Reservations, Ticketing & Accounting Procedures

RESERVATIONS, TICKETING & ACCOUNTING PROCEDURES

For Australian Retail Agents

01 April 2018 – 31 March 2019

(updated November 2017)

Welcome Aboard!

Welcome to Great Southern Rail’s Reservations, Ticketing & Accounting Procedures manual.

This guide is designed to give you the information required to assist you with booking and making payments for all Great Southern Rail (GSR) services including the Indian Pacific, The Ghan and The Overland.

**This document is subject to change and is available via www.gsrtraining.com.au**

1. Reservations

When making a reservation with Great Southern Rail the following passenger types can be used;

a) Adult, any person travelling on the train over the age of 16 years b) Infants and Child/ren a. Infants i. 0 -4 years inclusive travel free of charge when not occupying a seat or berth. ii. If a reserved seat or berth is required the infant is charged at a child’s fare. iii. Please note: Only 1 infant FOC per paying Adult. b. Child/ren i. Child fares are available to children aged 4 – 15 years inclusive or where a child occupies a seat or berth. ii. Children under the age of 16 years are not able to occupancy a cabin without a travelling Adult

Reservations for rail and holiday packages can be made via the following methods: o Online Booking Engine o Phone

How to make an online booking:

Great Southern Rail’s online reservations system allows you to successfully check availability and create rail bookings online. You must be a registered agent with Great Southern Rail to be able to book online. If you are not a registered agent, please request a new agent set up form via [email protected]

Logging In 1. Log onto Great Southern Rail’s website www.greatsouthernrail/agents. If you do not know your username or have misplaced this information, please email [email protected]

2. Enter your username (an email address) which you have pre-registered with GSR. Enter your password which is known to you and your office only.

3. Follow the online prompts to make a booking. If you wish to obtain a user guide for GSR’s online booking engine please email [email protected].

Online Booking Restrictions • Rail only bookings for travel inside 24 hours cannot be made online. • Reservations that include third party product (eg. hotel or tours) cannot currently be made online. • Cancellations and amendments cannot currently be made online however can be done over the phone. • Motorail services cannot be booked or amended online.

• A booking of more than 9 guests can be considered a group should you wish to book or enquire please refer to Group Reservations. • Cash agents are unable to make a booking within 3 days of departure unless paying by credit card.

How to make a phone booking:

For phone reservations please call Great Southern Rail Travel Centre on 13 21 47 or 1800 888 480. Please have the following information available when making a rail only reservation:

• Your Great Southern Rail agency reference number • Guest name/s, first and last names required • Sector/s that the guest/s wish to travel on e.g. Sydney - Adelaide • The departure date/s to be booked • The guest type – Adult, Child • Level of service you wish to book. • Guest contact number (preferably a mobile number) • Any special requirements, eg dietary, mobility, etc. • Emergency contact details (someone not travelling with the guest, i.e family member) • If making a Motorail booking ensure you have vehicle measurements, make, model and registration. You will also need to send through the Motorail booking request in writing via email.

For Holiday Package bookings, please have the following information available;

• Your Great Southern Rail agency reference number • Guest name/s, first and last names required • Package name and direction of package to be booked, for example Taste of the Top End Alice Springs to Darwin. • The departure date/s to be booked • The guest type – Adult, Child • Level of service you wish to book. • Guest contact number (preferably a mobile number) • Any special requirements, eg dietary, mobility, etc. • Emergency contact details (someone not travelling with the guest, i.e family member) • Any additional package elements required – for example extra two nights at the Darwin Central hotel.

Please ensure that the following information is recorded once a reservation has been made:

• Sales consultant’s whom you spoke to • Booking reference number • Gross and Nett fare • Time of departure and arrival for each leg of travel • Vehicle loading times/conditions, if booking Motorail • Payment deadline. Please note that the payment deadline must be strictly adhered to or the reservation will be automatically cancelled. Credit agents please note that the payment deadline on your confirmation is the date funds are due to into GSR’s bank account (invoice terms are as per your contract).

