Reimbursing fares for the cheapest mode of public transport for Youth Allowance (YA), Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) 010-04060050

Ensure the customer is eligible for FAA.

An Australian Apprentice is not entitled to FAA for the Australian Apprenticeship.

A student who claims for travel outside Australia cannot be paid FAA.

Note: if a customer has utilised frequent flyer points to undertake their trip, they are not eligible for reimbursement. Fares Allowance may be reimbursed for a non-frequent flyer portion of a fare where evidence is provided. For example, a customer booked a flight using a combination of frequent flyer points and payment.

See Assessing eligibility for Fares Allowance (FAA) for Youth Allowance (YA), Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement (PES).

Is all or part of the journey able to be made by public transport?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, if no public transport is available for the entire journey, they may be able to claim the entire journey for a private vehicle or taxi. See Reimbursing fares for the use of a private vehicle or taxi for Youth Allowance (YA), Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)

Determine the cheapest and most practical mode of public transport for the journey and calculate the amount of FAA to be reimbursed.

For more information, see the References page for the relevant link to the Social Security Guide.

• The most direct route between the customer's permanent home and the place of study is taken into account in making this decision
• If the customer travels by more expensive travel by choice, they may only be eligible for the cheapest mode
• It is not necessary for Service Officers to 'shop around' for the cheapest fare. For example, check if it is cheaper to travel by bus than by rail, it is not necessary to find the cheapest fare offered by competing bus lines
• If the student would qualify for a concession fare, the entitlement is calculated at the concessional fare rate, for example, Student fare
• The customer is also eligible to claim for the use of a private vehicle or taxi for all or a portion of the journey where no public transport is available. For example, they use a taxi to get from the parental home to the train station. For the private transport component of Fares Allowance, see Reimbursing fares for the use of a private vehicle or taxi for YA, Austudy and PES

See the Resources page for relevant links to travel providers to research the cheapest fare.

Has the customer travelled via the cheapest mode of public transport available for the journey?

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

Determine if the customer is eligible to be reimbursed for a more expensive mode of transport. It is a legal requirement that Services Australia pays the cheapest, practicable method of travel. While bus travel traditionally has been the cheapest mode of public transport, this is not always the case. If the train fare is cheaper than the bus fare, the train fare should be paid. If a bus journey would take more than 18 hours, it is possible to consider paying for a train journey if the train journey is more expensive.

If the train fare is cheaper than the bus fare, then the cheaper train fare should be paid even if the journey is less than 18 hours.

When making a decision, the Service Officer needs to consider the period of time needed for the entire journey, and any illness or incapacity of the person.

• For a bus trip greater than 18 hours, go to economy rail
• For a rail trip more than 36 hours, go to economy air
• If there is good reason, the additional cost of a sleeping berth, or sleeper seat, may be included with a second class rail fare (i.e. illness or incapacity, length of the journey, if the journey had to be throughout the night, travel at night to avoid delay and added expense)
• If the customer was eligible for a concessional fare, then the concessional fare can only be reimbursed regardless of whether or not the student paid full fare
• If the customer has a serious illness or incapacity, then the most practicable form of transport would be paid, for example, an airfare rather than a 12 hour bus journey. Evidence may be required to support these claims for example, a letter from the treating doctor
• No public transport available - private car (payment based on engine capacity) or taxi

For PES, see Coding Fares Allowance (FAA) Pensioner Education Supplement (PES). Procedure ends here.

For YA or Austudy:

• Open a Centrelink system session and access the customer's record
• Within the customer's record, access the One Off Payment (OOP) screen
• Enter the date of the payment in the Effect Date: field and FAA in the payment type: field
• Press [Enter] to go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen, select the One Off Payment: field and type OOP in the Nxt: field
• Enter the amount to be paid in the Amount: field and press [Enter] to exit the OOP screen

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.

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.

Procedure ends here.