• accommodation
• meals
• incidentals
• vehicle hire
• overseas subsistence.

The current allowances are listed at http://www.fbs.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=489568pid=0
The daily rate for each allowance is in accordance with the Queensland Public Service standard rates with the exception of the overseas travel allowance. The rates are updated regularly.
To submit a claim for a domestic travel allowance, complete the Domestic Travel Allowance Summary form located at http://www.fbs.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=45336&pid=0
To submit a claim for an overseas travel allowance, complete the Overseas Travel Allowance Summary form located at http://www.fbs.uq.edu.au. The overseas subsistence allowance rates have two components: accommodation allowance, and meals and incidentals allowance.

Travel Acquittals
Within one week after return to duty (or, if the travel was overseas, as soon as credit card statements are received) the advance must be finalised. This process is called acquittal. Submit all details relating to the advance on a General Claim voucher clearly marked ’Acquittal’. 
If the amount advanced exceeds the total costs incurred, the difference must be refunded to the university immediately. The procedure is:

• Provide payment to the value of the unexpended portion of the advance payable at the cashier.
• Attach the copy of the receipt to the General Claim voucher and return the claim to your Finance Section.

Include the following with the acquittal:

• General Claim voucher
• domestic or overseas travel summary of receipts
• where actual costs are claimed, all relevant original receipts and tax invoices
• original receipts to support actual overseas accommodation expenses (otherwise an allowance will not be accepted)
• a copy of the cashier’s receipt when an unexpended portion of the advance is refunded
• a travel diary, if applicable
• a copy of credit card statement(s) if overseas travel credit card receipts are provided.

Any remaining expenditure (above the amount advanced) will be reimbursed to you. 

Reimbursement of Travel Expenses
The amount of travel expenses reimbursed by the university will not normally exceed the amount that would have been paid if a travel allowance had been paid.

Completion of Travel Claims
To obtain reimbursement for domestic or international travel expenses, you must submit the following:

• General Claim voucher
• an electronic Domestic Travel Summary of Receipts form or an Overseas Travel Summary of Receipts form
• tax invoices/receipts and credit card statements (if applicable)
• a memorandum, where the amount claimed exceeds established allowances (if applicable)
• a travel diary (if applicable).

General Claim Voucher (web form)
Complete the NAME and DEPARTMENT ADDRESS (SBMS – St Lucia) and STAFF NUMBER (employee number) fields.
Under DETAILS OF CLAIM, write the particulars of the claim (why, when and where). Also use this space to explain any unusual items to assist Business Services staff and the auditors (both internal and external) to determine whether the expenditure is appropriate and complies with the university's policies.
Record the amount in the column provided for each part of the claim including GST, if applicable.
Record the total in the TOTALS field.
Provide the Lab Account Number(s) and Departmental Reference(s) that the claim is to be charged to. Do not record any amounts in the DISTRIBUTION AMOUNT field. (Some of the rules governing the claiming of GST input tax credits are quite complex and often the amount being claimed will not be the amount charged to the school or research grant account.)
Provide bank account details.
Sign the claim in the CLAIMANT’S CERTIFICATION field.

Domestic and Overseas Travel Summary of Receipts forms can be found at http://www.fbs.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=45336&pid=0
The conversion of local overseas currencies to Australian dollars is to be completed using the exchange rate at the time the expense was incurred (not the rate at the time the claim is being prepared). An exchange rate may be obtained from a currency converter on the web, for example, http://www.oanda.com (recommended by Business Services Division).
If any of the expenses have been charged to a credit card, use the exchange rate used by the credit card company. Attach a copy of the credit card statement to the claim to support the exchange rate used.
All claims for reimbursement of expenses must be supported by receipts or tax invoices. Where the domestic expense exceeds $75.00, exclusive of GST, the receipt must be in the form of a tax invoice. Only in exceptional circumstances will reimbursement be made for un-receipted expenditure.
All un-receipted expenses must be accompanied by an explanation as to why tax invoices/receipts are not supplied. It is very difficult to approve un-receipted claims, so ensure tax invoices/receipts are obtained.

Travel Diary
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requires people travelling on business to keep a travel diary (according to a prescribed format) when:

• travelling overseas for more than five nights
• travelling within Australia for more than five nights where the travel is not exclusively for the purpose of performing university duties. This does not include when the business travel requires a stay over a weekend.

A travel diary is not required where the travel is:

• overseas for a period of five nights or less
• within Australia and the travel expenses claims consist entirely of allowances (i.e., no actual expenditure, such as hotel, meal and taxi costs, are being claimed)
• within Australia and undertaken exclusively in the course of the staff member’s employment, and the staff member has signed the claimant’s certification on the General Claim voucher.
  

A travel diary can be found at http://www.fbs.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=45336&pid=0
The diary should record each business activity undertaken during the travel. The ATO has stated that the purpose of a travel diary is to provide a record of events so that travel expenses can be broken down into business and private.
The ATO requires the staff member to sign the diary and include the following details for each work activity during the trip:

• the place the activity was undertaken
• the date and approximate time the activity commenced
• the duration of the activity
• the nature of the work activity
• the date the entry in the diary was made.

Diaries must show:
  1. departure date (from home or office)
  2. return date (to home)
  3. any private, free-time days during the trip.