REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL
Determination 2013/16:
Official Travel by Office Holders
This Determination sets out the provisions that apply when an office holder is required to travel for official business away from their office locality, or home base in respect of a part-time office holder[a].   It comprises:
Contents
PART 1 – GENERAL 1
PART 2 – TRAVEL ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS. 2
PART 3 – TRAVEL EXPENSES. 3
PART 4 – OFFICIAL TRAVEL BY MOTOR VEHICLE. 5
SCHEDULE A - REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL TRAVELLING ALLOWANCE RATES. 6
PART 1 – GENERAL
1.1         Authority:  The Remuneration Tribunal has made this Determination in accordance with sub-sections 5(2A), 7(3) and 7(4), of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973.
1.2         Effective Date:  This Determination takes effect on and from 1 September 2013.
1.3         Effect on Earlier Determinations:  This Determination revokes and supersedes in full Determination 2004/03 – Official Travel by Office Holders (as amended).
1.4         Relationship with other Determinations:  The travel tier relevant to individual office holders is determined in the Determinations that set out remuneration for those office holders.  Those Determinations may contain exclusions or limitations in the application of this Determination to an office or offices, which override, to the extent of any inconsistency, the provisions of this Determination.
1.5         Coverage:  This Determination applies to the following offices in the Tribunal’s jurisdiction:
·            Judicial and Related Offices;
·            Holders of Full-time Public Office;
·            Holders of Part-time Public Office;
·            Secretaries;
·            Specified Statutory Offices (SSOs); and
·            Principal Executive Offices (PEOs).
1.6         Definitions:  The following definitions apply in this Determination:
1.6.1        ‘agency’ means the agency to which the office holder is appointed, or the agency that administers the entitlements of the office holder if the office is not part of an agency;
1.6.2        ‘commercial accommodation’ means accommodation in a commercial establishment such as a hotel, motel or serviced apartment;
1.6.3        ‘employer’ means the Commonwealth and includes any person authorised to exercise powers, perform acts, grant approvals or give directions for, or on behalf of, the Commonwealth; in respect of Principal Executive Offices it means the employing body;
1.6.4        ‘home base’ means the town or city in which the office holder’s principal place of residence is located;
1.6.5        ‘office holder’ means a holder of a public office covered by a Tribunal Determination or a holder of a Principal Executive Office;
1.6.6        ‘office locality’ means the geographic location of the office holders usual place of work on official business;
1.6.7        ‘official business’ means business pertaining to or required by the duties of the office holder’s office;
1.6.8        ‘partner’ means the de facto partner of an office holder as defined in the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
1.6.9        ‘spouse’ means husband or wife.
1.7         General Principles:  Office holders are not expected to gain or lose financially as a result of travelling on official business.  Office holders must only incur or commit the Commonwealth to meet expenses where funds are lawfully available to do so.  Travel may only be undertaken where its purpose is consistent with the duties of the office holder.  In addition, when making travel arrangements, office holders are to consider:
·         the necessity of travel and potential alternatives to travel, such as teleconferencing or videoconferencing;
·         the total cost of travel, including value for money (the ‘best deal’ for the taxpayer);
·         any travel related administrative guidelines put in place by their agency; and
·         the flexibility to maintain an appropriate balance between work and home responsibilities, as well as safety and security.
PART 2 – TRAVEL ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS
2.1         Class of Travel:  Where an office holder travels on official business he or she is entitled to travel at the class of travel set out in Table 2A that is consistent with his or her travel Tier.  The office holder can choose to undertake travel at a lower class if that would be more convenient or appropriate.
TABLE 2A – STANDARD OF TRAVEL
Travel Tier of Office
Class of Travel

