Travel Policy
Policy owner: Group General Manager Strategy, Capability and Performance
Policy approved by: ENZ Board on 14 June 2023
Policy applies from: 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2026
Revision date: July 2025
Next review due: 30 June 2026
Applies to: Staff, Contractors, and Board members
Purpose
To set out ENZ’s business related travel policy.
Scope
In general, this policy is in respect of business travel by an employee. However, this policy should
also be applied, where practicable and applicable, in situations where ENZ are paying for
individuals to travel on our behalf.
Background
ENZ’s purpose is to take New Zealand’s education experiences to the world for enduring
economic, social, and cultural benefits. ENZ operations are conducted across the globe, with staff
based in New Zealand and oveunder the Official Information Act 1982
rseas. In order to meet ENZ’s goals and carry out its work ENZ
employees are often required to travel, sometimes extensively, in New Zealand and across the
world.
Sensitive Expenditure
Any expenditure Released
on travel, no matter how small, is sensitive and must be treated accordingly. As
such, spend on travel must be properly authorised and the reasons for the expenditure fully
documented. The reasons for this type of spend must be able to withstand public and
Parliamentary scrutiny.
Definitions
For the purposes of this policy:
an ‘Employee’ is a permanent, fixed-term or casual member of staff, Board member,
contractor or secondee.
travel between the employee’s home and their normal place of work is not regarded as
‘business related travel’. It is therefore excluded from the provisions of this policy unless
expressly stated otherwise.
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General Guidance
As a general principle, all travel and travel related costs must have one-up approval, e.g ENZ
Board Chair for Chief Executive, Chief Executive for Group General Managers, Group General
Managers for Directors and Regional Directors, Directors for Managers etc.
All travel must be pre-approved by the line manager (one-up approval), e.g. Group General
Manager International for Regional Directors, Regional Directors for offshore staff in that region or
by the Group General Manager for Directors or employee’s Director for New Zealand based staff.
For New Zealand based employees travel bookings iare made in the Orbit Travel booking tool and
authorised by your Group General Manager
For International based employees travel bookings are made either through a local travel agency,
NZTE, MFAT or corporate credit card.
When booking travel through Orbit, itineraries will automatically be fed through to Healix. Healix
Travel Oracle is an important safety tool for all ENZ staff as it provides updates about emergency
situations as they arise. When staff are travelling for work, whether domestically or internationally,
it is important they turn on their Healix Travel Oracle App GPS tracker, so if they do get into
trouble, assistance can easily be provided. ENZ has a duty of care to know where staff are. If Staff
do not have their GPS tracker on, then assistance cannot be provided in an emergency situation.
Refer to Appendix 1 for ENZ expectations on the use of the Healix Travel Oracle App.
Where possible and whenever practical when considering the need to travel, there should be initial
consideration of technology-enabled solutions as opposed to travel in person.
When there are two or more ENZ staff are having meals together whilst travelling, the most ENZ
senior employee must pay the cost of the meal.
We will not pay for alcohol or minibar costs (with the exception of water) as part of travel related
costs.
under the Official Information Act 1982
ENZ will not pay for parking, traffic or any other vehicle related fines incurred by an employee
whilst driving on ENZ business.
Travel by an em Released
ployee’s family members or other companions will not be paid for by ENZ. It is
therefore excluded from the provisions of this policy unless otherwise stated or superseded by the
provisions of the employee’s employment contract (see ‘Personal or Companion Travel’ below).
ENZ will reimburse costs associated with business related travel when there are itemised tax
invoices/receipts, clear description of business purpose and attendees are provided in a timely
manner - in English or Te Reo Maori.
Dollar Values
All Dollar amounts stated in this policy are inclusive of GST or the local taxes applicable outside of
New Zealand.
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Approvals
New Zealand based employees
Travel within New Zealand (domestic)
All travel must be pre-approved in writing by your line manager.
Travel bookings made on the Orbit booking tool and approved by your Group General
Manager.
Note the ENZ Board Chair approves the Board members travel. The Chair of the Audit and
Risk Committee approves the Board Chair’s travel. All travel must be pre-approved in writing.
