InternetNZ Travel Policy

InternetNZ – Draft Travel Policy

For Council on 30 April 2005

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL POLICY

1. Introduction

1.1 InternetNZ has international relationships that generate the need for on-the-ground representation at overseas meetings on a regular basis. As an active participant in the international ccTLD manager arena, InternetNZ regards such activity as a key part of its activity and therefore invests substantial resources, in the form of international
travel.

1.2 The objective of this policy is to help ensure that InternetNZ’s international travel is conducted in an appropriate manner. For the purposes of the policy, “appropriate”means that:

• InternetNZ is represented at relevant meetings;
• InternetNZ is represented by the person/people authorised to contribute to the
meeting; and
• All travel is justified in terms of meeting the goals set out for the meeting/s.

1.3 This policy covers the expenses that are funded by InternetNZ, the procedural requirements for applying for travel, and the authorisations required before any travel is booked.

2. Travel Expenses & Conditions

2.1 Expenses to be reimbursed by InternetNZ are covered below in the Travel Reimbursement Policy.
2.2 Late changes –last minute changes to travel itineraries will not be reimbursed unless authorisation is received from the relevant authorising body before the expense is incurred.
2.3 Flight sectors (or total air time) which are longer than 8 hours will be booked business class. Flight sectors shorter than this will be booked economy class. Travellers are welcome to upgrade flights if they wish, at their own expense.

3. Applying for Travel

3.1 Most international travel is planned in advance for the year in which travel is expected to occur. This is referred to as “planned travel” in this policy.
3.2 Where unexpected/unplanned travel is required, approval must be sought from the appropriate body prior to undertaking the trip. This is referred to as “unplanned travel”in this policy.
3.3 InternetNZ’s International Affairs Committee (IAC) is responsible for the ongoing management of the planned travel portfolio.
3.4 The annual travel plan will be represented by a detailed line budget for each determined meeting. As with other budget procedures within the Society this is a binding structure in that funds are non-transferable across budget lines. In the case of unscheduled meetings occurring from time-to-time, the decision as to whether to attend any such meeting will rest with Council deciding on the business case put forward to support the application.
3.5 The attendance profile will frequently be determined by the particular meeting as to whether it is a staff member or volunteer that should attend various of the meetings throughout the year.
3.6 All persons that can be considered to attend international meetings will be considered for any given trip and the individual should not, in general, be pre-determined.
3.7 There are two separate procedures where a trip is designated as a staff trip and when it is determined as having a wider base of representatives.
3.8 When the trip is designated as requiring staff representation the determination of which staff member should attend will rest on the "branch" of the organisation that will best benefit from the representation. If it is determined that it is .nz then it is a matter for the office of the DNC. If it is the Society then the matter will rest with the Executive Director. If either, or both, of these persons is conflicted by dint of being the potential traveller the matter should be referred directly to the authorizing body to determine. Signed approval for the designated traveller/s will still need to be sought from the appropriate authority, and depending on the budget source, this will be .nzOC or the Executive Committee.
3.9 Where the representation is determined to be open to a wider base of volunteers as well, a separate procedure should be undertaken:
3.9.1 By, at the latest three months prior to a trip taking place, all those that wish to be considered as possible approved INZ representatives should fill out a travel application form, stating the business case as to why they should be considered.
3.9.2 A selection committee of completely non-conflicted persons will assess the business cases and select the person/s to represent INZ at the meeting/s.
3.9.3 The selection committee will be comprised of:

• The President (or, in the case of conflict a designee)
• The Treasurer
• IAC Chair (or, in the case of conflict a designee)
• Chair of the Committee directly impacted by attendance at the meeting, e.g. Technical Committee (or, in the case of conflict a designee).

3.9.4 The task of this committee will be to examine the business case put forward and, from this, the value of attendance to INZ of the various applicants and to select according to best perceived return on the investment being made by the Society.

3.9.5 The recommendation/s from the selection committee then go forward to the authorizing body in the normal manner for sign-off.