Within Australia
Overseas

Tier 1
Highest available
First class or Business class

Tier 2
Business class
Business class

Tier 3
Economy class
Economy class

2.2         Upgrade – Accompanying travel:  An office holder may upgrade his or her class of travel in order to accompany a person travelling at a higher class of travel where it is demonstrably in the interest of the Commonwealth to do so.
2.3         Upgrade – lengthy flight:  An office holder who is entitled to travel Economy Class may upgrade to Business Class (for domestic and international travel) where the duration of the flight exceeds five hours.
2.4         Accompanied Travel:  An office holder may be entitled to be accompanied by his/her spouse or partner for purposes relating to official business at Commonwealth expense when travelling within Australia or overseas in accordance with this Determination.
2.4.1     Accompanied travel may only occur when the office holder’s employer certifies in writing that it is demonstrably in the interest of the Commonwealth, given the purpose of the travel, for the office holder to be accompanied by his/her spouse or partner.
2.4.2     Where the office holder’s spouse or partner accompanies him/her, the spouse or partner may travel at the same class of travel as the office holder.
2.5         Agency travel providers: Office holders are encouraged to use their agency’s travel-related preferred provider arrangements where these exist.
2.6         Frequent flyer points:  Frequent flyer points accrued at the Commonwealth’s expense should not be used for private purposes.
PART 3 – TRAVEL EXPENSES
3.1         Payment of travel expenses:  Where an office holder travels on official business which requires an overnight absence, travelling expenses will be met in accordance with the provisions in this Part.
3.2         Day travel:  Where travel on official business does not require an overnight absence, no travelling allowance is payable.
3.3         Accompanied accommodation costs:  Where the Commonwealth meets the travel costs of the office holder’s spouse or partner accompanying him/her in accordance with clause 2.4 (Accompanied Travel), if evidence is provided that there is a difference in cost between a single and double room in the commercial accommodation used, the amount of the difference shall be added to the amount of travelling allowance that would otherwise be paid.
3.4         No double payment:  Where the office holder claims or receives travelling allowance or reimbursement of travelling expenses under any other source or entitlement for the same travel, no payment of travelling allowance or expenses will be made under this Determination.
Travel within Australia – Allowance
3.5         Travelling Allowance:  For each overnight absence on business travel within Australia, the office holder, where he or she stays in commercial accommodation, will be paid travelling allowance at the relevant rate in Table A1.A of Schedule A, unless the provisions in clauses 3.6 or 3.7 apply.  Subject to those provisions, the full amount will be paid to the office holder for each overnight absence regardless of the time of departure from, or arrival at, his or her office locality or home base.
3.6         Part Payment of Travelling Allowance:  The full amount of travelling allowance in Table A1.A of Schedule A will not be paid in the following circumstances:
3.6.1        Accommodation paid for:  Where the cost of accommodation is met by an entity other than the office holder, travelling allowance payable is the relevant ‘Total’ amount shown in Table A2.A of Schedule A for the travel Tier applying to the office.
3.6.2        Meals paid for:  Where the cost of a meal or meals is met by an entity other than the office holder, the amount of travelling allowance should be reduced by the relevant meal amount(s) referred to in Table A2.A of Schedule A.
3.7         Non-commercial accommodation:  Where an office holder does not stay in commercial accommodation, but stays in accommodation such as the home of a family member or friend, a rate of one third of the specified travelling allowance is payable (rounded upwards to the nearest dollar).
3.8         Unavoidable higher accommodation cost:  Where an employer certifies that an office holder is required to obtain high cost accommodation, an additional payment may be made to the office holder in accordance with the following:
(a)  the requirement must be due to the unavailability of accommodation of a reasonable standard at a locality, which would have avoided this additional payment.
(b)   the additional payment will be based on the excess cost of accommodation over the travel allowance rate, after deducting the relevant ‘Total’ amount shown in Table A2.A of Schedule A (meals and incidentals).
(c)  the additional payment will be calculated on accommodation expenses and travel allowance for the entire trip.
3.9         Additional meals:  Where an office holder is absent for a greater number of meal periods than that covered by the travelling allowance payment (the rate nominally covers 3 meals per day) and provides evidence that actual meal costs exceeded the meal component for the absence, payment at the rates set out in Table A2.A of Schedule A may be made for the additional meal(s).  Subject to employer certification, this may include meal periods on the day of return to an office holder’s home base or office locality where, ordinarily, no travelling allowance would be payable.
Travel Overseas
3.10      Accommodation:  When travelling overseas on official business, an office holder is entitled to accommodation at Commonwealth expense.  Accommodation should be at a standard reasonably equivalent to that provided for the office holder in Australia.
3.11      Meals and Incidentals:  Office holders travelling overseas on official business are to be paid, for meals and incidentals, an amount equivalent to the total meals and incidentals figures for the relevant destinations published in Schedule 1 Table 2 of Taxation Determination TD 2013/16.
3.11.1     For the purposes of clause 3.11, Tier 1 office holders receive the amounts specified in TD 2013/16 for the highest salary group, Tier 2 office holders the amounts specified for the middle salary group, and Tier 3 office holders the amounts for the lowest salary group.
PART 4 – OFFICIAL TRAVEL BY MOTOR VEHICLE
4.1         Vehicle travel:  The following arrangements apply to the use of vehicles where the office holder is not supplied with a vehicle by the agency that can be used for the purposes of travel on official business.
4.2         Use of vehicle:  An office holder may choose to hire a vehicle or use his or her own vehicle to travel on official business where it is demonstrably in the interest of the Commonwealth to do so.  In such circumstances the Commonwealth will:
(a)  meet the cost of a rental vehicle; or
(b)  pay the private vehicle costs calculated in accordance with Table 4A where a private vehicle is used for the journey.  Any private vehicle used for this purpose must be comprehensively insured.
Table 4A – Motor Vehicle Allowance
 
