The international travel allowance covers the costs of transport, accommodation, meals and incidentals for a Member when they travel outside of Australia to perform their public duties.
There are specific Guidelines in relation to accommodation expenses that may be claimed under this allowance.
This allowance may be claimed for reasonable transport directly to or from a Victorian airport when a Member needs to travel to perform their public duties outside of Australia. However, parking fees at a Victorian airport must not be claimed under this allowance. (See the definition of “transport costs” and “commercial transport” in guideline 3 above.)
The Guidelines for this allowance do not preclude the Parliament from making parliamentary budgets available for committee expenses.
21. Claiming the international travel allowance
21.1 A Member may claim the international travel allowance for travel costs and transport costs actually incurred to perform their public duties outside of Australia.
21.2 The total amount claimed under sub-guideline (1) for each financial year must not exceed the amount set in the Determination.
21.3 Accommodation expenses can only be claimed under the international travel allowance:
21.3.a for the days on which business is conducted and when single night accommodation is necessary due to flight connections;
21.3.b one day prior to the business day;
21.3.c one day after the business day in those instances where departure on the last business day is not practical (for example, the departure flight is in the late evening which may require a late checkout or an extra night of accommodation);
21.3.d for days when travel occurs between places of business;
21.3.e on weekends where business occurs on the Friday and Monday either side of that weekend;
21.3.f for the city or town where business is conducted, or for other locations when single night accommodation is necessary due to flight connections.
21.4 Accommodation expenses claimed under the international travel allowance must not exceed the prices for a four star hotel as prescribed by the ECA International Accommodation Report for the relevant city.
Note: Members can obtain information on these rates from the Parliament.
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