3.10 Applicants for travel are reminded that no expense can be incurred before travel authorisation has been secured.

4. Budget for Travel

4.1 InternetNZ maintains two budgets for travel.
4.2 Travel related to the .nz ccTLD is funded from the Domain Name Commissioner’s international travel budget (.nz travel budget). This budget is available for travel required in representing the .nz domain name space at relevant fora.
4.3 Travel not directly related to the .nz ccTLD is funded from InternetNZ’s international travel budget (non-.nz travel budget). This budget is available for all international travel in support of InternetNZ’s Strategic and Business Plans that fall outside of the the .nz sphere.
4.4 Planned travel for both budgets is outlined in the Business Plan. It is expected that travel will be included in the Business Plan if it is known to be required in time for inclusion. This is described as planned travel as defined in clause 3.1.
4.5 Expenditures required for unplanned travel as defined in clause 3.2 will be approved by the appropriate body with reference to the appropriate budget line if one exists.
4.6 Where there is a need to undertake unbudgeted travel, budget authorisation must be given by the Executive Committee or .nz Oversight Committee (whichever applies).
4.7 Any travel expenses incurred without the approval of the relevant authorising body, will not be reimbursed by InternetNZ, as a matter of policy. No exceptions will be made to this rule under any circumstances.

5. Changes to Travel

5.1 Where the primary purpose of any proposed travel changes e.g. through changed meeting agenda or timetable, or seems likely to change, a revised International Travel Form must be submitted to the selection committee.
5.2 The committee will consider the revised form and decide whether the previous approval to travel stands, or whether it is withdrawn.
5.3 The committee will forward its recommendation to the appropriate authorising body for revision. No expenses can be entertained without the revised authorisation.

InternetNZ Travel Reimbursement Policy.

These rules apply equally to all personnel travelling on behalf of InternetNZ.

1. For Trips of short duration i.e. travel and return within one day.

Invoice reimbursements on travel claims within New Zealand

1.1 All expenditures that the claimant considers to have been disbursed by them on the Society's behalf are carefully listed and justified by correct original invoices.
1.2 A claims form is filled out and the invoices are attached claiming back all appropriate expenditures. The claims form and attached invoices should be checked through by the responsible person (the Executive Director, the Treasurer or similar) for
appropriateness and signed off, as agreed to be reimbursed.

2. Invoice reimbursements

2.1 All claims must be presented to the office for reimbursement within 2 months of the travel having occurred. Claims made beyond this time may be refused for reimbursement.
2.2 All disbursements to be claimed must be justified with correct invoices.
2.3 Non-detailed till receipts will not be acceptable. You must ask for a detailed invoice. DO NOT Lose your invoices. You will only be reimbursed for sums you can justify with invoices.
2.4 No action is to be taken on reimbursement until after the travel is completed. The claimant supplies the necessary claims form and justifying original invoices (copies are not permitted). These are examined by the appropriate person (as above) and signed off for reimbursement.
Additional note if not using a per diem assessment:
2.5 The following limits will be applied to all travel in New Zealand unless prior approval of the Treasurer or authorising body is sought and gained.
2.5.1 Accommodation will be reimbursed up to a maximum $170 per night in Wellington, Christchurch or Auckland. Elsewhere the upper limit is $135 per night. In the case of a person staying privately (or unable to produce an invoice) a
sum of $50.00 per night will be paid. N.B Mini-bar costs will not be reimbursed.
2.5.2 Claims for alcohol will not be reimbursed (exception: where the alcohol is included as part of a hospitality claim undertaken on behalf of the Society).
2.5.3 No unusual items will be reimbursed such as: newspapers, postage stamps, stationery or related materials, hotel telephonecharges, hotel or Internet-café Internet charges unless such expenses are provably undertaken on behalf of the Society.
2.5.4 Personal in-hotel video or pay-view tv charges or video rentals will not be reimbursed.
2.5.6 Taxi reimbursements are limited to the connections between hotel and airport and between hotel and meeting(s).
2.5.7 Special one-off charges incurred as a consequence of the authorised travel will always be considered but the traveller will be expected to supply full details of any such special circumstances before approval of any such claim can be
made.