• Booking expiry date – please refer to fare type terms and conditions. • Great Southern Rail will send a Booking Confirmation via email to your main office email address (online booking engine username).

How to make a Group booking:

• A Standard Group Booking constitutes a minimum of 10 guests and maximum 39 guests. • Any group which is more than 39 guests will be subject to large group terms and conditions which is available on application. • Groups are subject to space and yield availability. A group can only be confirmed by the Groups Sales Department • The group is entitled to the 11th guest is FOC (Free of Charge) for rail fare only, with a maximum of 1 FOC per standard group allocation. • Group Bookings cannot be made or accessed via GSR’s online booking engine. • On receipt of a group booking request, the request will be accepted and confirmed in a group travel agreement including the nett rate, inclusions and terms and conditions. This agreement must be signed and returned within the requested 48 hour time frame. Failure to return the agreement by this deadline will result in the request being automatically cancelled • Great Southern Rail reserves the right to request a status update at anytime, including a full list of guest names and the release of unsold space. This may be outside of the 120, 90, 60 & 45 day updates. • When GSR has nil inventory for sale to the FIT market, GSR will request a release of unsold space.

All Group reservations should be made in writing to the GSR Group department by email to [email protected]. Phone enquiries are also welcome via 08 8213 4402.

2. Pricing, Deposits, and payment deadlines

Pricing

Rail Fares

• Fares are quoted in Australian Dollars inclusive of GST. • Fares are valid from 01 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 and are subject to change without notice. • Great Southern Rail fares are based on per person twin share. A single supplement is not charged for a Gold Single Cabin or Red Service (The Overland). Single supplement surcharge does apply to a Twin or Double Cabin where one person occupies the cabin. • Great Southern Rail offers a variety of fare types. Each fare type has its own terms and conditions, these are advised at the time of booking for more details please refer to Appendix 1.

Holiday Package Pricing

• Holiday package pricing is quoted in Australia dollars and is inclusive of GST. • Great Southern Rail package pricing in the brochure uses from pricing due to seasonal variation, actual pricing is advised at the time of booking.

• Great Southern Rail Travel Pty Ltd does not own or operate any third-party suppliers of services. Pricing contracted by these suppliers are subject to availability and may incur a surcharge during peak season. • When travelling solo and booking a Holiday Package a single supplement charge is applied, the supplement will be advised at the time of booking.

Deposits

• Refer to Appendix 1 for deposits required by fare type.

Booking payment deadline

• Please note that the payment deadline must be strictly adhered to or the reservation will be automatically cancelled. Credit agents please note that the payment deadline on your confirmation is the date funds are due to into GSR’s bank account (invoice terms are as per your contract).

3. Booking Status When you make a reservation you can opt to make the booking status either OPTION or CONFIRMED. If booking on line this relates to “HOLD” and “PURCHASE” respectively. Option/hold meaning the booking will be held for 14 days and auto expired here after (reminders are sent). Alternatively, you can select confirmed/purchase meaning the booking is definitely going ahead and it will be held as per the fare type terms and conditions.

You can change the status of the booking several ways: • Online (see steps below) • Phone (contact information outlined prior) • Email (contact information outlined prior)

Changing the status of a booking (for Cash Agents):

• Recall booking online and select PURCHASE and remit the funds to GSR. Please note this cannot be completed online if you have booked third party product. • Status of your booking will automatically change upon receipt of payment of your booking. • If payment is not received by deposit/payment due date the booking will auto expire.

Changing the status of a booking (for Credit Agents):

• Recall booking online and select PURCHASE (if there is no third party product). • Contact our Travel Centre to change the status of the booking from Option to Confirmed. • If the status of the booking is not changed to Confirm / Purchase within 14 days the booking will auto expire.

You will then be emailed a booking confirmation to reflect the above.

Final group confirmations

All groups are finalised 45 days prior to the travel date. It is the agent’s responsibility to advise all guests’ names and accommodation configurations at this time. The GSR Groups team will send a reminder at least seven days before ticketing occurs.

