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Meal Allowance During Overtime Policy

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Section 1 - Background Information

(1) This Policy has been developed to support the provision at ACU of payment of a meal allowance to those Professional Staff who are required to work overtime.

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Section 2 - Policy Statement

(2) The University recognises that from time to time Professional Staff may be required to work overtime at times that may necessitate the payment of a meal allowance. The payment of the meal allowance shall be in accordance with the provisions of this Policy.

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Section 3 - Policy Purpose

(3) This Policy informs Professional Staff members of the conditions applicable to the payment of a meal allowance when overtime is worked.

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Section 4 - Application of Policy

(4) A meal allowance shall be payable to a Professional Staff member, at the rate prescribed by this Policy where:

  1. the staff member is provided with less than 24 hours' notice of the requirement to work overtime;
  2. the staff member works at least one and a half hours authorised overtime before or after her/his ordinary hours for the day/shift; and
  3. such overtime is continuous with the staff member's normal hours for the day/shift except for any intervening meal break taken in accordance with the Policy in relation to Meal Breaks and Rest Pauses.

(5) The meal allowance rate of $37.65 payable under this Policy is reviewed annually by the University, in line with changes in the CPI, but shall not exceed that provided for by the relevant Australian Taxation Office Determination.

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Section 5 - Approvals

(6) A meal allowance is payable in circumstances where the overtime is approved by the delegated University officer and the conditions in Section (4) above are met.

(7) Staff members who are eligible to claim a meal allowance should complete a Staff Reimbursement Form and email the completed form with the relevant documents to Accounts Payable (accountspayable@acu.edu.au) for processing.

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Section 6 - Revisions made to this Policy

(8) The revision table includes revisions up until this document was migrated into the current policy platform. Any later changes will show in the Status and Details tab. 

Date Major, Minor or Editorial Description
22 June 2018 Editorial Updated to incorporate new ACU branding and updated policy template as per the ACU Staff Enterprise Agreement 2017-2021.
4 April 2019 Major Increase in the meal allowance rate from 1 July 2018 consistent with ATO Determination TD 2018/11.
13 September 2020 Minor Update in the meal allowance rate as per ATO Tax Ruling 2020/5.
16 September 2022 Editorial Update in the meal allowance rate as per ATO Tax Ruling 2022/10.
10 July 2023 Editorial Update in the meal allowance rate as per ATO Tax Ruling 2023/3.

(9) The University may make changes to this Policy and procedures from time to time to improve the effectiveness of its operation. In this regard, any staff member who wishes to make any comments about this Policy may forward their suggestions to People and Capability.

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Section 7 - Further Assistance

(10) Any staff member who requires assistance in understanding this Policy should first consult their nominated supervisor who is responsible for the implementation and operation of these arrangements in their work area. Should further information or advice be required staff should visit Service Central.

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Section 8 - Additional Information

(11) For related legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines and any supporting resources please refer to the Associated Information tab.