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VET Student Loans

The VET Student Loans program is available for 22460VIC Diploma of Applied Technologies. This program allows eligible participants access to quality higher level VET qualifications, particularly those students who could not otherwise afford to pay upfront.  The VET Student Loan is used to pay tuition fees up to a maximum loan cap amount, to be repaid through the Australian Taxation System.

Loan Caps

  • Eligible students will be entitled for loans up to a capped amount. 
  • Training Providers may charge above the loan cap for a course, and if so, students will be expected to pay for the difference upfront according to the Training Provider’s billing period. There is currently no gap fee for the Diploma of Applied Technologies.

STUDENT ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible for a VET Student Loan you must provide evidence that you are:

  • An Australian citizen (If you are born on or after 20 August 1986 you will be required to supply additional evidence if you are using your birth certificate as evidence); OR
  • The holder of a permanent humanitarian visa who is usually resident in Australia; OR
  • A New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holder who meets the long-term residency requirements.

Please refer to the VET Student Loans Student Entry Procedure for acceptable forms of evidence.

In addition to Skills Lab believing on reasonable grounds that a student is academically suited to undertake the qualification for which a VET Student loan is sought, in order to apply for a VET Student loan to assist with payment of your course fees, you must meet one of the following requirements:

  • provide a copy of your senior secondary certificate of education, that has been awarded by an Australian authority or agency when you apply to enrol. Skills Lab is required to store a copy of this for five years after you enrol; OR 
  • undertake a reading and numeracy assessment using an approved assessment tool and display competence at or above Exit Level 3 in the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). Skills Lab uses LLN Robot to administer this assessment. Skills Lab must be confident that you completed this test independently and have the required skills to successfully complete your diploma. If you undertake a reading and numeracy assessment, Skills Lab will inform you of your results as soon as practicable after the assessment. A copy of your results will be stored for five years after you enrol and may be provided to the Commonwealth if requested; OR
  • provide a copy of a qualification at Certificate IV level or above in the Australian Qualifications Framework, that has been delivered in English.

If you are not able to meet any of these requirements, you will not be eligible to apply for a Commonwealth VET Student loan. 


HOW TO APPLY FOR VET STUDENT LOANS

Applying for a VET Student Loan is separate from your course application with Skills Lab.

During your application submission, you will be asked to indicate if you want to apply for a VET Student Loan (VSL) in the relevant section. If you are accepted into an approved VSL course and wish to apply for a VSL, you will be contacted by our compliance team who will provide you with information on the VET Student Loans scheme, ensuring it is understood and acknowledged in full by the student assess your eligibility.

Once our VSL team has confirmed you are eligible for a VSL we will give your enrolment information to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) through the electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) system. You will then receive an auto-generated email from the eCAF system providing details on how to sign into the eCAF system so that you can submit a Request for a VET Student Loan eCAF. This is your formal application for a VET Student Loan.

The last day to apply for the VET Student Loan is the census date for the course you are applying for, but we recommend the application be made as soon as possible to avoid any delays.

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) may contact you to confirm enrolment and that you wish to use VET Student Loan funds. If your contact details change, you need to update them with both EIT and the DESE.

 

CENSUS DATES

Skills Lab's census dates are listed here.

The census date is the last date which students can apply for VET Student Loans. The census date is also the last date which students can withdraw from a unit of study (CRN) without incurring a debt for that unit of study. A student’s CRN census date is calculated as their nominated start date plus 20% of the course duration. 

For more information on withdrawing, deferring, or canceling your course or unit/module enrolment, please refer to the following Skills Lab Policies:

VET Student Loans Withdrawal, Deferral and Cancellation Policy
VET Student Loans Debt Review and Recredit Policy

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF I WITHDRAW FROM MY COURSE?

If you are an eligible student studying a Diploma qualification and withdraw before the census date you will receive a full 100% refund of any tuition fees you have paid upfront and will not incur a student loan debt. To be deemed as an eligible student you must have provided appropriate eligibility documentation and been assessed as eligible to apply for a VET Student Loan.

If you are an eligible student studying a Diploma qualification and withdraw after the census date you will incur a debt (unless the debt is remitted under special circumstances) If special circumstances apply, you will need to apply for a refund / re-credit.

VET Student Loans Refund and Re-credit Policy


TUITION ASSURANCE ARRANGEMENT

Tuition assurance refers to the protections and assistance available to support VET Student Loans and FEE-HELP students, in the event that their education provider stops delivering their course or closes entirely.

For information regarding these arrangements, please refer to:

Tuition Assurance Statement

VSL Tuition Assurance Policy and Procedures

 

TUITION FEES

Fees for Approved VSL Courses are charged by Fee Periods; there are at least three Fee Periods for each course and payments will be spread across the duration of the course. Each Fee Period has a census day, set at no less than 20% into the Fee Period.

Students will be sent a VET Student Loan Fee Notice 14 days before each census day, with payable fees and census days. Please note that student debt is incurred on the day after the census day. After a census day has passed, Skills Lab will send a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) for the respective Fee Period. The CAN will provide information about your debt, including the loan fee if applicable. If you believe your CAN is incorrect, please contact our compliance team immediately.



LOAN REPAYMENT

A VET student loan is a personal debt incurred by a student. It will need to be repaid after the student’s income hits the minimum payment threshold set by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE). Compulsory repayments are organized through the ATO.

You can learn more about repaying your VET student loan through the ATO here.

 

POLICIES and PROCEDURES 

Related policies and procedures cover fair treatment, personal information, academic grievance, student complaint resolution and refunds/re-credits.  These can be accessed here.  If you require further information, please email skills@skillslab.edu.au

 

CONTACT US 

If you have any queries, please contact us via the details below.