07 3889 8233

VET STUDENT LOANS

VET Student Loans Program

VET Student Loans commenced on 1 January 2017, replacing the VET FEE-HELP scheme. The VET Student Loans program offers greater protection for students and focuses on courses that address industry needs, creating better opportunities for employment. VET Student Loans offers income contingent loan support to eligible students studying certain diploma level and above vocational education and training qualifications. Eligible students are entitled for loans up to a capped amount.

For more information:

See Student Information Booklet

Eligibility

To receive a VET Student Loan, you must:

1. Be an eligible student

2. Be studying an approved course

3. Be studying with an approved provider

4.Apply to the government using the approved electronic commonwealth assistance form (eCAF) on or before 11:59pm AEST on or before the first census day, no less than 2 business days after enrolling

5. Confirm your engagement and progression to continue to access the loan throughout your course

6. Be an Australian Citizen; or A New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holder who meets the long term residency requirements; or a permanent humanitarian visa holder

7. Not have exceeded the FEE-HELP limit (for the 2021-22 financial year this is $109206, for most students)

8. Have been assessed as academically suited by ASG to undertake the course by either:

a) providing your Year 12 Certificate; or

b) providing your International Baccalaureate Diploma Program or (IB) diploma; or

c) providing evidence of successful completion of an AQF qualification delivered in English and:

was at Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) level 4 or higher, or a framework that preceded the AQF that is equivalent to level 4 in the AQF; or
has been assessed by a federal, state or territory government agency which assesses overseas qualifications as equivalent or comparable to:
- a qualification at level 4 or above in the AQF; or
- a qualification at a level in a framework that preceded the AQF that is equivalent to level 4 in the AQF

d) undertaking an approved LLN assessment tool as displaying competence at, or above, Exit Level 3 in the Australian Core Skills Framework (ASCF) in both reading and numeracy and where ASG reasonably believes that you display that competence

9. Meet the Tax File Number requirements:

you must have a valid TFN by the census date
if you don’t have a TFN you can apply for one from the ATO website and receive a Certificate of Application which you must use to upload your TFN to your eCAF before you submit
you must advise ASG as soon as you receive your TFN from the ATO. If you do not provide your TFN you will not be able to use a VSL for that study period.

10. Have or obtain a Unique Student Identifier (USI)

You should also understand that:

you will incur a loan from the Australian Commonwealth Government who will, on your behalf, pay your tuition fees to ASG
a loan fee of 20% applies (this is added to your VETSL debt at the ATO)
you will have the loan as a personal debt until it is repaid to the Commonwealth
you must repay your VSL debt when your income exceeds the repayment threshold. For the 2021-2022 year this is $47014, and is adjusted annually.
until the debt/loan is repaid, may have their take-home (after tax) wage or salary and borrowing capacity reduced;
you may wish to seek independent financial advice before applying for the loan

How to Apply

Make a course enquiry through the ASG website or call us on 07 3889 8233
Receive the pre-course information email and read the VET Student Loans Information for Students, the Course Factsheet and the ASG VET Student Loans Handbook.
Attend the pre-course information session.
Complete your enrolment application and provide your eligibility evidence
If you are eligible for a VET Student Loan ASG will submit your request to the government via the Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF)
The Government will communicate to you via your personal email and provide you with an access code and link to the eCAF
You must complete the eCAF before 23:59 AEST on or before the census date for your course and at least 2 business days after enrolling.
If you do not complete the eCAF, by the required census date for your course, you will have to wait until the next part of your course /unit of study to request a VET Student Loan for future study.

Course Fee Information

You have the option to pay your tuition fees as they become due and/or through the use of a VET Student loan (eligibility criteria applies),
Tuition fees are charged by the unit of study (refer to the ASG Schedule of Fees) and your course will have at least three fee periods with payments spread proportionately across the duration of your course.
Your course costs more than the VET Student Loan Cap so you will need to pay, or arrange to pay, the difference (referred to as a gap) between the course fees and the VET Student Loan Cap prior to your first census day.
ASG provide you with the option to pay the gap amount in instalments, over the 3 semesters of your course.
Once enrolled but prior to the first census day for your course, ASG will provide you with a Statement of Covered Fees confirming that your enrolment has been accepted and the amounts of the course tuition fees that will, and will not, be covered under a VET Student Loan.
You can vary the amount of VET Student Loan you use to pay for your course by advising us in writing prior to the census date.