VET Student Loans

The VET Student Loans program is designed to give eligible students access to quality higher level VET qualifications, particularly to those students who could not otherwise afford to pay upfront. VET Student Loans are a loan from the Commonwealth. The loan remains a personal debt until it is repaid to the Commonwealth, and the loan may, until the debt is repaid, reduce a student’s take home (after-tax) wage or salary, and may reduce the student’s borrowing capacity. A student may wish to seek independent financial advice before applying for a loan.

Eligible students will be entitled to loans up to a capped amount. Students will need to contribute the difference, if the course fee exceeds the loan cap for the course.

If you are an eligible student, the Department of Education and Training may approve your VET Student Loan for an approved course. The department will pay your loan directly to your approved course provider. You will be responsible for any gap amount in the tuition fees, which are not covered by the loan. You will owe a debt to the Australian Government for the loan, which will be managed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

For more information visit www.education.gov.au/vet-student-loans

Loan Caps

Eligible students will be entitled to 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, across a specified number of sequential fee periods (each fee period containing a census day).

Eligible Courses

If you wish to access a loan to study a higher level VET course, you will need to select one of the below eligible courses offered by Quality College of Australia.
Quality College of Australia is an approved provider.
We offer the following approved courses:
BSB51918 Diploma of Leadership and Management
SIT50416 Diploma of Hospitality Management
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 across a specified number of sequential fee periods (each fee period containing a census day).

For further information on the VET Student Loan program visit www.education.gov.au/vet-student-loans

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 Selection and Eligibility policy for further eligibility criteria and entry requirements.

In addition to Quality College of Australia 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 (Quality College of Australia) 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). Quality College of Australia will advise you how you may undertake this assessment. Quality College of Austrlia must be confident that you complete this test independently and have the required skills. If you undertake a reading and numeracy assessment, Quality College of Australia 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.

In addition to this, you must be studying an approved VET Student Loan course;
AND
not exceed the FEE-HELP limit – studyassist.gov.au

All certificates and evidence provided will be verified prior to being used towards an application to study with Quality College of Australia.

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

Student Counselling

Quality College of Australia staff must ensure that all VET Student Loans eligible students are counselled before enrolling in a new VET Student Loans qualification. This counselling must include the information on the VET Student Loans scheme, ensuring it is understood and acknowledged in full by the student.

How to apply

Once counselling has occurred and all evidence has been supplied to Quality College of Australia, student enrolment data will be uploaded to the new VET Student Loans application system. The Department of Education and Training will send a passkey to the students nominated email address with details on how to apply. Quality College of Australia will then be notified that the application has been successful and appropriate fees for eligible units (up to the course loan cap) will be deferred to the VET Student Loan.

Students must apply for VET Student Loans before their first census date to receive VET Student Loans for that unit of study.

What is the Census Date?

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. A Census Date will be provided upon enrolment into your course with Quality College of Australia.

What happens if I withdraw?

If you are an eligible student studying a Diploma or above 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 undergone VET Student Loan counselling, 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 or above 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.

For more information on applying for a refund/re-credit:

Application for Refund and Re-credit of a VET Student Loan

Statement of Tuition Assurance

Statement of Tuition Assurance (VET Student Loans)

Repayment of VET Student Loans

Repaying the loan is required when your income reaches the repayment threshold. The threshold can be found at www.studyassist.gov.au. VET Student Loans gives rise to a HELP debt that continues to be a debt due to the Commonwealth until its repaid.

Tuition Fees

The Schedule of Fees should be used as a guide to provide information on fees and census dates for units of study. Each student will be provided with a Fee Advice during counselling, providing fee and census date information specific to their registrations into the relevant qualification. Indicative qualification fees are available on the course information page through the program guides.

VET Student Loans Schedule of Fees

A Census Date will be provided upon enrolment into your courses.

Is there a loan fee?

Non State Government subsidised students will be charged a 20% loan fee. The loan fee is added to the student loan but is not included within the student’s lifetime FEE-HELP limit.

What do you need to know before you enrol?

Decide on your preferred course and check if the course is an approved VET Student Loans course.
Check if you meet the eligibility and entry requirements.
Be prepared to provide evidence of identification (including Australian Birth Certificate or copy of your Visa), records of your past academic qualifications and undertake the Language, Literacy and Numeracy assessment when required.
You must have ready a Tax File Number. This detail is required on your loan application form.
Read the VET Student Loans Booklet.

It is advised that the department may contact the student to verify their enrolment into the course.

Additional information and requirements

It is important that enrolled students notify the provider of any change of contact details.

Policies and procedures

Related policies and procedures cover fair treatment, personal information, academic grievance, student complaint resolution and refunds/re-credits. If you require further information, please email admin@qca.edu.au

If you have any queries, please contact us or call us on 1300 511 888