VET Student Loans

Study Now and Pay Later with VET Student Loans

Student loans give you the choice of studying at Salford College now and paying some of your tuition fees later.

Under a VET Student Loan (VSL), the Australian Government pays your tuition fee (up to the loan limit) on your behalf directly to Salford College. You repay that loan through the tax system when your income exceeds a repayment threshold determined by the Australian Government.

The Australian Tax Office will calculate your compulsory payments each year and collect these payments until the whole debt has been repaid. Depending on your income, the VET Student Loan can result in a reduction of your take-home pay and borrowing capacity. Students should seek independent financial advice before committing to the VET Student Loan.

Information on this page is to be read in conjunction with the Australian Government’s VET Student Loans information booklet. Additional information is available on our Remission of Debt in special circumstances page

REMISSION OF DEBT IN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES 

Students who withdraw after the census date because they are unable to continue with their studies due to special circumstances can apply for remission of their VET Student Loan or FEE-HELP debt, or tuition fees paid up-front. A student cannot apply for a remission if the subject has been successfully completed.

An application is considered by the Compliance Manager or a nominated officer on the basis of special circumstances that apply to the student that:

• was beyond the student’s control;
• did not make their full impact on the student until on, or after, the census date; and
• made it impractical for the student to complete the requirements for the unit in the period during which the student undertook, or was to undertake, the unit.

Special circumstances do not include, for example:

• lack of knowledge or understanding of requirements under the schemes; or
• an applicant’s incapacity to repay a HELP debt, as repayments are income-contingent and the applicant can apply for a deferral of a compulsory repayment in certain circumstances

The student’s statement of the special circumstances must include supporting documentation from an independent source or authority.

Re-credit of a Student’s VET FEE-HELP balance by the Secretary – The process

 A student may apply in writing to the Secretary for the student’s VET FEE-HELP balance to be re-credited under section 71 of the VET Student Loans Act 2016. Applications must be made within 5 years after the census day for the course or unit of study concerned or within that period as extended by the Secretary.

Before re-crediting a student’s VET FEE-HELP balance the Secretary must give the course provider concerned notice in writing:

• stating that the Secretary is considering the re-credit; and
• stating the reasons why the Secretary is considering the re-credit; and
• inviting the provider to make written submissions to the Secretary about the re-credit within 28 days.

In deciding whether to re-credit the VET FEE-HELP balance, the Secretary must take into account any submissions received within the 28 day period.

The Secretary must give the student and the provider written notice of the Secretary’s decision and the reasons for the decision. The notice must be given as soon as practicable after the decision is made.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for a VET Student Loan you must:

• Be enrolled in an eligible Diploma or Advanced Diploma course
• Be an Australian citizen, permanent humanitarian visa holder who is usually a resident in Australia, or a New Zealand Special Visa holder who meets the long-term residency requirements
• Have a HELP balance that is more than $0. Your HELP loan limit is the amount that you can borrow.
• Have a Tax File Number issued by the ATO by the unit of study census date
• Have a valid Unique Student Identifier (USI)
• Provide evidence of academic suitability
• Reside in Australia for the duration of your study.

You can check your eligibility for a VET Student Loan at https://www.myskills.gov.au/more/financial-assistance

VET CENSUS DATES & PAYMENT DEADLINES

CENSUS DATE

The census day for a course, or a part of a course (e.g. unit), is predetermined and is the last day you can:

• Complete the eCAF to apply for a VET Student Loan (VSL) (for eligible students in Diploma and above courses).
• Withdraw your enrolment without incurring a debt for the course or part of the course

If you have not submitted a completed Request for a VET Student Loan on or before the census date, you WILL NOT be entitled to the loan for that unit and will therefore be required to pay the fee in full by this date.

CENSUS & PAYMENT DEADLINES FOR VET STUDENTS

Each teaching period has a payment due date and a census date.

The census date is the most important date for you to know about the terms of your loan.