Travel outside New Zealand (international)
Consultation with the Group General Manager International and Sector Engagement and
Regional Director for the region you are travelling to.
All travel must be pre-approved in writing by your line manager using the International
Travel Approval Form and travel bookings made on the Orbit booking tool. NB travel quotes
to be provided via the Orbit booking tool or directly via Orbit Travel
Travel approval is given by the Chief Executive jointly with the Group General Manager
Strategy, Capability and Performance
International based employees
Travel within an employees’s global region (domestic)
All travel must be pre-approved in writing (in consultation with your Regional Director) by
Group General Manager International and Sector Engagement
Travel bookings are made either through a local travel agency, NZTE, MFAT or corporate
credit card.
Travel outside of an employee’s global region (international)
Consultation with the under the Official Information Act 1982
Group General Manager International and Sector Engagement and
Regional Director for the region you are travelling to.
All travel must be pre-approved in writing by your Regional Director using the International
Travel Approval Form
Travel approval is given by the Chief Executive jointly with the Group General Manager
Internat Released
ional and Sector Engagement
Note – approvals/form should be saved in IPU under Saved a travel request and itinerary for
reporting purposes such as annual review and audit purposes.
Orbit Bookings
Orbit Travel is ENZ’s corporate travel agent.
To obtain an Orbit booking tool log in, contact the ICT and Property Specialist
To make travel bookings directly with Orbit Travel
- Travel within New Zealand email: [email address]
- Travel outside New Zealand email: [email address]
Getting There
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Flights
Economy class will be used for any flight of less than five hours. Premium economy may be used
for flights that are greater than five hours duration.
Premium economy class, also known as elite economy class or economy plus class, is a travel
class offered on some airlines. Higher classes of flight travel will only be approved in exceptional
circumstances by the Chief Executive and the Group General Manager Strategy, Capability and
Performance jointly.
Higher classes of flight travel will only be used for flights that are greater than five hours duration
when premium economy class or equivalent is unavailable on the route and only in exceptional
circumstances with pre-approval from the Chief Executive and Group General Manager Strategy,
Capability and Performance (NB such approval will only be given for the purchase of a ticket. It will
not allow an employee to purchase multiple tickets of a lower class to enable companion travel).
ENZ will, wherever possible or practicable, book flights well in advance of travel, in order to obtain
the best prices.
ENZ will only pay for the cost of flight changes when ENZ has made the request or where there are
reasonable grounds for change.
ENZ will pay for all flight related taxes and duties for business related travel.
If the actual cost of travel exceeds the pre-approved amount by 5% or more then the responsible
staff member will provide an explanation and seek retrospective approval from the Group General
Manager Strategy, Capability and Performance and Chief Executive.
ENZ will not hire charter air travel unless there are exceptional and extenuating circumstances and
prior written approval has been given by the Chief Executive.
Rental cars
under the Official Information Act 1982
Wherever possible and whenever practical (see note 1 below), a rental car will be the first choice of
transport where the cost is estimated to be lower than that of air travel, taxi, or private vehicle.
ENZ will hire vehicles that are both economical and appropriate for the purpose, considering the
nature of travel, Released
length of journey, number of passengers (if any) and size of any equipment or
materials to be transported.
Rental vehicles hired for business use will not be used for personal travel, unless there are
extenuating and exceptional circumstances, prior approval is given by a member of the Senior
Leadership Team and there is no additional cost to ENZ.
Note 1. Practicalities include the level of travel required to pick-up and/or drop-off a rental car.
Where there is significant travel involved in collecting the rental car, employees should consider
using an alternative method of transport for their main journey.
Note 2. ENZ’s standard travel insurance does not extend to rental cars. Insurance must be
purchased from the rental car agency on each occasion a car is hired.
Taxis
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Taxis will only be used where the cost is reasonable and justifiable.
Taxis will not be used for ‘walking distance’ journeys unless there are extenuating circumstances
such as mobility issues, need to transport bulky or heavy materials or equipment etc.
Public transport
ENZ will reimburse actual and reasonable costs of business-related travel by public transport,
when supporting evidence is supplied.