Only one ticket is issued for all guests travelling and individual tickets will not be issued.

4. Invoicing

For credit agents Agents operating a Credit account with Great Southern Rail are invoiced weekly. All invoices and credit memo’s will be accumulated for a 7-day period. Credit agents may receive an invoice that has more than 7 days’ transactions. The day on which Credit Agents receive invoices may also change.

On receipt of a tax invoice, the agent needs to ensure payment is received by GSR within 30 days.

For cash agents Please make the appropriate payment against the receipt of a Provisional Confirmation. A tax invoice will be provided upon receipt of payment.

The following methods of payment are welcomed:

The different forms of payment are outlined below.

a) Smart Money code: GSR01 b) Payment Gate: AARW c) ENETT code: 203946 d) Direct Deposit (payments made from Australian Bank Accounts) details are:

Bank: Wesptac Branch Number or BSB code: 035 000 Bank Account Number: 700293

When making a Direct Deposit payment, please ensure that your Agency’s trading name will appear on GSR's bank statement so that we are more easily able to match bookings and payments.

e) Cheque Payments Please make all cheques payable to Great Southern Rail Travel Pty Ltd.

Please include Great Southern Rail booking reference number (PNR), the Travel Agency contact details, please note that e-ticketing or Travel Documents will be sent to the agencies generic email address.

When posting a cheque, please contact Great Southern Rail's office to advise that a cheque will be posted. Please ensure that you allow enough time for postage and processing. The cheque must be processed by the invoice due date.

Payment Advice / Remittance Advice When making a payment please ensure that GSR’s Accounting team is aware of the payment.

If payment has been made by EFT for a single booking using the GSR reference number no further advice is required.

If a large number of bookings have been paid please send a remittance advice by email.

Please use the following contact details;

Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 8 8213 4338

Postal Address: Great Southern Rail Travel Pty Ltd Finance Department PO Box 445 Marleston Business Centre South Australia 5033 Australia

5. Cancellations

To cancel either a rail only or a holiday package booking, please call the GSR Travel Centre. Please be advised that all cancellation fees are based on the NETT amount paid to GSR for the booking. All refunds are therefore in NETT.

Online cancellations Cancellations cannot be processed online at this point in time.

Phone cancellations • Please contact Great Southern Rail’s Travel Centre on 13 21 47 or 1800 888 480 • Please quote your agent identification number to the GSR team member • Please ensure that you have the guests booking reference number and the lead booking name for the booking • A cancellation email will be sent to confirm the booking has been cancelled. • This email will also outline if there are any cancellation fees and if there is a refund due.

Cancellation Fees for Rail only bookings Please refer to appendix 1 for a summary of these fees.

Cancellation Fees for Holiday Packages Holiday package cancellation fees are based on the rail fare which is booked in conjunction with the accommodation and touring components. If a package is booked with a heavily discounted rail fare the terms and conditions for the packages are based upon the rail fare terms and conditions.

Individual tour operator payment terms and cancellation conditions may vary from those stipulated by Great Southern Rail. In this event the individual operator’s cancellation terms and conditions would be applied to the booking and will be notified via email once the

cancellation has occurred. This may vary to what the GSR online booking system advises at the time of cancellation.

Great Southern Rail Travel Pty Ltd reserves the right to amend or cancel tours at any time. Please refer to the brochure for full details of terms and conditions relating to package product

Cancellations for Group Bookings Please refer to your GSR group agreement for full details on GSR Financial Commitment policy

Cancellations for Motorail • Accompanied Motorail cancellations are based on the rail fare’s terms and conditions. • Unaccompanied Motorail can only be booked 30 days prior to travel and has 100% cancellation fees.

6. Amendments Please refer to Appendix 1 for the Great Southern Rail Fare Type Terms and Conditions

*Amendment Fees are non-commissionable

Amendment fees apply if a booking is ticketed and the guest downgrades (for example changes from Platinum Service to Gold Service).

