4. Principles under the PSAS Act
4.1 These Guidelines are informed by the Statement of Principles set out in Division 1 of Part 2 of the PSAS Act, which a Member must be aware of when using their allowances or EO&C Budget.
4.2 The Statement of Principles set out in the PSAS Act provides for the following:
4.2.a Fair and reasonable recompense for public duties (s 4A, PSAS Act)
4.2.a.i A Member should receive fair and reasonable recompense for performing their public duties.
4.2.a.ii Public resources are provided to a Member to support them in performing their public duties.
4.2.b Good faith and integrity (s 4B, PSAS Act)
A Member must act ethically, reasonably and in good faith when using, and accounting for the use of, public resources in relation to the performance of their public duties.
4.2.c Personal responsibility and accountability (s 4C, PSAS Act)
4.2.c.i A Member must be responsible and accountable for their use of public resources.
4.2.c.ii A Member must be prepared for their claims to be made publicly available.
4.2.c.iii A Member must be able to publicly justify their use of public resources.
5. Overarching obligations under the PSAS Act
The PSAS Act imposes overarching obligations with respect to the use of allowances and the EO&C Budget. A Member must be aware of and comply with these overarching obligations as follows:
5.1 Value for money (s 9A, PSAS Act)
A Member must provide value for money in using their allowances and EO&C Budget by ensuring that the costs incurred are reasonable and proportionate to the costs of performing their public duties.
5.2 Dominant purpose of performing public duties (s 9B, PSAS Act)
5.2.a A Member must not claim or use an allowance or their EO&C Budget unless it is claimed for the dominant purpose of performing their public duties.
5.2.b A Member can only claim or use an allowance or their EO&C Budget for the travel expenses of another individual if that individual's travel is essential to support and execute the Member's public duties.
5.3 Responsible and legitimate purposes (s 9C(1), PSAS Act)
A Member must claim or use allowances and the EO&C Budget provided to them responsibly and only for legitimate purposes in connection with their public duties.
5.4 Compliance with these Guidelines and the relevant Officer’s terms and conditions (s 9C, PSAS Act)
5.4.a A Member must be aware of, and comply with, these Guidelines and the terms and conditions that apply to the provision, claim and use of the allowances and the EO&C Budget.
5.4.b A Member must not make a claim for, or use, an allowance or the EO&C Budget if that claim or use would be in breach of these Guidelines or a term or condition imposed by the relevant Officer.
5.4.c If any term or condition imposed by a relevant Officer is inconsistent with these Guidelines, the Guidelines prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
6. Travel-related allowances to be claimed as a reimbursement
6.1 Section 9D of the PSAS Act provides that a Member may only claim a travel allowance by making a claim for the reimbursement of costs incurred in relation to the use of the travel allowance.
6.2 For the purposes of section 9D, a Member incurs a cost in relation to the use of the travel allowance, commercial transport allowance, international travel allowance, or the EO&C Budget, at the time that the Member pays for the cost.
Note: It is not necessary for the Member to have concluded the travel to have incurred the cost. However, the supporting documentation that must be provided with a claim pursuant to the PSAS Regulations may affect when a claim can be submitted.
6.3 For the avoidance of doubt, if a Member makes a claim for a cost incurred and does not undertake the travel for reasons within the Members control, the amount must be repaid. Where the reason for not travelling is not within the Members control, then the Member must make all reasonable endeavours to obtain a refund of that cost and repay the amount that was refunded.
Updated