Private vehicles
Using a private vehicle for ENZ business is generally discouraged because:
ENZ’s travel insurance does not cover ‘business use’ of private motor vehicles
the employee’s private motor vehicle insurance might not cover ‘business use’
there are other more cost-effective methods of transport.
Use of a private vehicle for business travel is to be pre-approved by your Group General Manager,
once ENZ are satisfied that the vehicle to be used meets the criteria set out in the Safe Driving
Policy.
Use of a private vehicle is limited to any total journey under 200km in any twenty-four-hour period
unless there are extenuating circumstances (e.g. mobility issues) and pre-approval is given by the
employee’s line manager. In exceptional circumstances the Chief Executive or your Group General
Manager may approve journeys of a greater distance.
Where a private vehicle is used on ENZ business, ENZ will reimburse motor vehicle usage at the
prevailing mileage rate set by Inland Revenue for reimbursing employees subject to all of the
following conditions being met:
the cost of the journey is less than the estimated cost of hiring a rental vehicle plus fuel
costs for the period of trunder the Official Information Act 1982
avel being undertaken and
the total journey does not go beyond 200km in any twenty-four-hour period and
the employee has not claimed for more than 5,000km of usage in the current financial year.
Where one or more of the above conditions is not met ENZ will reimburse actual fuel costs, when
supported by ite Released
mised receipts.
ENZ will not contribute to any costs associated with accidents where the employee was at fault.
Parking
ENZ will reimburse actual and reasonable parking costs, when supported by itemised receipts.
Staying There
Accommodation
ENZ will book accommodation:
at a cost that is reasonable and justifiable
that considers the need to ensure that employees are housed in accommodation
that meets ENZ’s health and safety requirements whilst travelling abroad.
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Staying privately
Requests from an employee to stay with friends or relatives, whilst on ENZ related business travel,
will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the employee’s line manager. ENZ may contribute
up to NZ$50 per night to the household expenses of the friend or relative. ENZ will not contribute
to other costs such as gifts, dining out etc.
Meals
ENZ will reimburse:
Actual and reasonable meal expenses (breakfast, lunch, dinner) for employees who are
required to travel overnight or away from home for multiple nights. ENZ will not reimburse
alcohol purchases. As a guide, up to NZ$25 for breakfast and lunch and up to NZ$50 for
dinner is considered reasonable.
Actual and reasonable lunch expenses up to a maximum of NZ$25 will be reimburse for
employees away on business from their usual workplace for the day, but only where lunch
has not been provided by the host. ENZ will not reimburse alcohol purchases.
Costs will only be reimbursed when supported by itemised tax invoices/receipts, clear description of
the business purpose and attendees.
When there are two or more ENZ staff are having meal together whilst travelling, the most ENZ
senior employee must pay the cost of the meal. There are exceptions where there are events, all
of sector meetings, ministerial missions where for practical reasons the most senior person is
unable to pay for meals, catering, deposits for group meals. In this instance, when claiming the
expense it should be made clear who attended the meal and why the senior person did not pay.
under the Official Information Act 1982
ENZ employee cannot approve their own meal expenditure. If someone is part of the meal, they
should not approve that expenditure. The approval must go up to their direct manager or to the
most senior employee’s manager.
Travel Inciden Released
tals
Tipping
ENZ will reimburse a tip of up to 10% of the cost of a meal, or the local norm in countries (for
example North America where the norm is 18% and the lowest acceptable is 15%) where tipping is
customary. ENZ will not reimburse tips paid in New Zealand.
Private phone calls and internet access fees
ENZ will reimburse the actual and reasonable cost of private phone calls for employees who are
required to travel overnight and/or are away from home for multiple nights up to a maximum of:
NZ$10 per day where the travel is within the country of their normal place of work
NZ$20 per day where the travel is outside of the country of their normal place of work
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ENZ will reimburse the cost of internet fees for employees to access work emails, when they are
travelling on business but are unable to access email through a local ENZ office.
NB Employees should familiarise themselves with the ICT Acceptable Use Policy before using
ENZ devices whilst travelling on business.
Minibar
ENZ will only reimburse purchases of water from a minibar for an employee on international travel.
ENZ will not reimburse any other minibar costs.