Engine Capacity (non-rotary)
Engine Capacity (rotary)
Rate
Cents per kilometre

Above 2,600 cc
Above 1,300 cc
75

1,601 to 2,600 cc
801 to 1,300 cc
74

1,600 cc or less
800 cc or less
63

 
4.3         Agency vehicle:  These provisions do not apply to any journey commenced from the home base of an office holder where he or she is provided with an agency vehicle at that home base.
Signed this 19th day of August 2013.
                   
                    Signed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                    Signed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                     Signed

John C Conde AO
PRESIDENT
John B Prescott AC
MEMBER
Jillian Segal AM
MEMBER

SCHEDULE A - REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL TRAVELLING ALLOWANCE RATES
A1.  Travelling Allowance Rates:  The Travelling Allowance rates set out in Table A1.A will apply on and from 1 September 2013.
Table A1.A – Rates of Travelling Allowance per overnight absence.
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Column 4

 
TIER 1
TIER 2
TIER 3

CAPITAL CITIES

Adelaide
$376
$354
$276

Brisbane
$419
$397
$320

Canberra
$413
$369
$287

Darwin
$451
$415
$321

Hobart
$362
$322
$251

Melbourne
$432
$374
$292

Perth
$493
$401
$352

Sydney
$432
$375
$302

COUNTRY CENTRES

Non- Specified Country Centres (i.e. not specified below)
$357
$253
$220

NEW SOUTH WALES

Armidale
$357
$278
$242

Bathurst
$357
$278
$242

Bourke
$357
$311
$284

Broken Hill
$357
$278
$242

Coffs Harbour
$357
$278
$242

Cooma
$357
$278
$242

Dubbo
$357
$278
$242

Gosford
$357
$278
$242

Goulburn
$357
$278
$242

Maitland
$357
$278
$242

Mudgee
$357
$281
$254

Muswellbrook
$357
$278
$242

Newcastle
$357
$289
$262

Nowra
$357
$278
$242

Orange
$357
$278
$242

Port Macquarie
$357
$278
$242

Queanbeyan
$357
$278
$242

Tamworth
$357
$278
$242

Tumut
$357
$278
$242

Wagga Wagga
$357
$287
$260

Wollongong
$357
$282
$255

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Alice Springs
$357
$296
$269

