Letters

Duty calls but it might cost

THERE has been a change in the interpretation of policy in regards to members attending live-in courses.

Members who are attending a live-in course at what is now deemed to be their normal place of duty will no longer be entitled to receive incidentals.

After 21 days those members who live-out will receive the review rate, but if you live-in you will still receive nothing.

Saying that after 21 days, live-out members will receive the review rate seems strange: how can they be entitled to the review rate without being entitled to the initial rate?

In line with this new interpretation, if you are a MWOD who lives out at your normal place of duty but attends a live-in course that is deemed to be at your normal place of duty, you will no longer be eligible to be reimbursed the reasonable costs of keeping your accommodation (based on current Pacman policy).

What is your normal place of duty? Apparently it is now considered anywhere within 30km of your posted unit.

This means, for example, that if you are posted to 1 Armd Regt in Robertson Barracks and attended a live-in course at LWC-NT, which is also located in Robertson Barracks, you are now considered to still be at your normal place of duty and therefore have no entitlement to incidentals.

Based on the 30km radius though, you could also include Larrakeyah Barracks or anywhere in Darwin as being your normal place of duty.

I have a different interpretation as to what is your normal place of duty: I consider it to be your posted unit.

Members should be compensated for the extra costs incurred that are associated with attendance on a live-in course whether it is interstate or local and MWOD who cannot occupy their normal place of residence (live-in or live-out) should be eligible to be reimbursed the reasonable costs of keeping their accommodation.

For the 18 years I have been in I can always remember being paid incidentals to attend a live-in course, on both local and interstate courses. Why has the policy interpretation now changed?
WO2 Nick Gould
LWC-NT
Robertson Barracks

Colleen Goth, Director Service Conditions, responds:
THERE has been no change in this policy.
As far back as 2000 the then Indman stated: “Travelling Allowance is paid to meet the reasonable costs of accommodation, meals and incidental expenses incurred when a member is to make an authorised journey within Australia on duty, posting or termination of service.”
The term “authorised journey” means when the member:

travels at Commonwealth expense to perform duty at a place other than their normal place of duty, and
that visit requires the member to be absent overnight from his or her normal place of residence.

Defence Determination 2003/21 enhanced the policy to allow members who normally live-out but are required to live-in while on “a course of training at the member’s posting locality” to receive incidentals “for the balance of the period”.
The “balance of the period” begins immediately after midnight on the 21st day.

It is reasonable to expect that, in the short-term, a member required to live-in on course in their posting location would not incur additional expenses in the same way as a member who is temporarily located outside their posting location.

That is why members on course at their posting location do not receive incidentals for the first 21 days.

Confusion seems to come from the term “normal place of duty”. The wording in the Pacman has been changed to “posting location” to make it clearer that members who do not travel away from their posting location to undertake a live-in course are not entitled to receive incidentals for the first 21 days.

Posting location is already clearly defined in clause 1.3.52 of the Pacman, which is available online at http://intranet.defence.gov.au/pac/ or http://www.defence.gov.au/dpe/pac/.

Another issue raised is the reimbursement of reasonable costs of keeping accommodation.

Clause 9.5.38 of the Pacman provides an entitlement to members without dependents required to perform periods of duty away from their normal place of duty (posting location) for more than 21 days.

Without this clause these members would lose their living-out accommodation entitlement.

Members attending a live-in course at their normal place of duty (posting location) do not require a similar provision as they retain their normal entitlement to living-out accommodation.