Subclause 13.2.4.2 (Downgrading the Class of Air Travel)

Defence Determination 2005/12

I, SUSAN JANE PARR, Director General Personnel Policy and Employment Conditions, Defence Personnel Executive, make this Determination under section 58B of the Defence Act 1903.
Dated 13 May 2005
S J PARR
Director General
Personnel Policy and Employment Conditions
Defence Personnel Executive

1 Citation

This Determination is Defence Determination 2005/12, Overseas conditions of service – amendment.

2 Commencement

This Determination commences on 19 May 2005.

3 Amendment

Defence Determination 2003/21, Conditions of Service, as amended,1 is amended as set out in this Determination.

4 Subclause 13.2.4.2 (Downgrading the class of air travel)

omit

5 Annex 15.2.A (Post indexes)

substitute
the Annex set out in the Attachment to this Determination.

6 Paragraph 15.3.15.1.a (Amount of repayments)

substitute
a. / The cost incurred by the member for the return travel by a dependant.
Exception: This cost excludes any cost that the member is responsible to pay for an adult escort that a carrier requires for the member's child.

7 Subclause 15.3.16.1 (Member or spouse visits dependant ('reverse reunion'))

substitute
1. / This clause applies to a member for whom the CDF has approved a reunion visit by a dependant (under clause 15.3.13).
2. / The member may apply in writing to the Overseas Administration Centre to be reimbursed for travel by the member or spouse to visit their dependant, instead of taking the entitlement to a reunion visit under clause 15.3.13.
Note: This visit to the dependant is sometimes called 'reverse reunion' travel.
3. / Each time that the member is reimbursed under this clause, the total number of reunion visits that the member may be reimbursed for under clause 15.3.13 is reduced by one for each dependant who is visited at the reverse reunion location.
Example 2: A member or spouse travels on a reverse reunion visit to Sydney and reunites with their two children. This reduces the family's reunion entitlement by one visit for each child.
4. / The maximum amount that a member can be reimbursed for a reverse reunion visit under this clause is the allowable travel cost for the member or spouse, travelling by the most direct route from the member's posting location to where the dependant normally lives and return.
Example: The member or spouse travels from Los Angeles to Sydney for a reverse reunion visit to two children. The allowable travel cost for the return trip by that person would have been AUD3,600. This amount is the cost limit repayable for the reverse reunion travel. If the person gets a special deal AUD 2,000 ticket, then they only get reimbursed the cost of that ticket.

8 Annex 15.6.B (Approved summer schools)

Insert, in alphabetical order
Spain / American School of Madrid

______

Note:
1. / Defence Determination 2003/21, as amended to date. For previous amendments see Note to Defence Determination 2005/1, and see also Defence Determinations 2005/1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

