3. Booking your travel

FCM

FCM is the University’s contracted travel management company. Approved travel is to be booked via FCM, unless 100% of travel is paid for by the individual (not grant or research funds) or by an external party (eg another University), or in certain circumstances eg remote travel locations, bookings can be made directly with the accommodation.

FCM Platform is the University’s online travel portal and gives access to travel policy, preferred suppliers, membership programs, online booking tool (SAVI) for domestic travel, crisis management alerts, traveller profiles and Pre Trip Approval (PTA).

All travel must be approved using PTA.

When in the FCM travel platform, travellers anbd travel bookers can access the FCM Help Center for FAQs:

Airfares, class of travel and loyalty programs/points

  • All flight bookings must be booked through FCM.
  • Exceptions to booking through FCM are outlined in the section below.
  • The Best Fare of the Day should be selected (the most logical economical airfare or route available at the time of booking that meets the business requirements of the traveller).
  • Utilisation of Best Fare of the Day must override all personal preferences, airline memberships and reward programs and memberships (such as frequent flyer program or other loyalty program) and/or accrual of frequent flyer points.
  • Where possible, non-flexible fares should be used.
  • FCM are not required by Fed Uni to instruct travellers if they will or will not earn points and status on flights.
  • Unused airfare credits (credits on hold) must be used for subsequent bookings where possible.
  • Bookings should be made as early as possible in order to obtain the most cost effective rates.

Domestic travel (class of travel)

Domestic travel must be booked at Economy class.

International travel (class of travel)

International air travel must be booked at Economy Class except if the travel approver uses their discretion to approve travel at a higher class of travel (Premium Economy or Business Class) in certain circumstances including:

  1. To accommodate the specific health and safety needs of a Fed Uni traveller such as:
    • a medically certified disability or medical condition;
  2. Budget is available and:
    • The air travel is paid for by an external organisation with funds not administered by Fed Uni or where a higher class of travel above Economy Class is explicitly included and stated in the approved budget of an externally funded project/contract; or
    • The air travel is paid (or upgraded from Economy Class) using personal funds.

Travellers may upgrade travel to a higher class with their own personal funds or loyalty/frequent flyer points. This can be facilitated by FCM.

Accommodation

  • All accommodation should be booked through FCM to access the Fed Uni and FCM negotiated accommodation discounts.
  • Accommodation should be booked at the same time as airfares, unless there are sound reasons for not doing so.

Car hire

  • Car hire should be booked through FCM, either through Savi for domestic travel or via the FCM team international travel.
  • Travellers should consider car hire when driving is more cost-effective than other forms of transport e.g. when travelling with other travellers or transporting large material.
  • Drivers must observe all traffic laws and will be personally liable for any breaches of those laws (including parking and speeding offences).

Exceptions

Fed Uni recognises that certain circumstances sometime warrant an exception to the requirement to book through FCM.

The only permissible exceptions to using FCM Travel Solutions are:

Exception to booking travel with FCM Travel Solutions

Exception Conditions

University travel that is booked and paid for by an external organisation or self-funded by the traveller where no reimbursement is requested from available Fed Uni funds.

Travel must be approved via PTA and all international and domestic trips involving a flight or overnight accommodation must be registered through Healix

Copy of your itinerary and contact details must be given to your supervisor.

Accommodation can be booked directly via a conference organiser(or when accommodation is offered as part of a conference package), or when travelling to a remote location where accommodation cannot be sourced through FCM

Travel must be approved via PTA and all international and domestic trips involving a flight or overnight accommodation must be registered through Healix

Copy of your itinerary and contact details must be given to your supervisor.

Accommodation and car hire associated with research and field work activities, where a pre-planned detailed itinerary is not feasible and high flexibility is needed to meet the business requirement of the trip. Examples are research dependent on local environment (e.g. Weather) or nature of monitoring/research

Exception must be approved prior to departure by the Head of Business Unit or approved delegate.

Unexpected last minute flights (and associated accommodation) originating in a country outside Australia whilst the original trip is in progress.

Late change while trip is in progress must be approved by the Head of Business unit or approved delegate.

Late change travel arrangements (flights and accommodation) must be registered through Healix

Send revised itinerary with contact details to Supervisor.

Private accommodation*

* if a traveller elects to arrange private accommodation (such as staying with friends, colleagues or family) Fed Uni will not pay accommodation expenses

Contact details of host and traveller must be provided to your Supervisor prior to departure.

Where possible details of travel must be registered through Healix

Payment

Virtual Card/Chargeback / charge card

Fed Uni uses virtual credit card payment via FCM to pay for travel. Costs from travel will be charged to the individual staff member on payment of travel. These costs will flow to Concur – the university expense management system. Travel expenses require acquittal by the traveller using appropriate cost centres.

Group bookings

Group Pricing & Booking Conditions

Group bookings attract different pricing to bookings for an individual or less than 10 travellers. In some cases a group costing can be more expensive however, it does come with additional benefits such as flexible payment terms, traveller name changes, luggage allowances and other fare conditions.

If a group does not require flexibility for providing names and making payment, individual bookings can be made via the day-to-day FCM team to take advantage of sale or instant purchase fares.

Group bookings generally require full payment 30 days prior to departure for Domestic or 45 days for International bookings and in most cases are non-refundable. If booking within this timeframe it may be worth considering making individual bookings that may have different cancellation or credit policies. Please contact us for more information.

Travellers should be aware that group pricing is subject to availability and change without notice until a booking is confirmed with payment.

Obtaining a Quote

Group travel can be more complex than an individual travel booking. Quotes cannot always be provided within the same day the request is sent to FCM. Please allow the following time lines for a quote to be processed:

  • Domestic group quote up to 2 business days
  • International group quote up to 4 business days

At the time of requesting a quote your FCM consultant will advise of the timelines for the enquiry.

Travellers should be aware that quotes are not confirmed itineraries. During the quote process, the itinerary is not held nor confirmed.

Minimum deposits per person are required to secure a group itinerary. At time of quoting, your FCM consultant will advise payment timelines to secure the booking.