Travel Policy

Fact box

Policy owner: Chief Financial Officer
Policy category: Management: Finance
Policy status: Approved
Approval body: Executive
Endorsement body: Executive
Related policies:
Last amended: 19th Aug. 2025
Relevant HESF:

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish the approved conditions for all travel by AC employees. It applies to all travel undertaken on behalf of AC and extends to domestic, ground and international travel arrangements.

Scope

All AC employees and campuses.

Policy

DEFINITIONS

Alphacrucis (AC) employees	Includes staff members employed by AC on a permanent, casual or part-time basis, sessional contractors, students and those representing AC while performing their official duties.
Authorising Officers	Are Budget Owners who have delegated authority to approve transactions relating to travel.
Budget Owners	Includes Executive Team, Head of Schools, Department Heads and any person who has ownership of a budget and the accountability for expenditure under that Budget.
Business expenses	Reasonable business expenses incurred by AC employees. These can include travel, meals, accommodation, hospitality, etc.
Business travel	Travel required for business purposes only and authorised by an Authorising Officer.
Travel Administrator	Is the person appointed to that role and often is Accounts Payable.
Domestic Travel	Refers to travel within Australia.
Ground Travel	Refers to travel by road or rail.
Hospitality	The provision of food, beverage, accommodation, transportation and other amenities at the college's expense.
International Travel	Refers to travel to countries outside Australia.
Receipt or Tax Invoice	An original (or scanned) document which includes details of the issuer, the expenditure, amount (inclusive or exclusive of GST), date and indication of proof of payment.
Traveller	A person undertaking the travel.

POLICY

All travel arrangements, whether it be Domestic, Ground or International, should be approved prior to making the booking arrangements or committing to such arrangements. Such travel should be budgeted and approved by the relevant Authorising Officer.
Travel must only be undertaken after due consideration of business needs, the risk profile of the travel destination, and the activities to be undertaken whilst travelling.
Alternatives to travel available to AC employees, such as web meetings and video conferencing, must also be considered.
Travellers and Authorising Officers must comply with travel-related duty of care and personal safety requirements as determined necessary by AC. Risks must be assessed and/or mitigated as reasonably practical, to ensure that the Traveller’s safety, and the overall level of risk, is acceptable to AC.
AC may direct Travellers to utilise a specified company for travel arrangements to ensure that AC employees are provided with the best available service at the best prices.
AC’s preferred method of payment for business travel expenditure is through staff reimbursement direct to the nominated bank account. All reasonable costs incurred while travelling will be reimbursed as per the staff reimbursement procedures and upon submission of supporting documentation.
Travel excluded from this policy is:

Personal travel;
Travel on behalf of other organisations; and
Any travel not approved by AC.

Procedures

Travel Procedure

Travellers (or in the case of group travel the most senior employee on or associated with the trip), must consider any risk associated with the planned travel. For travel destinations identified by Smart Traveller as Level 3 or Level 4, travel is not permitted without Executive approval.
All International Travel must be covered by travel insurance.
Travellers should make reimbursement claims as soon as possible after the trip, using the AC Staff Reimbursement Form available on the AC Intranet under Finance.
All business travel expenditure items must have appropriate supporting documentation such as a Receipt or a Tax Invoice.
In the absence of a tax invoice or a receipt, the Travel Administrator, at their discretion, may request a Statutory Declaration stating the facts and the amounts.
AC employees failing to comply with the requirements of the Travel Policy and its related procedures may be subject to the following actions:

denial of staff reimbursement claim in so far as AC deems it unreasonable for the objectives of the University College;
reimbursement to AC for costs deemed not to be economical, or essential to achieving AC’s objectives;
reimbursement to AC of any fringe benefits tax or other costs including but not limited to penalties, interest, third party advice, or taxes;
withdrawal or cancellation of corporate cards in accordance with the AC Credit Card Policy;
suspension or cancellation of proposed and/or future travel;
disciplinary action in accordance with the relevant Awards, AC policies, or employment contract for employees.