ATTACHMENT

Annex 15.2.A: Post indexes

Posting location / Applied index / Published index
BAHRAIN / 100.0 / 82.9
BELGIUM / 124.0 / 124.0
CAMBODIA / 100.0 / 85.6
CANADA British Columbia / 112.5 / 112.5
CANADA Ontario / 115.3 / 115.3
CANADA Other / 105.1 / 105.1
CHINA / 101.2 / 101.2
COOK ISLANDS / 140.7 / 140.7
EAST TIMOR / 107.3 / 107.3
EGYPT / 100.0 / 68.7
FIJI / 100.0 / 89.1
FRANCE Paris / 135.9 / 135.9
FRANCE Other / 128.6 / 128.6
GERMANY / 131.6 / 131.6
INDIA / 100.0 / 71.7
INDONESIA / 100.0 / 84.7
IRAQ / 100.0 / 0.00
[Note: no price data is available for this locality.]
ISRAEL / 114.4 / 114.4
ITALY / 129.8 / 129.8
JAPAN / 175.8 / 175.8
JORDAN / 100.0 / 96.2
KIRIBATI / 127.0 / 127.0
KOREA / 149.2 / 149.2
KUWAIT / 100.0 / 93.9
LEBANON / 100.9 / 100.9
MALAYSIA / 100.0 / 68.4
MARSHALL ISLANDS / 113.9 / 113.9
MICRONESIA / 108.2 / 108.2
NETHERLANDS / 127.2 / 127.2
NEW ZEALAND Wellington / 116.7 / 116.7
NEW ZEALAND Auckland / 110.2 / 110.2
NEW ZEALAND Other / 111.6 / 111.6
PAKISTAN / 100.0 / 63.7
PALAU / 164.2 / 164.2
PAPUA NEW GUINEA / 102.5 / 102.5
PHILIPPINES / 100.0 / 61.1
SAMOA / 106.5 / 106.5
SAUDI ARABIA / 100.0 / 79.2
SINGAPORE / 100.3 / 100.3
SOLOMON ISLANDS / 100.0 / 99.4
SPAIN / 113.6 / 113.6
SWEDEN / 135.3 / 135.3
SYRIA / 100.0 / 84.6
THAILAND / 100.0 / 72.5
TONGA / 107.3 / 107.3
TUVALU / 148.3 / 148.3
Posting location / Applied index / Published index
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES / 100.0 / 92.6
UK London / 149.3 / 149.3
UK Other / 127.8 / 127.8
USA Alaska / 126.9 / 126.9
USA California / 113.4 / 113.4
USA Colorado / 104.2 / 104.2
USA Connecticut/Rhode Island / 109.0 / 109.0
USA Florida / 107.9 / 107.9
USA Georgia / 102.0 / 102.0
USA Illinois / 115.8 / 115.8
USA Hawaii / 127.6 / 127.6
USA Manhattan / 127.4 / 127.4
USA Maryland/Virginia, including Washington DC / 117.6 / 117.6
USA Massachusetts / 113.2 / 113.2
USA Missouri / 114.4 / 114.4
USA New York State, excluding Manhattan / 120.0 / 120.0
USA Texas / 100.5 / 100.5
USA Washington State / 111.3 / 111.3
USA Other / 104.0 / 104.0
VANUATU / 137.0 / 137.0
VIETNAM / 100.0 / 69.4

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Defence Determination 2005/12

This Determination amends Defence Determination 2003/21, Conditions of Service (the Principal Determination), made under section 58B of the Defence Act 1903 (the Act). Chapter13 of the Principal Determination sets out provisions dealing with overseas travel for members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Chapter15 of the Principal Determination sets out provisions dealing with overseas living allowance and meal allowance for members of the ADF.

The purposes of this Determination are to:

· implement revised post indexes that apply to overseas localities where ADF members serve. The post index is worked out from local prices surveyed in March and September each year by the data service provider. An exchange rate movement in the national currency of more than 2% over two pay periods then prompts an amending determination to vary the post index.

· make a range of amendments to update and simplify the application of overseas conditions to members of the ADF.

Clause 1 of this Determination sets out the manner in which this Determination may be cited.

Clause 2 of this Determination provides that the Determination commences on 19 May 2005, the next available payday following the recalculation of post indexes.

Clause 3 specifies that the amendment is made to the Principal Determination, as amended.

Clause 4 omits an outdated administrative note contained in subclause 13.2.4.2 of the Principal Determination.

Clause 5 substitutes a new Annex 15.2.A into the Principal Determination. The new Annex changes post indexes at a range of posting localities. The changes are due to recent exchange rate movements. The applied post indexes have remained the same for listed localities, except for:

· Canada and Sweden where they decreased.

· The United Kingdom, where they increased.

Column 3 of the new Annex 15.2.A shows the index published for the posting location by the data service provider. This index is not used in working out overseas living allowance, because the post index used for this purpose must not be less than 100.

Clause 6 amends paragraph 15.3.15.1.a of the Principal Determination to make clear that the member is responsible to pay the cost of any escort that is required by an airline to accompany a child on a reunion visit.

Clause 7 rewords clause 15.3.16 of the Principal Determination to make it easier for members to understand how reverse reunion visits work. The limit on reimbursement for the reverse reunion trip has been amended to reflect more closely the allowable travel cost for those actually travelling, rather than basing an adult's reimbursement limit on the cost of a child's fares. This means the member will be reimbursed an amount that is much more relevant to the actual cost they incur for the trip. The remainder of the entitlement is unchanged.

Clause 8 prescribes a benchmark summer school for the children of members on long-term posting in Spain. Currently, there is no summer school approved for Spain. This will allow a member to seek reimbursement for the cost of summer school attended by their children in that posting location.

Criteria are provided for the exercise of discretions under the Principal Determination, as amended by this Determination. Adverse decisions are subject to merits review under the ADF redress of grievance system, including an appeal to the Defence Force Ombudsman.

Authority: Section 58B of the
Defence Act 1903