TRS for Norfolk Island?

[Jackaranda]

Hi all. I've been actively lurking on AFF forums for a while now, but I couldn't find a definitive answer to this question. So I decided to create an account and ask.

Has anyone had any luck getting a TRS refund when traveling to N.I. ? I found lots of conflicting information with some blogs saying yes and others saying no.

Have recently booked an award ticket flying QF BNE-NLK this November and I am interested to hear if anyone has had any personal experience with this.


Cheers, Jackaranda.

 

[SYD]

Welcome to AFF!

The ATO still lists NI as TRS eligible:

GST transactions with mainland Australia

How Norfolk Island businesses work out their GST obligations when dealing with businesses on the Australian mainland.

www.ato.gov.au

Some of the recent discussion on other threads being denied TRS is possibly confusion during COVID times. Hopefully someone with recent experience ex-BNE can provide an update?

When I went ex-SYD in May, I didn’t try because the NZ bubble had no long started and prior to that, there reports of TRS not operating. But DF was up and running for both departure and arrivals (including pre-orders).

 

[SYD]

You’ve probably already seen this thread but some useful info / reports / ideas.

Qantas to Norfolk Island

Interestingly Qantas will "temporarily" launch a new route as they operate some flights to/from Norfolk Island starting tomorrow. As reported in the ABC, Air New Zealand has been "unable" to operate these flights because they don't have the aircraft/crew in Australia. The Norfolk Island flights...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Jackaranda]

Welcome to AFF!

The ATO still lists NI as TRS eligible:

GST transactions with mainland Australia

How Norfolk Island businesses work out their GST obligations when dealing with businesses on the Australian mainland.

www.ato.gov.au

Some of the recent discussion on other threads being denied TRS is possibly confusion during COVID times. Hopefully someone with recent experience ex-BNE can provide an update?

When I went ex-SYD in May, I didn’t try because the NZ bubble had no long started and prior to that, there reports of TRS not operating. But DF was up and running for both departure and arrivals (including pre-orders).

Hi, SYD. My apologies for such a belated response. Thanks for getting back to me. I'll check out the link listed below. It's surprisingly hard to find information on this topic so I really appreciate it!

 

[SYD]

No worries. Actually, I’m surprised others haven’t jumped in to confirm or not their recent experience with TRS ex-BNE to NLK.

 

[Jackaranda]

No worries. Actually, I’m surprised others haven’t jumped in to confirm or not their recent experience with TRS ex-BNE to NLK.

I'm surprised there are no trip reports either. Or that there is still ample award availability on these flights it's a great redemption rate considering the cost of the fare.

 

[SYD]

Quite an extensive TR here (pre-QF getting the temp gig):

Time Stands Still on Norfolk Island.

So tomorrow we leave from BNE's International Terminal on our first overseas flight this year-to Norfolk Island.We had our honeymoon there.Was about as far as we could afford in those days.It was then a duty free place and we returned home 70Kg overweight.However as it was our honeymoon we were...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

QF was supposed to finish in August but with NZ in lockdown and a bunch of us in the SEast not able to fly, there’s probably a rare oversupply v demand for redemption seats.

 

[Jackaranda]

Quite an extensive TR here (pre-QF getting the temp gig):

Time Stands Still on Norfolk Island.

So tomorrow we leave from BNE's International Terminal on our first overseas flight this year-to Norfolk Island.We had our honeymoon there.Was about as far as we could afford in those days.It was then a duty free place and we returned home 70Kg overweight.However as it was our honeymoon we were...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

QF was supposed to finish in August but with NZ in lockdown and a bunch of us in the SEast, probably a rare oversupply v demand for redemption seats.

I stand corrected. Thank you.

 

[henrus]

When I flew from BNE-NLK in November last year I was told no in Brisbane.

Being the only intl flight at the time I asked at the passport desk and was questioned if I was a Norfolk resident. When I said no they told me I wasn't eligible and to be honest I couldn't be bothered pushing it any further but I suspect I was indeed eiglbe provided I remained under the limit upon return.

 

[Jackaranda]

When I flew from BNE-NLK in November last year I was told no in Brisbane.

Being the only intl flight at the time I asked at the passport desk and was questioned if I was a Norfolk resident. When I said no they told me I wasn't eligible and to be honest I couldn't be bothered pushing it any further but I suspect I was indeed eiglbe provided I remained under the limit upon return.

Hi Henrus, thank you for your response. My apologies for the belated reply!

I had a similar experience with the TRS counter being closed and there were no forms to do a drop in claim and it was evident that only Norfolk Island residents were/are eligible for TRS.
This clears up any misleading information on other travel blogs that say it is possible for Non-Norfolk island residents.

That being said the whole island was duty-free of course. These duty-free prices were not particularly low for ordinary grocery shopping as everything is imported.

There is also no longer a 20% discount on the liquor bond for tourists/locals. This was apparently a local government decision. The locals are rightfully disappointed with this decision .

The one noticeably cheap product on Norfolk was Tobacco. Although I don't smoke I was surprised to see a packet of 20 cigarettes was about $12.

I hope this helps any AFF member who is looking for further info on N.I. as it is somewhat hard to find.