Jabiru
$359
$338
$311

Katherine
$357
$280
$253

Tennant Creek
$357
$278
$242

Yulara
$411
$390
$363

QUEENSLAND

Bundaberg
$357
$278
$242

Cairns
$357
$286
$259

Chinchilla
$357
$289
$262

Dalby
$357
$290
$263

Emerald
$357
$302
$275

Gladstone
$357
$333
$306

Gold Coast
$357
$295
$268

Hervey Bay
$357
$303
$276

Horn Island
$357
$326
$299

Innisfail
$357
$278
$242

Kingaroy
$357
$280
$253

Mackay
$357
$298
$271

Mount Isa
$357
$306
$279

Rockhampton
$357
$278
$242

Roma
$357
$278
$242

Thursday Island
$367
$346
$319

Toowoomba
$357
$278
$242

Townsville
$357
$278
$242

Weipa
$357
$284
$257

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Bordertown
$357
$278
$242

Ceduna
$357
$278
$242

Kadina
$357
$278
$242

Mount Gambier
$357
$278
$242

Naracoorte
$357
$278
$242

Port Augusta
$357
$278
$242

Port Lincoln
$357
$278
$242

Port Pirie
$357
$286
$259

Renmark
$357
$278
$242

Whyalla
$357
$291
$264

Wilpena Pound
$357
$313
$286

TASMANIA

Burnie
$357
$281
$254

Devonport
$357
$281
$254

Launceston
$357
$278
$242

VICTORIA

Ararat
$357
$278
$242

Bairnsdale
$357
$278
$242

Ballarat
$357
$278
$242

Bendigo
$357
$278
$242

Bright
$357
$282
$255

Castlemaine
$357
$279
$252

Echuca
$357
$278
$242

Geelong
$357
$278
$242

Hamilton
$357
$278
$242

Horsham
$357
$278
$242

Mildura
$357
$278
$242

Portland
$357
$278
$242

Seymour
$357
$278
$242

Shepparton
$357
$278
$242

Swan Hill
$357
$278
$242

Warrnambool
$357
$278
$242

Wonthaggi
$357
$284
$257

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Albany
$357
$325
$298

Broome
$400
$379
$352

Bunbury
$357
$301
$274

Carnarvon
$357
$297
$270

Dampier
$357
$321
$294

Derby
$357
$328
$301

Esperance
$357
$278
$242

Exmouth
$422
$401
$374

Geraldton
$357
$321
$294

Halls Creek
$366
$345
$318

Kalgoorlie
$357
$305
$278

Karratha
$514
$493
$466

Kununurra
$369
$348
$321

Newman
$362
$341
$314

Northam
$357
$309
$282

Port Hedland
$426
$405
$378

EXTERNAL TERRITORIES

Christmas Island
$357
$296
$269

Cocos (Keeling) Islands
$452
$431
$404

Norfolk Island
$496
$475
$448

A2.  Meal and Incidental Components:  The rates set out in Table A2.A provide the relevant meal and incidental components of the Travelling Allowance rates set out in Table A1.A.  These rates are specified for the purposes of clauses 3.6, 3.8 and 3.9 of this Determination.
Table A2.A – Meals and Incidentals Components
 
High Cost Centres (including capital cities and specified country centres listed in Table A1.A and not in Table A2.B)
Non-specified Country Centres (including Group 2 country centres listed in Table A2.B)

 
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3

Breakfast
$32
$28
$25
$32
$25
$23

Lunch
$46
$39
$28
$46
$26
$26

Dinner
$64
$54
$48
$64
$50
$44

Incidentals
$27
$27
$19
$27
$27
$19

Total
$169
$148
$120
$169
$128
$112

Table A2.B – Group 2 Country Centres
Country Centre
Country Centre

Ararat (Vic)
Mildura (Vic)

Armidale (NSW)
Mount Gambier (SA)

Bairnsdale (Vic)
Muswellbrook (NSW)

Ballarat (Vic)
Naracoorte (SA)

Bathurst (NSW)
Nowra (NSW)

Bendigo (Vic)
Orange (NSW)

Bordertown (SA)
Port Augusta (SA)

Broken Hill (NSW)
Port Lincoln (SA)

Bundaberg (Qld)
Port Macquarie (NSW)

Ceduna (SA)
Portland (Vic)

Coffs Harbour (NSW)
Queanbeyan (NSW)

Cooma (NSW)
Renmark (SA)

Dubbo (NSW)
Rockhampton (Qld)

Esperance (WA)
Roma (Qld)

Echuca (Vic)
Seymour (Vic)

Geelong (Vic)
Shepparton (Vic)

Gosford (NSW)
Swan Hill (Vic)

Goulburn (NSW)
Tamworth (NSW)

Hamilton (Vic)
Tennant Creek (NT)

Horsham (Vic)
Toowoomba (Qld)

Innisfail (Qld)
Townsville (Qld)

Kadina (SA)
Tumut (NSW)

Launceston (Tas)
Warrnambool (Vic)

Maitland (NSW)
 

 

[a] In this context, part-time office holder does not include a person paid in accordance with the Part Time Work clause of the Holders of Full-Time Public Office Determination.