Amendment fees for downgrades are calculated using the applicable cancellation fee (as detailed in the fare type terms and conditions) and charged based on the difference between the two gross fares.

Amending a booking Online amendments: Amendments cannot be processed online at this point in time.

Phone amendments: • Please contact Great Southern Rail’s Travel Centre on 13 21 47 or 1800 888 480 • Please quote your agent reference number to the GSR consultant • Please ensure that you have the guests booking reference number and the lead booking name for the booking • An amendment email will be sent to confirm the booking has been amended • This email will also outline if there are any amendment fees due.

Amendments to Holiday Package Bookings Individual tour operator payment terms and cancellation conditions may vary from those stipulated by Great Southern Rail. In this event the individual operator’s fees would be applied to the booking, Great Southern rail will notify you of these conditions at the time of booking and amendment.

Amending a Group Booking For all Group booking amendments please contact Great Southern Rail’s Group Sales Team via [email protected] or via phone 08 8213 4402.

7. Refunds

Refunds due to Guest Cancellation A cancellation arising from the actions of a customer, through no fault of GSR, is considered a “Guest Cancellation”, and is covered in this section. If a guest cancels their journey, then the refund is based on the cancellation fees applicable, with any monies owed are paid as NETT back to the agent. Refunds are paid directly back to you the agent not to the guest directly.

For example, the guests are travelling on the Indian Pacific from SYD to PER in Gold Service Twin Cabin and no longer are able to travel, and as a result cancel 21 days prior to departure. The applicable cancellation fee is 50%. The money owing can be worked as follows: GROSS: Everyday rail fare = $2899 pp NETT: (based on 10 % commission) = $2609.10 50% NETT refund = $1304.55pp

Please note that it is agents’ decision if they refund their commission to their guest. Based on the example above an agent may hold the difference or keep it as an administration fee

No refunds will be payable resulting from airline, cruise line or other train service delays, unused services, or other acts beyond the control of Great Southern Rail Travel Pty Ltd.

Refunds due to a Service Disruption – refer to Great Southern Rail’s Booking and Travel Conditions issued with your clients booking or available via www.greatsouthernrail.com.au

Group Refunds Group Refunds are applicable once final payment has been received 45 days prior to the departure date. Should a refund be due to a guest the agent is refunded based on the NETT payment, unless otherwise stipulated. Refunds are paid via the distribution channel. Please note at no time will group free of charge (FOC) berths be entitled to any type of refund.

Should a group cancel or part thereof under 45 days the following NETT refunds are applicable;

o Cancel or cancellation of guests: 45- 31 days prior to departure 25% of the applicable net fare is refunded. o Cancel or cancellation of guests: less than 30 days prior to departure no refund is applicable.

Group Refund Payment Group discounted fares, are internally, considered to have a similar value to the Advance Purchase fare, and as such, all refunds are based on the Recommend Retail Price (RRP) of the Advance Purchase fare for the period of travel (that is the seasonal Advance Purchase RRP is used as the benchmark to work out the refund.) The exception is where a group is travelling and the fare applied is the Everyday fare, this then becomes the ‘benchmark fare.”

Where a GROSS refund is paid, the amount remitted is equal to the agents’ commission level based on the applicable benchmark fare as outlined above.

Subject to any Non-Excludable Terms, when a refund is to be provided by GSR, this will be:

i. If the refund is due to a reason other than a Service Disruption, the agent will receive the refund as a NETT refund. ii. If the refund is due to a Service Disruption, and the Service Disruption occurs more than seven 7 days prior to departure, the agent will receive the refund as a NETT refund. iii. If the Service Disruption occurs within 7 days of departure the following GROSS refunds are applicable. a) If no part of the ticket has been used – an amount equal to the recommended retail price (gross fare) for the applicable fare the guest is travelling on will be refunded.

OR b) If part of the ticket is used, the difference between the recommended retail price (gross fare) of the applicable fare paid and the recommended retail price (gross fare) of the applicable fare for the part of the ticket used will be refunded.