Thanks, Jacaranda.

 

[SYD]

I had a similar experience with the TRS counter being closed and there were no forms to do a drop in claim and it was evident that only Norfolk Island residents were/are eligible for TRS.
This clears up any misleading information on other travel blogs that say it is possible for Non-Norfolk island residents.

It‘s probably premature to conclude that TRS is not available to NLK if the BNE office was unfortunately closed. The link above still says that NI is eligible for TRS and in mine and others experience, we were able to purchase pre departure airport DF (at least ex-SYD).

Hopefully when things get back to some sort of new normal and more international departures ex-BNE there’ll be more clarity on this.

 

[SydneySwan]

We have booked to go to NI on Dec 10 from Sydney. Mrs SS looking to buy some Apple kit before we go and hoping to reclaim the GST on our departure.

 

[SYD]

We have booked to go to NI on Dec 10 from Sydney. Mrs SS looking to buy some Apple kit before we go and hoping to reclaim the GST on our departure.

It would be useful if you can report back.

Mind you, given Apple products in store and at the airport probably don’t vary much in price(?) It might be safer to preorder online for airport collection - if that option is available.

 

[Jackaranda]

It‘s probably premature to conclude that TRS is not available to NLK if the BNE office was unfortunately closed. The link above still says that NI is eligible for TRS and in mine and others experience, we were able to purchase pre departure airport DF (at least ex-SYD).

Hopefully when things get back to some sort of new normal and more international departures ex-BNE there’ll be more clarity on this.

Hi @SYD. My apologies if I came off a bit presumptive with that one. I hope you’re right. I said this as after combing through the ato and abf website it seems to point heavily towards the trs refunds only being available for NLK residents coupled with the fact that there was absolutely no way for anyone to submit a claim via the trs at BNE. However, I would love to be proven wrong for future trips.

In terms of duty free it was operating in Bris. There was a lot of good drop with a significant discount too which is something to look out for. Especially as travel is still not back to its normal volumes and duty free attempt to clear stock. I got some nice bottles which I took with me to Norfolk and picked some up on the way back too! Following up with my previous post. I strongly recommend buying your alcohol in duty free or at a bottle shop before hand as the selection is quite limited on N.I. particularly wines.


When I went through BNE click and collect/ preordering online was not working but it would definitely be worth giving them a call to see if you could get a rain check or even a price match @SydneySwan

 

[SYD]

In terms of duty free it was operating in Bris. There was a lot of good drop with a significant discount too which is something to look out for. Especially as travel is still not back to its normal volumes and duty free attempt to clear stock. I got some nice bottles which I took with me to Norfolk and picked some up on the way back too! Following up with my previous post. I strongly recommend buying your alcohol in duty free or at a bottle shop before hand as the selection is quite limited on N.I. particularly wines.


When I went through BNE click and collect/ preordering online was not working but it would definitely be worth giving them a call to see if you could get a rain check or even a price match @SydneySwan

The fact you could buy DF ex-BNE is a good sign.

For those flying ex-SYD, looks like Heinemann DF has restarted click ‘n collect again.

 

[SydneySwan]

Mrs SS has bought Apple watch and iPhone and entered the details into the TRS app. Let us see how we go on Dec 10.

 

[SydneySwan]

Update. We successfully claimed the TRS although of course the refund has not yet reached my account. However the lady who served us did not ask for our boarding pass or where we were going. She was though very thorough in checking receipts against the goods.

 

[infinity]

Hi @SYD. My apologies if I came off a bit presumptive with that one. I hope you’re right. I said this as after combing through the ato and abf website it seems to point heavily towards the trs refunds only being available for NLK residents coupled with the fact that there was absolutely no way for anyone to submit a claim via the trs at BNE. However, I would love to be proven wrong for future trips.

In terms of duty free it was operating in Bris. There was a lot of good drop with a significant discount too which is something to look out for. Especially as travel is still not back to its normal volumes and duty free attempt to clear stock. I got some nice bottles which I took with me to Norfolk and picked some up on the way back too! Following up with my previous post. I strongly recommend buying your alcohol in duty free or at a bottle shop before hand as the selection is quite limited on N.I. particularly wines.


When I went through BNE click and collect/ preordering online was not working but it would definitely be worth giving them a call to see if you could get a rain check or even a price match @SydneySwan

Will be going on 2/1/22. 4 pax is there a limit to wine per person you can take in?

 

[SYD]

Will be going on 2/1/22. 4 pax is there a limit to wine per person you can take in?

There’s a bunch of info at this thread:

Qantas to Norfolk Island

Why would you be forced into quarantine from returning from NI? Do you think you would accidentally get on the HQ bus instead of the car park bus? I just mean the risk of catching something inside the international terminal as actual overseas flights arrive. Compared with the slightly lower...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Including advice that you can take in as much DF booze as you like but normal DF limits apply on return. The Bond store has a random selection of spirits and wine (slightly cheaper than SYD airport DF) but no guarantee they’ll have what you want.

If you’re a G&T person, it would pay to take some tonic water….

 

[dylarr]

Data point: Travelling to NLK this morning and I was able to claim TRS refund at SYD no problems at all.