9Travelling expenses

9 Travelling expenses

Definitions (1) In this regulation:

attendant means:

(a) a person who is authorised by the Commission under section 110 of the Act to accompany a veteran or a dependant of a deceased veteran as his or her attendant; or
(b) a person who accompanies a person mentioned in subsection 132(1), (3), (5) or (7) of the Act; or
(c) if the Commission is of the view that it is reasonable for an applicant under section 170B, 196ZO or 196ZQ of the Act to be accompanied by an attendant—a person who accompanies the applicant.

commercial accommodation means accommodation provided by a commercial establishment such as a hotel or motel.

entitled person means a person who is entitled to be paid travelling expenses under section 110, 132, 170B, 196ZO or 196ZQ of the Act.

private accommodation means accommodation that is not commercial accommodation or subsidised accommodation.

residence, for a person at a time, means the permanent or temporary place of residence of that person at that time.

subsidised accommodation means accommodation provided on a cost‑recovery basis by an organisation that receives a subsidy for providing the accommodation, such as a hostel.

travel, for an entitled person, means travel referred to in section 110, 132, 170B, 196ZO or 196ZQ of the Act from his or her residence to his or her destination and return.

Composition of travel expenses (2) Subject to this regulation, and to regulations 9AD and 9AE, travelling expenses comprise the amount required to reimburse in whole or part expenditure on: (a) transport; or (b) accommodation; or (c) meals; necessarily incurred by or on behalf of an entitled person in connection with travel mentioned in section 110, 132, 170B, 196ZO or 196ZQ of the Act. (3) Subject to subregulations (4) and (4A), and regulation 9AD, the amount of travelling expenses payable to an entitled person in relation to transport for travel will not exceed an amount calculated by the Commission as the cost of travel by the most appropriate form of transport over the relevant distance.

Note: For the calculation of the cost of transport, see subregulation (11).

(4) Subject to regulation 9AD, if the cost incurred by an entitled person in relation to transport for travel mentioned in subregulation (3) is less than the amount calculated by the Commission under that subregulation, the cost will be the amount of travelling expenses payable to that person for transport. (4A) If an entitled person incurs parking fees at or near 1 or more places to which the person has travelled for a purpose mentioned in section 110, 132, 170B, 196ZO or 196ZQ of the Act, the travelling expenses payable to the person are the costs necessarily incurred. Forms of transport (5) For subregulation (3), the most appropriate form of transport is the form determined by the Commission with reference to: (a) the forms of transport that were reasonably available to the person for the purpose of that travel; and (b) the cost of each of those forms of transport, including, if a form of transport was reasonably available in more than 1 class, differences in cost between those classes; and (c) the desirability of using the cheapest form of suitable transport for that travel; and (d) the degree of any mental or physical disablement of the person; and (e) the distance travelled; and (f) whether the route taken in that travel was the most direct, practical route; as the most appropriate form of transport for that travel. Relevant distance (6) For subregulation (3), the relevant distance for travel by an entitled person under section 110 of the Act is: (a) if the distance from the residence of the entitled person to the treatment location is more than 50 km, the greater of: (i) the distance determined by the Commission to be the distance between the entitled person’s residence and the closest practical treatment location; and (ii) 50 km; or (b) if the distance from the residence of the entitled person to the treatment location is 50 km or less—that distance. (9) For subregulation (3), the relevant distance for travel under section 132 or 196ZQ of the Act is the distance that in all the circumstances is reasonable. (10) For subregulation (3), the relevant distance for travel under section 170B or 196ZO of the Act is the distance by the most direct practicable route from the entitled person’s residence to the place attended by that person to obtain relevant documentary medical evidence. Cost of transport (11) For this regulation, the cost of transport for travel between 2 places over the most direct route between the places is taken to be the following: (a) for travel by private motor vehicle—26.7 cents per kilometre; (b) if paragraph (a) applies—the costs necessarily incurred by an entitled person for tolls paid in relation to travel by private motor vehicle; (c) for travel by any other means—the costs necessarily incurred by an entitled person.