If you don’t provide a residential expenses package, students can apply for this assistance themselves. You may not organise a package if it’s any the following:
- unreasonable, for example, if only one student is taking part in the activity
- impractical, for example, if multiple students are taking part in activities in multiple locations
- not cost effective, for example, if it’s more than the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) travel allowance rates for that location.
Depending on when they claim, you’ll need to give them different supporting documents.
When they claim before the activity
You’ll need to give them a statement including all of the following information:
- details of the activity, including where it will take place and the dates
- confirmation the activity is a compulsory part of the course
- how the activity is relevant to the course
- confirmation the work done during the activity adds to the course assessment.
They need to claim at least 3 weeks before the activity starts.
They’ll also need to give us some details after the activity has taken place. Within one month of the activity, they need to give us both:
- confirmation from you that they attended the activity
- the period and location where the activity took place.
If they don’t give us these details, we won’t pay them for any more away from base activities. This will be even if you claim on their behalf.
When they claim after the activity
Sometimes students can pay for their meals and accommodation to attend an activity and then ask us for reimbursement.
To apply, they need to give us a statement from you. The statement must include all of the following information:
- details of the activity including where it took place and the dates they attended
- confirmation the activity was a compulsory part of the course
- how the activity is relevant to the course
- confirmation the work done during the activity added to the course assessment.
They need to claim by 1 April of the year following the activity.