The refund will be paid to the person or entity who paid for the ticket. If the booking was made through a Travel Agent, any and all refunds will be returned to that Travel Agent for their payment to the Guest.

Subject only to any Non-Excludable Terms, GSR cannot make exceptions for guests booked through travel agents by refunding them directly, even in the event of a Service Disruption. In such an event, guests will need to contact their travel agents’ helpline or customer service hotline, or organise the refund with the travel agent at a later time.

Please note at no time will group free of charge (FOC) berths be entitled to any type of refund.

8. Concession Cards (The Overland only)

The following concession cards are acceptable for travel on The Overland only, where a discount is provided (e.g. Pension Saver fare). These images are for illustrative purposes only; information is subject to change at any time.

Important Information regarding Pension Saver Fares:

To qualify for Pension Saver Fares, the appropriate Concession Card must be presented at the time of booking; must be valid at the time of travel and must be carried at all times during travel. All Pension Saver fares are subject to availability and are not available on all departures.

All concession numbers are to be quoted at the time of making a reservation. In 2013 Great Southern Rail moved to an automated concession verification process – this allows agents to confirm the validity of a guest’s concession when making a booking via phone or via our online booking engine.

Eligible Concession Cards

Australian Pension Card Issued by Centrelink. All Centrelink cards feature a nine-digit code followed by a letter code e.g.: 123456789A Concession numbers must be entered in this format on the online booking engine with the name as it appears on the card for automated validation purposes.

Department of Veteran Affairs Concession Card (DVA) All DVA cards have unique codes, however they may be similar to: NSS 5678 or QX 1234. A concession discount is only valid for the card holder, not any dependents that may be listed on the card. The name for the booking must entered exactly as it appears on the card.

Commonwealth Seniors Health Card Issued by Centrelink. Entitles self-funded retirees to discounted healthcare and discounted travel on The Ghan, The Overland and the Indian Pacific. Guest must quote a nine-digit code, followed by one letter code e.g. 123456789A

The Companion Card allows people with a severe or profound disability, who require lifelong attendant care at events and venues, to participate without having to pay full fare for a second ticket for their companion/ carer. The card is held by the person who has the disability and features their name and photograph. When making a booking, the Companion Cardholder nominates the person who will act as their carer. The Cardholder will not always use the same companion/ carer. The companion/ carer does not have a card. Companion Card Travel Policy The Overland: If the guest who is an eligible companion card holder their companion will travel for free on this journey. However, they will need to pay for any purchases made on board. The Ghan/Indian Pacific: if a guest who is an eligible companion card holder their companion will travel at a fare no greater than the fare paid by that companion card holder. The companion must be fit to complete the duties of a travel carer.

Ineligible Concession Cards

The following concession cards are ineligible for discounted travel on Great Southern Rail services.

Centrelink Health Care Card Issued by Centrelink. Holders of this card are entitled to discount pharmaceuticals and some utilities as deemed by state government body.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card Holders of this card are entitled to discounted pharmaceuticals but are not eligible for discount on Great Southern Rail services.

Seniors Card (State Senior) Issued by an Australian State or Territory Government body. Cards are available to Australian residents aged 60 years+ and are no longer working full time.

9. Fitness for Travel A guest must ensure they are medically and physically fit for travel and that such travel will not endanger themselves or anyone else. At the time of booking (or as soon as possible after booking), a guest must advise GSR if they have any medical or physical condition that will or may require medical attention, medication or special treatment during their rail holiday. If this does apply to your client please complete a fitness for travel policy – available via [email protected]

10. Booking Terms and Conditions (formerly Conditions of Carriage)

Travel on all Great Southern Rail services is subject to the Booking Terms and Conditions. These can be obtained from our website www.greatsouthernrail.com.au and are issued with all booking documentation.

