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International Travelling Allowances and Expense Procedures

Version:

1.3

Effective date:

21 February 2017

procedure

These procedures must be read in conjunction with the Official Travel Policy.

2. Scope

These procedures apply to all employees of the Department travelling overseas on official business.

Guidance

The policy covers accommodation, meals, incidental allowances and expenses.

3. Procedures

3.1 All employees

Employees must:

  • obtain approval from their line manager for accommodation before booking;
  • include any personal leave in the itinerary submitted for approval;
  • keep details of travel, receipts and certification of any expenditure to claim reimbursements;
  • carry out the acquittals, reconciliations and reimbursements of any expenditure within two weeks of completing the trip; and
  • not use a purchase card for a personal purpose as per Treasurer’s Instruction (TI) 321 Credit Cards – Authorised Use.

Guidance

The acquittal process is necessary for the travel event to be considered closed. The following items need to be acquitted as soon as possible after completion of the trip usually within two weeks:

  • business expense claims;
  • hospitality expenditure;
  • purchase card expenditure; and
  • cash advances where provided.

For further information on travel allowances and expenses see Appendix A.

Refer to the Purchase Card Terms and Conditions (staff only) for more information.

3.2 Processing of claims

Line managers must:

  • check that travel claims are in accordance with Australian Tax Office (ATO) Reasonable Amounts for Overseas Travel Allowance Expenses Schedule; and
  • receive the necessary receipts/certification from the employee claiming the expense.

Guidance

The Department reimburses an employee travelling on an official overseas trip meals and incidental expenses in accordance with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) Reasonable Amounts for Overseas Travel Allowance Expenses Schedule.

All international travel claims for meals and incidentals are processed via HRMIS self-service. For more information on how to use this service please click on the link below:

Department of Education HRMIS website (staff only).

If it is a condition of booking, overseas accommodation can be managed and paid for in advance by Department cost centres and schools.

6. History of changes

Effective date Last update date Procedure version no.
21 February 2017 1.0
These new procedures support the Official Air Travel Policy that replaces the Official Air Travel, Domestic Travelling Allowance and International Travelling Allowance policies. Endorsed by Director General at Corporate Executive on 28 November 2017.
21 February 2017 23 February 2017 1.1
Minor typos and corrective changes D17/0080388
21 February 2017 11 August 2017 1.2
Minor change to guidance s3.3 - process for international travel claims taken over by HRMIS D17/0343385
21 February 2017 10 October 2018 1.3
Minor change to position titles D18/0437050

8. More information

Appendices

Appendix A:  Guidelines for processing claims

Policy

Official Travel Policy

This procedure:

Download procedure PDFInternational Travelling Allowances and Expense Procedures v1.3

Please ensure you also download the policy supported by this procedure.


Supported policy:

Download Policy PDFOfficial Travel Policy


Procedure review date

21 February 2020

Procedure last updated

10 October 2018