Travel and Reimbursement

General Expenditure and Reimbursement.

1. Members and supporters are entitled to be fully reimbursed for any authorised expenditure made in the course of their duties for the Partythe incorporated association referred to in clause 40(1) where:

   1. such expenditure has been budgeted for

   2. such expenditure has been authorised.

2. Expenditure can only be authorised by:

   1. Bodies properly constituted by or under the Constitution of the Australian Greensthe Australian Greens (The Greens) Incorporated, incorporated under the *Associations Incorporation Act 1991* (ACT) with association number A02626 – Victoria “with an agreed budget of their own.

   2. The Most Senior Staff MemberState Director.

   3. The state-wide Campaign Manager (where appointed) for campaign related expenditure.

3. Expenditure to be reimbursed must appear in the budget for the authorising body.

4. All expenditure to be reimbursed must be minuted in the minutes of the authorising body except where such expenditure is authorised by the Most Senior Staff MemberState Director in line with their delegated limits.

5. Minutes used to support or authorise expenditure should include:

   1. the decision to authorise the expenditure

   2. the decision to make the reimbursement, when it occurs,

   3. attached copies of supporting documentation and

   4. such other information as the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria’s Most Senior Staff MemberState Director may reasonably require.

6. Reimbursement of expenditure can only occur where the relevant supporting documentation is provided.

7. Relevant supporting documentation includes, but is not limited to: invoices, receipts, tickets, vehicle logs, signed and witnessed Statutory Declarations.

8. Liability for reimbursement will not extend beyond the body that authorised the expenditure except at the discretion of the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria Treasurer.

9. Reimbursement for authorised expenses will be made within 30 days of the supporting documentation being presented to the relevant Partythe incorporated association referred to in clause 40(1) body where all the conditions above have been met. Any claim for reimbursement must be made within three months from the date of the expenditure.

10. Where expenditure is election-related, special rules, as established by the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria’s Most Senior Staff MemberState Director, may apply. These rules may define or restrict what expenditure can be claimed, what documents are required to support such a claim and what processes are appropriate to authorise the expenditure (for example, purchase orders needing to be raised).

11. A member may only claim reimbursement up to the amount of actual expenses incurred as evidenced by the documentation.

Claimable Expenses

1. An authorised event, for the purposes of reimbursement of expenses, will include any event an AGVAustralian Greens Victoria member is required to attend as a nominated attendee, delegate, committee member or representative of the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria. For the avoidance of doubt the following will automatically be authorised events:

   1. meetings of the State Executive

   2. meetings of the Standing Committees of State Council

   3. meetings of the Constitution Review Panel

   4. meetings of the Audit and Finance Committee

   5. meetings of State Council and State Conference;

   6. meetings of National Council and National Conference;

   7. the Global Greens Congress; and

   8. meetings of the Mediation, Misconduct or Administrative Review Panels.

2. Where a member attends any one of these events as an observer, rather than a nominated attendee, delegate or representative of the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria, there is no entitlement for reimbursement of expenses.

3. Where the authorising and reimbursing body is the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria, other events may be classified as authorised events at the discretion of the Most Senior Staff Member of the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria.

4. Members are not entitled to claim accommodation expenses for meetings that take place within the State of Victoria unless the member must travel more than 100kms from their usual home address to attend an authorised event.

5. The reimbursement available for eligible persons for authorised events within the State of Victoria will be limited to the amount specified in the Reimbursement Schedule per person except where a higher amount of authorised expenditure has been provided for in the budget of the relevant party body.

6. For an authorised event:

   1. Only those required to be in attendance will qualify for reimbursement. I.E. State Council members, State Office Bearers, the Representatives of Members Elected to Public Officean elected office in a council or parliament, committee members, persons attending at the request of the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria and persons attending to present to the meeting in question.

   2. Only the cost of travel to and from the venue of the meeting will be eligible for reimbursement and this may include; airfares, public transport, taxis or the use of a private vehicle (which will be reimbursed based the maximum standard rate per kilometre as defined by the ATO).

   3. For those eligible to have their transport costs reimbursed and where a ticket/receipt for transport cannot be produced, reimbursement will be made in line with current transport rates.

   4. The AGVAustralian Greens Victoria encourages the use of billeting where it is available however members who, for whatever reason, are required to attend events on behalf of the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria and choose to make use of hotels or other similar facilities, are entitled to reimbursement up to the amount specified in the Reimbursement Schedule. Only the night before the meeting or the night following the meeting will be claimable unless determined otherwise by the Most Senior Staff Member of the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria.

   5. Members are entitled to claim childcare expenses for the period of the event (including the night either before or after in line with 17(d)) and the time taken to travel to and from the event. The rate of reimbursement for childcare is specified in the Reimbursement Schedule.

7. Where members agree to allow the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria State Office to organise the travel and accommodation to an interstate or international authorised event, the following expenses will be eligible for full reimbursement:

   1. Transfers (travel to and from airports, stations, meeting venues and other related facilities)

   2. Long distance travel by air, road, rail or sea.

   3. Accommodation for the period of the event.

   4. Food to the value of the amount specified in the Reimbursement Schedule per person per day.

   5. Childcare at the rate specified in the Reimbursement Schedule

8. With regard to clause 18, the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria undertakes to consult with any person travelling on behalf of the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria to an authorised event about times, methods of transportation and accommodation with the understanding that the AGVAustralian Greens Victoria’s Most Senior Staff MemberState Director will make the final decision on what is acceptable.

9. The Reimbursement Schedule below may be altered from time to time as is considered appropriate by the Finance, Administration and Infrastructure Committee.

Reimbursement Schedule

Clause 16: $150 per person.
(maximum amount reimbursable for events within Victoria)

Clause 17 (b): up to $300 per person for airfares per event for interstate events and up to $1,000 for airfares for international events.
(maximum amount reimbursable for long distance travel)

Clause 17 (d): Per night, as per the ATO Taxation Determination TD 2016/13 Table 1 (Employee’s annual salary - $117,450 and below). If booking for Melbourne or Sydney CBD, bookings are to be made from State Office as an arrangement is in place.
(overnight accommodation reimbursement)

Clause 17 (e): $20 per hour.
& 18 (e) (childcare reimbursement rate)

Clause 18 (d): $75 per person per day.
(daily food allowance)

Modification History

Action	Body	Date
Approved	State Council	2012-06-23
Amended	State Council	2015-03-28
Amended	State Executive	2019-08-15
Amended	State Council	2019-10-02