4. Paying for travel
When paying for travel expenses, it is your responsibility to ensure the costs are reasonable and that you are achieving best value for money.
FCM Travel Solutions, UQ's travel management company, can manage your trip requirements. By booking travel through FCM, your business unit or project will not be charged travel agent booking fees. These fees will be absorbed centrally.
It is also your responsibility to ensure that appropriate records are kept to ensure the University can satisfy audit and reporting obligations.
Please note, any queries relating to expenses for travel should be directed to your local Finance Transactional Professional Services team.
Pre-departure travel expenses
FCM Travel Solutions is responsible for managing University travel bookings including flights, accommodation, car hire, transfers and other travel services such as rail.
Travel booked through FCM (including on Savi) will be paid for automatically by the UQ Travel Account and charged to the traveller’s default chart string in ExpenseMe Pro (UQ’s expense management system).
Travellers must provide FCM the approved UniTask Travel request Trip ID at the time of booking, includes bookings made via Savi.
Please contact your local Finance Advisory Professional Services team if have questions about your chart string.
FCM Travel Solutions invoices
Travellers no longer receive invoices from FCM. All FCM invoices are received and processed centrally by UQ Finance.
If you require an invoice for reimbursement from an external organisation, please contact your local Finance Transactional Professional Services team.
Travellers must retain invoices for all other bookings.
Upgrade using personal funds or loyalty / Frequent Flyer points
If you wish to upgrade air travel to a higher class than what was approved, you must do so with your own personal funds or loyalty/frequent flyer points.
Expenses while travelling
Legitimate UQ expenses incurred while travelling will be funded by the University. You must obtain supporting documentation for expenditure that is to be funded by the University, irrespective of whether you are using a UQ corporate credit card or you will be seeking reimbursement.
If you are issued with a travel allowance, you will not be required to collect receipts for meals/incidentals or keep supporting documentation for UQ purposes.
You should be aware of any funding body rules in case they have requirements separate to UQ's.
The University will not fund any expenses on private days during your UQ business trip.
Guidance regarding the use of University funds for hospitality and entertainment can be found in the Hospitality Procedure (PPL) and the UQ Fringe Benefits Tax Guide [PDF].
Travellers should associate all travel expenses in ExpenseMe Pro (UQ’s expense management system) to the UniTask Travel Request Trip ID.
Paying for incidental travel expenditure
The payment method of incidental expenses incurred whilst travelling is listed in order of preference below:
1. UQ Travel Allowance (per diem)
A travel allowance, for either domestic or international travel, is available to cover meal/incidental expenses incurred whilst travelling on official University business. For more information, refer to Travel Allowance.
This is the simplest and least administrative manner of covering your meal/incidental travel expenses.
2. Corporate Credit Card
If you are a frequent UQ traveller you should consider applying for a UQ Corporate Credit Card. For more information on the UQ Corporate Credit Card application and card management refer to Corporate Credit Cards.
3. Reimbursement
You can claim legitimate and reasonable out-of-pocket expenses on your return from travel, with appropriate supporting documentation. For more information on the reimbursement process and the relevant claim forms, refer to Expense Claims.
For further guidance on how to best support your expenses during your official University business travel please contact your local Finance Transactional Professional Services team.
For a summary of the above expense payment options please see the Staff Guide: Managing your travel expenses (PDF).
Travel Allowance (per diem)
The purpose of the travel allowance is to cover the additional expenses incurred while travelling on official University business. The allowance is payable for overnight journeys and is calculated per overnight stay while travelling on University business.
UQ staff can apply for a travel allowance by creating an expense claim in ExpenseMe Pro (UQ’s expense management system). Travellers will receive the travel allowance in their own personal bank account at least 5 days prior to departure.
Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) are available for both domestic and international travel allowances:
- Create a Domestic Travel Allowance Expense Claim
- Create an International Travel Allowance Expense Claim
Interactive training is also available via the Expense Management System Interactive Lesson within Workday.
A travel allowance is designed to cover:
- A UQ traveller’s meals: food and drink for breakfast, lunch and dinner, morning and afternoon tea.
- A UQ traveller’s incidental expenses such as snacks, drinks (water, coffee, tea etc.), gratuities, low value public transport (e.g. local journeys on a bus, tram, train etc. that doesn’t cost more than 10% of the total overnight allowance).
- Any other personal services rendered to the UQ traveller: phone or internet charges, laundry, dry cleaning, room service etc.
Travel allowance should only be claimed if the UQ traveller expects to spend the entire amount received on these types of expenses.
Travel allowance does not require travellers to collect receipts, unless submission of receipts is required to comply with funding body requirements.
The travel allowance rates cannot be adjusted. University business units may opt to pay actual expenses for the entire trip rather than the travel allowance. This does involve a greater administrative burden and should only be adopted where the claiming of a travel allowance is not appropriate for some cogent reason.
If the business unit opts to pay actuals, the travel allowance rates should be used as a guideline for appropriate actual expenditure for the additional expenses, while travelling on official University business. Expenses greater than the travel allowance will be scrutinised carefully.
A travel allowance can be claimed after travel is completed, provided no actual expenses have been claimed or a UQ corporate credit card has been used during the travel for the same types of expenses. The above requirement to have fully spent the amount received still applies.
If a UQ traveller is planning to claim a travel allowance exceeding 21 continuous days in a location, the Tax team within Finance and Business Services must be consulted. A living away from home allowance (LAFHA) may be claimable.
Travel allowance will not be paid:
- If meals are fully provided for during any travel days (i.e. paid for by an external organisation or as part of a conference package).
- If actual expenditure on meals and incidentals using UQ funds was used during any travel days of the trip.
- On any days of private travel.
A UQ traveller who receives a travel allowance and also claims actuals must repay the University the travel allowance. This is considered a breach of UQ policy and therefore Code of Conduct. Appropriate actions will be taken for material or repeated breaches.
Domestic travel allowance rate
The domestic travel allowance rate is $85 per overnight stay while on UQ business travel.
From 01 April 2025, the rate will increase to $113 per overnight stay.
The domestic travel allowance rate applies to all locations in Australia.
Domestic travel allowance calculator
International travel allowance rate
The international travel allowance rate is determined by country, per overnight stay while on UQ business travel.
From 01 April 2025, international travel allowance rates will increase. Refer to International travel allowance calculator (below) for rates.
International travel allowance rates can be found in ExpenseMe Pro (UQ’s expense management system).
International travel allowance calculator
Quick Reference Guides and online training
There are a range of useful Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) available to help you manage tasks including creating both domestic and international Travel Allowance Expense Claims. Additional QRGs are also available that contain helpful information on updating your chart string (GL code) to make submitting expense claims easier.
Please click on Expense Management System training to view the full suite of interactive training including Quick Reference Guides which are available via Workday.