for which interstate travel was previously approved, and
• remain eligible for away from home entitlements

Secondary students who are offered a Transition School Scholarship at a MITS partner school because of completing the MITS program, remain eligible for interstate travel for the period of the scholarship at the partner school.

Secondary school students approved for interstate travel due to being awarded a Third Party Indigenous Scholarship, Boarding School Scholarship or a Transition School Scholarship, continue to qualify for the interstate travel for the period of the scholarship only.

See the Resources page for scenarios to assist assessing FAA claims for interstate travel.

Do the student's circumstances meet the above criteria for payment of FAA for interstate travel?

• Yes, go to Step 11
• No, go to Step 10

Is the student doing a Statement of Attainment, Enabling or Certificate course?

• Yes, go to Step 9
• No, FAA for interstate travel is payable, go to Step 11

FAA for interstate travel is not payable unless the following conditions apply:

• The student is doing a Graduate Certificate course
• It is more cost-effective to travel interstate than to an intrastate location to do the course. For the method used to determine cost effectiveness, see Definition of cost effectiveness and intent of interstate travel
• The student is in the Indigenous Youth Mobility Program (IYMP) and has been offered a placement at an interstate location, or
• Both of the following apply:
• A similar course in a particular field of study is unavailable in the student's home State/Territory, and
• The institution has been granted an exemption from this rule by the Department of Social Services. The Resources page has listings of ABSTUDY unique courses exempt from the restrictions on interstate travel

Note: if the student wants to study full-time at an interstate location but the only similar course that is located in the student's home State/Territory is only offered on a part-time basis, it is not regarded as a similar course, even if the course content is the same or similar to the course they want to do.

Does one of the above conditions apply?

• Yes, the student may be approved to travel to the nearest, most cost-effective interstate location, go to Step 11
• No, FAA for the interstate travel is not payable, go to Step 10

FAA is not payable to student for interstate travel. Student and relevant parties must be told of the outcome and explained their review and appeal rights:

• Private boarders and tertiary students:
• Make 2 genuine outbound call attempts to the customer or parent/guardian
• Secondary students at boarding schools/hostels
• Make 2 genuine outbound call attempts to the parent/guardian and the school/hostel

Go to Step 12.

FAA is payable for student travelling interstate and travel can be:

• Authorised in advance
• Reimbursed after the journey has been made
• Any additional costs during travel, for example, transport, accommodation may also be payable

If an update is needed to the Interstate Cost Effectiveness Assessments Spreadsheet (see Resources page), provide the cost effectiveness assessment outcome using the Operational Blueprint feedback function. Include:

• the education provider
• the student's community
• quotes obtained from the Travel Management Company (TMC)

Go to Step 12.

• Access the booking in the TMA. Update the Travel Assessment section of the Overview tab, confirming the interstate FAA assessment outcome of Approved/Rejected
• If the interstate travel assessment applies from a future date and a current valid interstate travel assessment is in place, do not override the current assessment
• On the Overview tab of the TMA, record the following information in the Travel Critical Information field:
• 'Interstate Travel Assessment completed for <DD/MM/YYYY>. Outcome: Approved/Rejected. See DOA DOC dated <DD/MM/YYYY>'
• Select Save
• Create a Display on Access DOC, recording the details of the new assessment using Fast Note:
• ABSTUDY Interstate Travel Approved, or
• ABSTUDY Interstate Travel Rejected

• Access the TMA and select the most recent Booking ID#
• Update the Travel Assessments section of the Overview tab confirming the interstate FAA assessment outcome of Approved/Rejected
• If the interstate travel assessment applies from a future date and a current valid interstate travel assessment is in place, do not override the current assessment
• On the Overview tab of the TMA, record the following information in the Travel Critical Information field:
• Interstate Travel Assessment completed for <DD/MM/YYYY>. Outcome: Approved/Rejected. See DOA DOC dated <DD/MM/YYYY>'
• Select Save
• Create a Display on Access DOC, recording the details of the new assessment using Fast Note:
• ABSTUDY Interstate Travel Approved, or
• ABSTUDY Interstate Travel Rejected

• Record the assessment outcome using Fast Note:
• ABSTUDY Interstate Travel Approved, or
• ABSTUDY Interstate Travel Rejected
• A Travel Officer will record the interstate assessment in the TMA when a travel request is received

For requests received through:

• Workload Management (WLM) from an ABSTUDY Interstate Travel to be Assessed work item, go to Step 13
• All other channels:
• send an email of the decision to the school/hostel
• if interstate travel is rejected, inhibit the FAA rejection letter
• procedure ends here

For interstate travel assessments completed at the time of an ABSTUDY claim for students boarding at a school or hostel, an email must be sent to the institution advising the claim outcome and interstate travel assessment.

Open the Boarding claim outcome to Third Party Organisation template, (see Resources page):

• Select Go on the template
• Complete the following:
• Student Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• Date of Birth
• School Name
• School email address
• Get the school email address from the Education Institution Summary available by accessing the Reference Data Enquiry screen. Key Codes in the Nxt: field in Customer First:
• Complete the Search Field 1: field by either selecting 'code' or 'name'
• Complete the Search Text 1: field by typing in the code number or name of school, select [Enter]
• Select relevant school
• Record the email address in the template
• Select the yes or no responses according to claim outcome and student circumstances to the questions presented
• Check the final version of the letter and make sure all information is correct
• Send the Boarding claim outcome to the Third Party Organisation:
• Select the Email button
• Make sure the email is being sent from the ABSTUDY.SECONDARY mailbox
• Select the Send button and the Official option. An email will be sent to the school along with the Boarding claim outcome to Third Party Organisations
• Select the Local Print button for schools that do not have an email, and post directly to the school. Include a reply paid envelope
• Upload a copy of the email to the customer's record using Form Type UNS010
• Annotate the grant DOC to state that an email has been issued to the institution

Has the Boarding claim outcome to Third Party Organisations letter sent via email failed?

• Yes, go to Step 14
• No, procedure ends here

If the Service Officer receives an email saying the email has failed due to an error:

• contact the school to investigate
• check if the email address has been recorded correctly. If not, or the institute provides a new email address, update the Reference Data Facility (RDF) and resend the email
• record a DOC on the school's record, noting the time the email was sent
• procedure ends here
• where the email address is recorded correctly send Fast Note Action Request for investigation

If the email continually fails, print a copy of the email, post directly to the school and include a reply paid envelope. Record a DOC on the school's record noting the action taken.