2. Approval for travel

International travel is travel to, within or between countries outside of Australia. 

Written supervisor endorsement is no longer required for international travel.

Planned international travel must be submitted via the UniTask Travel Request. Once submitted, the traveller’s supervisor (UQ staff only) will receive a notification and the travel approver will receive an action request that there is an approval task waiting. If approved, the Requester will receive an approval confirmation from the system.

The role of travel approver will vary across UQ. In most cases, the relevant travel approver will be the UQ traveller’s supervisor or Head of Organisational Unit (such as a school, institute, centre or division) or their approved delegate (i.e. Head of School/Deputy Head of School/Centre Director/School Manager/Centre Manager/Deputy Director/Faculty Executive Manager or equivalent). Refer to your local area for guidance if you are unsure who is your appropriate travel approver.

Heads of Organisational Units should select their supervisor (or their supervisor’s approved delegate) as their relevant travel approver.

Prior to booking international travel, travellers must:

• Discuss their travel plans with their supervisor;
• Review the UQ International Traveller Checklist; and
• Receive approval via the UniTask Travel Request in my.UQ.

Once the above steps are completed, travellers can book international travel. The UQ traveller/travel booker will have to provide an approved UniTask Trip ID to UQ's travel management provider (FCM) at the time of booking to link the approval to the travel booking transactions (refer to Booking Travel – How to book international travel).

How do I access UniTask Travel request in my.UQ?

• The preferred browser is Google Chrome.
• my.UQ uses UQ Authenticate to login. UQ Authenticate requires your UQ credentials (UQ Username/Kerberos ID & password) to be entered to access my.UQ.
• You must be logged in to the Internet Session Management (ISM) service.
• You can access my.UQ My requests by using the Travel Approval and Booking tile at the top of the UQ Travel website.

International approval workflow  UniTask International user guide  UniTask International Template   Groups and Dual Purpose user guides

If travel is to a High Risk Destination/s, travellers must submit an International travel approval via the UniTask Travel request in my.UQ, completing the high risk destination section. High risk travel requests must be submitted at least 10 business days prior to planned departure.

Travel to High Risk Destination/s will not be approved without careful planning and justification such as:

• Is the travel essential and why can’t the business objective be achieved via other means or in another destination?
• What are the main risks associated with travel, including personal health and safety risks as well as reputational/strategic risks to UQ?
• How will the risks associated with the travel be managed and/or mitigated? 

UQ Travel will work with the High Risk Travel Approver to assess the travel request. Approval decision will be provided via the UniTask Travel Request in my.UQ.

Travellers and approvers are responsible for checking DFAT’s travel advice levels from when they start planning until their departure and during their travels, for both their destination and transit countries. If the travel advice level increases prior to departure, the travel must be re-approved by submitting a new UniTask Travel request in my.UQ. Travel advice levels can change at short notice.

Travel Approver

The role of travel approver will vary across UQ.  In most cases, the relevant travel approver will be the UQ traveller’s supervisor or Head of Organisational Unit (such as school, institute, centre or division) or their approved delegate (i.e. Head of School / Deputy Head of School / Centre Director / School Manager / Centre Manager / Deputy Director / Faculty Executive Manager or equivalent).

The travel approver is responsible for assessing and ensuring the following, where relevant, in a timely manner:

1. the UQ travel is necessary;

2. the travel plan is reasonable (timing, duration, and total cost etc.) and demonstrates prudent use of UQ resources (i.e. the most logical and economical route is selected and, if required, Premium Economy or Business Class is justified); and

3. all proposed business location/s are for legitimate UQ business purposes.

UniTask Travel Approver user guide   UniTask Travel Approver quick reference guide

Supervisors

The UQ traveller's supervisor (functional supervisor) should confirm the following with the UQ traveller prior to departure:

1. appropriate controls have been or will be implemented to effectively manage the risks associated with undertaking UQ travel;

2. the traveller is fit to undertake UQ travel having regard to the nature, purpose, destination, and duration of the travel (it's the responsibility of the traveller to get a medical clearance for international travel if they have a pre-existing condition); and

3. appropriate communication arrangements have been put in place to remain in contact with the traveller.

Non-UQ traveller (Guest) 

The UQ Travel policy does not apply to a person who is not a UQ traveller and therefore travel approval is not required.

However, if the travel for the Non-UQ traveller (Guest) is booked by FCM Travel Solutions, the following will apply and must be completed by a UQ staff member on the travellers behalf:

1. Submit UniTask Travel Request, selecting traveller type 'Non UQ person'
   • The UniTask Travel Request is not a form of travel approval, it is required for the purpose of booking with FCM and the Trip ID must be provided.
2. Create Non-UQ staff (Guest) profile for the traveller in FCM Platform (can only be actioned by an authorised travel arranger)
3. Refer to Booking Travel

Please check with UQ Insurance Services to confirm whether or not the travel will be covered by UQ’s travel insurance.

UQ Students (including HDR/PhD)  

The Student Travel Procedure applies to all UQ students (undergraduate/postgraduate coursework students and HDR candidates) undertaking authorised travel both within Australia and internationally, regardless of whether UQ provides any financial support or not.

If UQ is funding the students travel and booking with FCM Travel Solutions, in addition to seeking approval as per the Student Travel procedure, the following will apply and must be completed by a UQ staff member on behalf of the student:

1. Submit UniTask Travel Request, selecting traveller type 'Non UQ person'
   • The UniTask Travel Request is not a form of student travel approval, it is required for the purpose of booking with FCM and the Trip ID must be provided.
2. Create Non-UQ staff (Guest) profile for the student in FCM Platform (can only be actioned by an authorised travel arranger)
3. Refer to Booking Travel

In addition to the approval requirements of UQ’s travel policy, travel, accommodation, meals and incidentals funded by National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) (administered by the NHMRC) research grants must be formally approved and documented by the traveller’s relevant Faculty/Institute Research Committee (or equivalent).

This approval must be provided prior to the travel being undertaken, as per section 3.13 of the NHMRC Direct Research Cost Guidelines.

For further details on the process to request this additional approval, please reach out to your relevant Faculty/Institute Research Manager.