Section 77E — Bankruptcy Act 1966: Advance on account of allowances and expenses

(1) If a person who is required by a notice under subsection 77C(1) to attend before the Official Receiver or an authorised officer is entitled under subsection 77D(1) to be paid an allowance and to be reimbursed expenses in respect of the attendance, the Official Receiver must, before the person begins to travel for the purpose of so attending, offer to the person, on account of the allowance and reimbursement of expenses, an advance determined under this section. (2) If the Official Receiver is satisfied that it will be necessary for the person to travel by aircraft from the person’s principal place of residence to the place at which the person is required to attend, the advance is to be an amount equal to the sum of $20 and the ordinary one-way economy class airfare from the airport nearest to that principal place of residence to the airport nearest to the place at which the person is required to attend. (3) If the person will be travelling by private motor vehicle, the advance is to be the sum of $20 and whichever is the lesser of the following amounts: (a) an amount prescribed by the regulations; (b) if there is an airport open to civilian passenger traffic that is within a radius of 100 kilometres from the person’s principal place of residence—the ordinary one-way economy class airfare from that airport to the airport nearest to the place at which the person is required to attend. (4) If the person will be travelling otherwise than as mentioned in subsections (2) and (3), the advance is to be: (a) if the distance between the person’s principal place of residence and the place at which the person is required to attend exceeds 50 kilometres—$10 plus such additional amount (if any) as is prescribed by the regulations; or (b) in any other case—$10. (5) The regulations may prescribe different amounts in respect of different distances and different means of travel. (6) This section has effect subject to section 304A.