Dry cleaning/laundry
ENZ will reimburse actual and reasonable dry cleaning or laundry costs where an employee is
travelling on business and away from home for three or more days.
Personal expenses
ENZ will not reimburse personal expenditure incurred whilst on business travel. This includes the
following:
entertainment, pay-per-view television, or movies
sightseeing or other trips
gifts or souvenirs
temporary hotel gym memberships.
This is not to be regarded as an exhaustive list. ENZ expects that employees will use judgement to
determine the nature of any expenditure when travelling.
Advances and Reimbursements
Travel advances
under the Official Information Act 1982
ENZ will encourage employees to use ENZ corporate credit cards as the primary method of
making business purchases when travelling on ENZ business.
ENZ may provide the following advances to an employee travelling on business and away from
home for more t Released
han 24 hours, subject to pre-approval by your Group General Manager:
a cash advance of up to NZ$500 and
a non-cash advance paid into a credit card or nominated bank account of up to NZ$3,000
(or up to NZ$3,500 if no cash advance is required).
the traveller is expected to reconciliation the cash advance within 5 business days of
returning from their travel.
ENZ will not provide an advance to an employee who has not properly accounted for the
expenditure and/or repaid any balance of a previous advance.
Exchange rates
When reimbursing expenses incurred in foreign currency ENZ will use exchange rates that will
ensure that the reimbursement to the employee will be ‘cash neutral’ i.e. the employee neither
gains nor loses financially from the transaction(s).
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Health and Safety
Travel risk management
ENZ will provide travel and medical insurance for all international travel.
ENZ ensures that staff and contractors’ safety and wellbeing is proactively managed while travelling
on business or on assignment by providing access to medical and security support via Healix
International. This is a 24/7 resource, and the Healix Travel Oracle app will also send emergency
alerts to your work phone. More information on this is available in the Appendix 1 and ‘Be safe, be
well’ section of Ipu. In addition, ENZ encourages staff to register on the MFAT safe travel website
https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/
ENZ will arrange travel in such a way as to avoid the risk of accident or disaster causing significant
personnel related impact on the Senior Leadership Team or the Board.
Vaccinations
ENZ will reimburse the cost of vaccinations for business travel, where professional medical advice
is that these are a requirement.
Air points and Airline Lounges
Airline lounge membership
ENZ may consider providing membership of airline lounges, where an employee takes more than
three flights per month on average at the approval of the Chief Executive.
Air points
Staff can collect individual frequent flyer points e.g. Air New Zealand Air points.
It is expected that wherever p under the Official Information Act 1982
ossible staff should use Air points for ENZ related expenses e.g.
airfares, upgrades, extra baggage, or Koru club membership.
Personal or
Released
Companion Travel
Personal travel
Personal travel, including the use of annual leave and additional/alternative stopovers may be
combined with business travel on behalf of ENZ, subject to pre-approval by your Group General
Manager and only if there is no additional cost to ENZ.
Companion travel
A companion may accompany an employee on a business trip, subject to pre-approval your Group
General Manager. ENZ will not contribute to the travel costs of a companion.
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APPENDIX 1 - Healix
A guide to our expectations for using the Healix App
Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao is committed to the safety and wellbeing of our people.
We partner with Healix International for medical and security support.
Whether your role involves travel or not, Healix is an important safety tool for everyone, as it
provides alert updates about emergency situations as they arise, and we can contact you in the
event of an incident or emergency.
If you are on a permanent, fixed term or a contractor our expectation is that you:
Download the Healix Travel Oracle app on to your work phone or personal phone (if you do
not have a work phone). If you are unsure how to do this, view the Healix Travel Oracle App
Guide.
Use Orbit (our travel agency) – Orbit is linked to Healix so your itinerary will automatically be
loaded. You will be notified of any emergency situations that arise throughout your travel.
Turn on your GPS throughout your travel – to ensure you are notified of any unexpected
emergencies that arise within your area.
Note: where another travel agency is a better choice, you are expected to either turn your GPS
on throughout your business travel or click the “Check In” button (beside the Emergency
Assistance button) every 24 hours. The check in button will only appear when your GPS is
turned off.
The above expectations apply whether you are travelling domestically or internationally.
under the Official Information Act 1982
Released
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