The census date is the last day you can withdraw from a course without financial penalty. If you don’t withdraw before midnight on the census date, you are liable to pay the course fee.

Your fees are due at the end of the first week of unit of study, unless otherwise stated on your fee statement.

Census date deadlines cannot be extended for any unit of study.

The census date is also the last day you can apply for Commonwealth Assistance.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A VET STUDENT LOAN

1. Read the VET Student Loan Information booklet.
2. Apply for a Tax File Number from the ATO if you don’t already have one.
3. Gather evidence of your citizenship status and academic suitability to support your loan application if we don’t already have the required documents (see below for required evidence).
4. If you are under 18, have your parent or guardian complete a VET Student Loans Parental Consent Form. This is not necessary if you have been assessed by Centrelink for the independent rate of Youth Allowance but you will need to provide a Centrelink Income Statement as evidence of this.
5. Submit your required evidence documents through our website or email admissions@salfordcollege.edu.au
6. Salford College will verify your eligibility and register your student details in the Government eCAF system.
7. You will receive an email from the Government eCAF system and, using details in that email, you are required to login to eCAF to enter your Tax File Number and confirm your loan. You will need to provide one of the following:

• • An Australian Passport
  • An Australian Citizenship Certificate
  • A Citizenship by Descent extract
  • If you were born in Australia before 20 August 1986, your full Australian birth certificate
  • If you were born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986 and one of your parents was an Australian Citizen at the time of your birth
    • If your full Australian birth certificate shows that one of your parents was born in Australia before 20 August 1986, your full Australian birth certificate
    • If your parent was not born in Australia before 20 August 1986:
      • A) your full Australian birth certificate and your parent’s Australian citizenship certificate  OR
      • B) your full Australian birth certificate and your parent’s full Australian birth certificate.
  • If you were born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986 but neither of your parents was an Australian citizen at the time of your birth, your Australian citizenship certificate.

If you cannot provide any of the above you should apply for your own evidence of Australian citizenship through the Department of Home Affairs

• Permanent humanitarian visa VEVO
• New Zealand Special Category Visa plus evidence
  • of usual residence in Australia for at least 10 years prior to the loan application
  • you were a dependent child under 18 years of age when you were first usually resident in Australia
  • you have been in Australia for a total of 8 out of the last 10 years and 18 months out of the last 2 years

To be eligible for a VET Student Loan, you must be assessed as being academically suitable to undertake your course. You can meet this requirement through one of the following ways:

1. Provide a copy of your Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (Year 12 certificate) as awarded by an Australian State or Territory  OR
2. Provide a copy of a Vocational Education Qualification certificate issued for completion of a Certificate IV qualification or higher and that was delivered in English  OR
3. Complete the Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) assessment and attain an Australian Core Skills Framework Exit Level 3 result or higher for literacy and numeracy. Most students will have taken the LLN test as part of your interview. If you scored below exit level 3 and do not have either of the first two requirements, you will be invited to resit the LLN. Please check this document for further information – VSL Pre enrolment and employment policy

MANAGING YOUR LOAN

VET Student Loans fee notice/ VET Student Loans Statement of Covered Fees

The census day for a course, or a part of a course (e.g. unit), is the last day you can:

• Complete the eCAF to apply for a VET Student Loan for your course
• Withdraw your enrolment without incurring a debt for the course or part of the course

Before your first census date, you will receive a VET Student Loans Statement of Covered Fees showing your contact details, student identification number, CHESSN, the tuition fees for your current enrolment, the amount that will be covered by the loan and the amount you will need to pay. You can see which units will be deferred and which are to be paid by you with due dates by logging in to eStudent and selecting the “My Finances” tab across the top of the screen.

You must check each detail on the notice carefully and advise the Information Centre if there are any errors before the census date.

CONTACT US

If you require further information or assistance with accessing a VET Student Loan, please contact us on 08-82326190 or email us at info@salfordcollege.edu.au