In cases where per diem assessments are used:

2.6 The United Nations world-wide per diem rates will be applied. These rates include all expenses incurred by the traveller apart from air travel. The known percentage of the per diem allocated for hotel accommodation will be taken in to account in those circumstances where meetings are held in specific venues with nightly rates in excess of the allowance. No additional personal claims can be made by a traveller for expenses incurred as part of the travel (except noting clause 2.5.6 above).

2.7 The per diem is calculated at 50% for the outbound journey and 50% for the return. Each night at the destination site is counted as one unit. The number of per diem units will be based on the planned trip only.

2.8 Per diem payments are made to the traveller prior to departure. No justifications are required as to expenditures undertaken for the trip with the special exception of those cases where a traveller genuinely needs to exceed the per diem paid. In this case the traveller will need to provide full invoiced justification for all the expenditures including those covered by the per diem. The additional costs are claimed using a standard claims form and all justifications will need to be provided before the additional claim can be considered. No guarantees are provided that the additional claim will be approved, each case being judged on its own merits.

3. Own vehicle use

3.1 In cases where the traveller uses their own vehicle to travel between destinations the traveller must supply the mileage travelled and this will form the basis of reimbursement but the following rules apply:
3.1.1 Where a journey is normally made by flying, e.g. Wellington - Auckland, the maximum limit of reimbursement will be the same as the normal, or average, cost of the economy air fare for the trip.
3.1.2 Where such trips cannot be made by air travel, e.g. Wairarapa - Wellington these will be reimbursed at the current IRD per/kilometre level, at the time of writing 63 cents per kilometre, (a special IRD rule applies to regular car users –travel is reimbursed at 63 cents per kilometre for the first 3000 Kms and thereafter at 19 cents on an annual i.e. 12 month basis). No additional sums for the journey such as petrol costs will be reimbursed.

4. Air Travel Costs

4.1 All travel in New Zealand will be in Economy Class. Every effort must be made to obtain the most reasonable cost travel. On those occasions where an overnight stay will reduce the cost of the flight, the total of flight plus accommodation must be balanced against the more expensive return flight.
4.2 The travel, and any travel insurance, will be booked through the INZ Office on behalf of the traveller. These costs are then paid directly by the Society to the travel agency as part of the normal financial management function. In extraordinary situations where the traveller books and pays for their own flights the traveller can then claim back these costs following the same policies as above.
4.3 In the exceptional situation where travel is booked and paid for by the traveller a considerable time in advance of the travel, the traveller can make a claim for the cost of the travel, once it is paid for, with justifying invoices. If for some reason the travel is not then undertaken on behalf of the Society's business the traveller will reimburse the Society for all such payments as have been claimed in advance.

5. Overseas Travel

5.1 Unless a fixed sum has been agreed and authorised prior to the travel taking place all expenditures incurred by the traveller on behalf of the Society must be justified following the same procedures and criteria as those above for travel within New Zealand.

6. Additional items

6.1 Travellers undertaking extensive travel on behalf of the Society may claim such personal expenses as laundry/dry-cleaning costs when the duration of the Society obligation trip is 7 days or longer, excluding travel time.

7. Special Note (particularly for International Travel)

7.1 Any trip including additional personal travel will have special conditions attached:
7.1.1 The trip undertaken at the Society's cost will be that agreed and approved, in advance, by the authorising body (the planned travel as defined in clause 3.1 of the INZ Travel Policy).
7.1.2 The Society will not assume any costs for any activity outside of the authorised trip.
7.1.3 The travel will only be reimbursed as from NZ to meeting destination and return for the authorised trip. No additional in-journey travel will be assumed as a Society obligation.
7.1.4 Accommodation will only be reimbursed for the duration of the planned trip. No additional accommodation costs will be assumed as a Society obligation.
7.1.5 Adding personal trips to the authorised trip will not be included as part of the duration of the trip so any time-limits will be applied only to the authorised trip.
(For clarification - a four-day authorised trip with an addition of personal travel of 5 days will be considered as a four-day trip, not a nine-day trip.)
7.1.6 Sight-seeing trips and other leisure activities are at the traveller's own expense.