Disability and community inclusion placement requirements

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences understands that students can struggle financially with the costs of living away from home while undertaking placement. There are resources available to help:

• Reimbursement Policy – students can recover some of the costs of travel and accommodation after their placement by completing the Student Placement Reimbursement form (PDF).
• FUSA – FUSA’s Financial Advocacy service can assist with all things financial
• Scholarships – Students are encouraged to check the Scholarships at Flinders page and apply for any scholarship for which they are eligible.

Student Reimbursement Policy for SA rural, remote and interstate placements (14 February 2024)

This policy is for College of Nursing and Health Sciences students undertaking a rural or remote South Australian or any interstate placement.

Students will be eligible for reimbursement following each completed placement in line with this policy.

Reimbursement claims are processed at the completion of placement. Reimbursement claims must be submitted by the 15 January the following year for reimbursement of placement expenses the previous calendar year.

Students living in a rural or interstate location while completing their course qualify for reimbursement when they undertake placement in a metropolitan location.

Accommodation

Accommodation expenses will be reimbursed to a maximum of $150 per week for the duration of the placement period.

Students must provide evidence for payment of accommodation, a receipt is preferred where possible, bank statement or signed letter from landlord can also be provided as evidence. Bonds and security deposits for accommodation, paid by students, are not covered by this policy and will not be reimbursed.

It is expected students stay in their allocated rural placement location area when undertaking a rural placement experience. Usual living expenses, including rent at a semester address, will not be covered under this policy.

Travel

Travel will be reimbursed to a maximum of $500 for travel expenses to and from the placement venue, at the commencement and completion of the placement based on the receipts provided (such as flights, bus, taxi fare).  Students will not be reimbursed for travel while on placement returning to their residential address (e.g. at the end of a shift or on weekends during placement).

Students travelling within SA to rural and remote locations by a private vehicle will receive a predetermined amount to cover fuel expenses.  Students will not be required to submit receipts. The total amount students will receive is provided on the Personal Travel Reimbursement - SA Rural Locations (PDF).

Exemptions:

If the placement is in the Northern Territory, students will be entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses to a maximum of $750.

If the placement is a project-based placement requiring the student to travel several times from metropolitan Adelaide to a rural venue, the student will be entitled to 2 return trips to a maximum refund of $500. To be eligible the student must provide supporting documentation in writing from their topic coordinator indicating this activity is essential.

Metropolitan Placements that require sporadic rural travel as part of the placement venues network are not eligible for reimbursement.

If a student is required to travel to more than one rural location during the placement period and the placement provider requires them to travel between the locations at their own expense the student will be eligible for reimbursement of travel to a maximum of $500 (this will include travel to and from placement location on first and last day of placement).  

Students in this scenario will keep a log of the kilometres travelled, dates and destinations and submit this as evidence when seeking reimbursement.  Travel will be reimbursed based on fuel at $1.80 per litre, with the average fuel consumption 11.1 L/100 km (ABS Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia 2020).

Assessment

All accommodation and travel reimbursements will be subjected to the following criteria;

• Rural and remote placements in South Australia must be within ASGS Remoteness Areas RA2 – RA5 outlined on the Doctor Connect website. Mt Barker will be excluded from this policy for both accommodation and travel reimbursement.
• Interstate placements, including metro locations, are included when; the placement is approved and/or required by the college (the college via the WIL placement team will identify if a placement satisfies this test prior to confirmation).
• Interstate placements, including metro locations, are not included when you choose to go to an interstate location where there is a suitable South Australian placement available to you as defined by the College of Nursing and Health Sciences WIL placement team. In these circumstances the students can still do this placement, but reimbursement will not be provided.
• All placements will be confirmed by the College of Nursing and Health Sciences WIL placement team.
• Scholarships received by the student for any placement will be taken into consideration when calculating the reimbursement. Student reimbursements from this policy will not exceed the total expenditure the student incurred for travel and accommodation. 

Example:

Accommodation [$1,500] + Travel [$600] – Scholarship [$500] = $1,600 (Reimbursement)

Reimbursement process

Students are to submit reimbursement claims as per the following process:

1. At the completion of placement, fill out the Student Placement Reimbursement form (PDF) detailing expenses incurred while undertaking your placement.
2. Scan the form with receipts/invoices of expenses and email to cnhs.placements@flinders.edu.au with your student ID number and “Placement Reimbursement Claim Request” in the subject heading. Ensure your scanned document is clearly legible.
3. Payments are made into your nominated account within approximately 4 weeks of submitting your student placement reimbursement form.

 You must ensure you keep your accommodation and travel expense receipts/invoices.

For more information please contact cnhs.placements@flinders.edu.au.

During placement, you are required to cover the costs of your travel, accommodation and meals. You are eligible for financial assistance and reimbursement as detailed above.

Travel to many rural centres is available through private bus companies, including Stateliner and Yorke Peninsula Coaches.

Accommodation may be offered at a subsidised rate. When you are allocated to a rural placement, your details are forwarded to the Flinders Rural & Remote Health SA team who will contact you regarding the available accommodation options.