PEMS frequently asked questions

To help you learn how to use PEMS, IPEA provides access to a range of PEMS education support resources.

• Step-by-step user guides
• Phone or email support (9.00 am to 5.00 pm AEST): (02) 6215 3000 or enquiries@ipea.gov.au
• IPEA Education Sessions
• Personalised training session: email education@ipea.gov.au to request an appointment

IPEA provides training on PEMS travel claims and administration, expenditure reports and budgets.

IPEA has developed a range of PEMS training materials to assist parliamentarians and their staff to use IPEA’s PEMS functionality, including travel claims and administration, budgets and expenditure reports. These step-by-step PEMS guides (PDF and video versions) will help you learn how to use PEMS.

IPEA also runs a regular PEMS education session for new starters. You can register for the next session.

Yes, paper forms are available from the travel forms page on IPEA’s website. Fully completed, signed and dated forms can be submitted to forms@ipea.gov.au.

Yes, you can use the ‘Historic Claims’ tile on the PEMS home page to view travel claims verified by IPEA in PEMS between 1 July 2018 and 28 June 2022.

PEMS offers near ‘real time’ reporting for all your budgets.

Refer to the View and Manage Budgets help guide to learn more.

For more information on each budget, refer to Travel budgets. 

Expenditure reports are now available to be reviewed and certified through the ‘Certify expenditure reports’ tile in PEMS. 

Refer to these guides to learn more: 

• Access an expenditure report 
• Navigate and review an expenditure report 
• Certify an expenditure report 

You can view all your claims and transactions in the Travel Expense tile in PEMS. For further guidance on how to view your claims and apply filters, refer to the filter travel expenses and save views in PEMS.  

Following feedback from PEMS users, new email notification functionality has been implemented. In addition to receiving email notifications for assignment and return of domestic travel claims, an email will now be sent to your parliamentarian or authorised officer when a travel claim is awaiting action.

If you prefer not to receive PEMS notifications, you can opt out by changing the email notification settings in the ‘Staff & Member Profile Tile’. Please be aware that this will cease all PEMS email notifications for claims.

For additional information on email notifications, please refer to the Opt-in or opt-out of email notification help guide.

No, when acquitting your advance travel claims, an adjustment (either a payments or recovery) will only occur if your travel plans changed which results in an additional allowance being paid or recovery action being required.

You can see the amount by clicking on the ‘Estimate’ button.

As outlined in clause 10 of the Travel Allowance Guideline, a staff member will be paid TA for the preceding night when:

• the scheduled or actual departure time to the destination is between midnight and 3.00am (in which case TA is paid at the rate for the departure location and is not paid if the employee is not eligible for TA at that location), or 
• the scheduled or actual arrival time at their destination is 6:00am or earlier (in which case TA is paid at the rate for the destination and is not paid if the employee is not eligible for TA at that location)

When processing your TA claim in PEMS, enter your departure or arrival time as 11:59pm (depending on which above criteria you meet) and provide a comment stating your actual departure or arrival time. Amending the time will enable you to enter TA without PEMS presenting a validation error. 

If you wish to cancel your TA claim, open your claim in PEMS and click the ‘Re-Open’ button. You will then be able to edit your claim and remove your TA nights and motor vehicle allowance (if applicable). You will then need to review and submit the claim to your parliamentarian or authorised officer for certification. IPEA will then verify the claim, and a debt will be generated (if applicable).

If you wish to cancel an advance TA claim, open your claim and select the ‘Trip Cancelled’ box at the top of your claim. You will then need to review and submit the claim to your parliamentarian or authorised officer for certification. IPEA will then verify the claim, and a debt will be generated (if applicable).

In this instance, you are required to split your TA into separate travel legs. For example, you have been directed to travel to Sydney for 2 nights and on the second night you are staying at the same hotel as your parliamentarian. When entering this into PEMS, your first travel leg should reflect your travel to Sydney and one night of accommodation. You will then need to add another travel leg which reflects Sydney to Sydney for the second night of accommodation and add the TA with an accommodation adjustment.

An itemised tax invoice showing the cost for accommodation only must be provided to enable IPEA to process an accommodation adjustment.

To claim TA prior to, or at the end of your approved international travel add a travel leg to or from the location you are starting the travel from. If you are departing from Sydney, and overnighting in Sydney, then the travel leg should be Sydney to Sydney with the mode of transport “other” and a note saying this travel is related to approved overseas travel. 

When you are commencing your claim from a location other than your work base, you are required to update the ‘Travel Start Location’ field. To assist with verifying your claim, please add a note in the ‘Comments’ box explaining why you are not commencing from your work base.

When claiming Uber through a travel expense claim, the attached Uber tax invoice must have your name, date of travel, locations of travel, breakdown of cost and proof of payment. 

When claiming parking for more than one day, you are required to enter a date range to reflect the full duration of your parking expense. To do this, click on the calendar icon next to the ‘Date of Expense’ field and select the date of entry and then the date of departure. It is important to ensure the location is reflected on the form, ie Canberra airport or suburb of hotel parking. 

No, parliamentarians and MOPS Act employees are unable to create their own overseas claims in PEMS. All expenses relating to your international travel must be added to the Certification and Calculations form that you are provided with and emailed to overseastravel@ipea.gov.au with the supporting documentation.