Great Southern Rail contact details

General Booking Enquiries Phone: 13 21 47 (within Australia)

GSR Travel Centre Phone: 1800 888 480 Fax: 08 8213 4576 Email: [email protected]

Group Reservations Phone: 08 8213 4402 (10 or more guests Fax: 08 8213 4576 travelling together) Email: [email protected]

Accounting Enquiries Phone: 08 8213 4338 Email: [email protected] (accounts payable) Email: [email protected] (accounts receivable)

Agent Support Email: [email protected]

APPENDIX 1

Great Southern Rail: Fare Types Terms and Conditions For Retail Agents 01 April 2018 – 31 March 2019

FARE TYPE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• High, Shoulder and Low Seasons apply EVERYDAY FARES, • Fully flexible with amendments allowed up to 14 days before departure EVERYDAY SAVER • No amendment fees apply • The Ghan • Everyday Saver only bookable online and is yield managed • The Ghan • Deposit of $50 per person required within 14 days of booking date Expedition • Balance of payment required 45 days prior to travel date • Indian Pacific • Cancel within 14 day from booking date, fully refundable • Cancel more than 45 days prior to departure; loss of deposit Platinum and Gold • Cancel 45-14 days prior to departure; 50% cancellation fee applies Service • Cancel under 14 days prior to departure; 100% cancellation fee applies • High, Shoulder and Low Seasons apply ADVANCE PURCHASE • Must be booked at least 6 months prior to departure date and is subject to limited FARES availability per departure (yield managed) • The Ghan • Full payment required within 14 days of the booking date • The Ghan • Amendments to travel date allowed up to 45 days prior to departure. Amended date Expedition of travel must be at least 6 months prior to departure. Guests may have to pay the • Indian Pacific difference between the Advance Purchase fare and the higher fare • 100% cancellation fee applies 14 days after booking date Gold Service • 100% cancellation fee applies DISCOUNTED • Immediate full payment required at the time of booking PROMOTIONAL or • Subject to limited availability (yield managed) TACTICAL FARES • Discounted fares may not be available on all sectors • The Ghan • Indian Pacific • No amendments permitted • Other terms and conditions may be stipulated on Sales Advices relevant to offer Gold Service • Full payment required at time of booking. EVERYDAY FARES • Amendments allowed up to 1 day prior at no fee. The revised travel date must be within six months of the original travel date. • The • Cancel more than 14 days prior to travel; full refund Overland • Cancel 14-7 days prior to departure; 50% cancellation fee applies • Cancel 6-1 days prior to departure; 90% cancellation fee applies Red Service • Cancel on day of departure or no show; 100% cancellation fee applies • Nil booking fee applies when booked online. Bookings made via the GSR Travel READYRAIL FARES Centre incur a $20 booking fee. • Immediate and full payment required at the time of booking • The • 100% cancellation fees apply Overland • Subject to availability and yield managed • One (1) amendment to travel date permitted at a fee of $20. The amendment must Red Service be made more than 30 days prior to the booked travel date. The amendment is Red Premium Service subject to the same fare type being available.

• Must be booked minimum of 30 days in advance and can only be booked online. READYRAIL SAVER • Nil booking fee applies when booked online. Bookings made via the GSR Travel FARES Centre incur a $20 booking fee. • Immediate and full payment required at the time of booking • The • 100% cancellation fees apply Overland • Subject to availability and yield managed • One (1) amendment to travel date permitted at a fee of $20. The amendment must Red Premium Service be made more than 30 days prior to the booked travel date. The amendment is subject to the same fare type being available. PENSION SAVER • Pension Saver fares are available for Australian residents with valid Commonwealth Seniors Heath Care (CSHC) and Australian Pensioners. Must be valid at time of • The booking and travel. Overland • All fares are subject to yield restrictions • Not applicable to Australian State Seniors or any other type of concession Red Standard and • Full payment required at time of booking. Red Premium Service • Amendments allowed up to 1-day prior at no fee. The revised travel date must be within six months of the original travel date. The amendment is subject to the same fare type being available. • Cancel more than 14 days prior to travel; full refund • Cancel 14-7 days prior to departure; 50% cancellation fee applies • Cancel 6-1 days prior to departure; 90% cancellation fee applies • Cancel on day of departure or no show; 100% cancellation fee applies.