Frequently Asked Questions

The purchase of books and personal items e.g. toiletries, are considered private expenditure and University funds must not used.

Water, coffee or a meal is considered a reasonable expense and may be charged to the card.

The University will only pay costs associated with the traveller.  Any additional costs associated with taking a partner or family member/s on a business trip must be paid for using private funds.

Where split charging is not available, the traveller must pay in full with private funds and seek reimbursement of the business related portion.

Accommodation - if the room selected is no bigger or costs no more than the room you would have selected if travelling alone, this is acceptable. If you select a larger room e.g. a family room then the traveller must pay the difference along with any other costs e.g. breakfast. FCM Travel can facilitate split charging at the time of booking.

Vehicle Hire - if a larger vehicle is required to accommodate additional passengers e.g. family members, the traveller must pay the difference between a standard vehicle and the larger vehicle along with any other costs (car seats etc).

Meals - meal costs (including beverages) consumed by a partner / family members must be paid for by the traveller.  If split charging is not available, the traveller must pay in full with private funds and claim back the business portion.

It is appropriate for the University to pay reasonable costs associated with accommodation, meals and transport.

It is not appropriate for the University to pay for “optional extras” which would include in-house movies, spa treatments such as a massage, hairdressers or items that you would otherwise purchase yourself e.g. make up or over the counter medicines.

Any costs associated to passports are at the personal cost to the traveller and this includes new applications, renewals and passport photos.

The University will fund the visa required to travel and these should only be purchased through the link provided by FCM travel at the time of booking.  Visas purchased from other agencies can be significantly more expensive.

The purchase of a suitcase would be considered a personal item and should not be charged to the corporate credit card. Regardless of funding source, the same principles apply.

Staff wishing to utilise consulting funds must refer to the Research Grants, Contracts and Consultancies Policy and the definition of work-related expenditure.

Providing the trip is less than 30 days old, you can switch the payment method by following this procedure.  If more than 30 days, you will need to acquit the expense to private and repay the funds via BPAY.

Repeated instances of private use may lead to the card being cancelled permanently and escalated for further investigation.

Following the instructions in the guide, you must immediately repay the expense via BPAY, noting that payment must be paid in full.

Repeated instances of private use may lead to the card being cancelled permanently and escalated for further investigation.

An EFTPOS receipt is not a valid tax invoice, if possible go back to the supplier for a tax compliant invoice.  The University can only claim the GST back from valid tax invoices (within Australia).

If you don't have a valid tax invoice, complete a Lost or Unobtainable Tax Invoice/Receipt Declaration Form, which will need authorisation by the Head of School / Branch for amounts over $20.  Please attach this to your transaction in the Expense Management System when completed.

Where the University has a preferred supplier or suppliers for the category of goods and services to be purchased, you must use them unless an exemption is approved.

Purchases from preferred suppliers must go through eProcurement, not charged to the corporate credit card.

Safety equipment can be purchased from a range of University preferred suppliers, visit the Commodities & Preferred Suppliers website for more information or view the online catalogues in eProcurement .

The purchase of furniture such as office chairs or desks for use at your home is considered private expenditure and University funds must not used.

Refer to the ATO website for information on working from home and the types of deductions / expenses you can claim.

Software purchases on a corporate credit card are not permitted.

Requests for software not offered by ITDS must be submitted via the Software Assessment form.  Any intended software purchases are assessed by ITDS to ensure you are receiving the best value for money, the software purpose is not already met by an existing service, and to mitigate any compatibility, security and / or licensing issues.

Once the request has been assessed and approved, this must be attached to a Special Request Requisition in eProcurement .

For definitions of software, please click here.