Travel and Personal Expenses — Teaching Service

Mileage allowance

An employee who:

• is required to travel in the course of their duty, or
• travels to a new location as part of relocating their residence and is eligible for relocation expenses (refer to the Relocation expenses chapter)

may be authorised to use their private vehicle where travel by public transport is not practicable or it is considered expeditious or more economical for an employee to travel by motor vehicle. The employee’s motor vehicle must be registered, have full comprehensive insurance, which includes liability at law for damages and an endorsed indemnity to the employer and the driver must hold a current driver’s licence.

An employee is required to obtain prior approval to use their private vehicle by completing an application to use a private vehicle on official duty form (available on the Resources tab).

An employee who is authorised to use their private vehicle is eligible to be paid an allowance to cover the cost of using the vehicle by the most direct route. The allowance is calculated based on the distance travelled from the employee’s base location to the destination. The normal cost of travelling to and from home to base cannot be claimed. Where the employee commences travel from home to the destination and, or completes the travel from the destination to home, only the excess distance between home and base location can be claimed if the normal mode of travel is by motor vehicle.

As soon as practicable after the travel, the employee is required to submit a written claim that sets out the date, the purpose of the trip, the number of kilometres travelled and the type of vehicle used. It is expected that mileage claims will be submitted in the same financial year in which the travel occurred. The Travel Expenses Claim Form – School Based Staff (available on the Resources tab) should be used for making a claim.

The rate(s) payable to employees is that set by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as adjusted from time to time. Claims will be paid at the mileage rate applicable on the date of travel. It is an ATO requirement that where an employee is paid an allowance for the use of a private motor vehicle (other than for transport or removal to a new location), it is to be included on the employee’s PAYG payment summary. As a result, claims for use of a private motor vehicle must be processed on the payroll.