VSL Student Loan

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.

Before applying for a VSL, students need to consider the following facts:

• It is a loan from the Commonwealth
• The loan will remain a personal debt until it is repaid to the Commonwealth
• The loan may, until the debt is repaid, reduce a person’s take home (after tax) wage or salary and may reduce the person’s borrowing capacity.
• The loan must be paid to the Australian Taxation Office when your income reaches a certain level.
• Students should seek independent financial advice before applying for a loan.
• If you are a full fee paying student, a loan fee of 20% will be added to the VSL loan amount.
• Each eligible student has a FEE-HELP limit that can be used over their lifetime. The loan cannot be greater than the student’s remaining FEE HELP balance.
• The approved VET course at ACBI has a maximum loan (cap) amount of $10,525 that can be used under the VET Student Loans scheme.
• The Commonwealth pays the funds directly to your training provider for your tuition fees. Your Commonwealth Higher Education Support Number (CHESSN) is connected to information about your VSL debt.

The loan is issued by the Australian Government to make higher education more accessible, by removing the burden of upfront tuition fees. Ongoing access to a VET Student Loan is dependent upon the student demonstrating that they are still engaged in and progressing through their qualification.

The VET Student Loans Scheme pays eligible students’ tuition fees, covering up to $10,000* per approved qualification. This means students can focus on their career and repay the Australian Government loan when their income is higher than the minimum repayment threshold. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) calculates and adjusts repayments each year. Students can also make voluntary repayments to the ATO. Best of all, there is no interest charged on VET Student Loans, however a 20% loan fee does apply for full fee paying students.

This Commonwealth Government program allows students to access loans for qualifications that:

• Have a high national priority
• Meet industry needs
• Contribute to addressing skills shortages
• Lead to employment outcomes

The loan applies to approved qualifications at a Diploma level or above. The Study Assist website has detailed information about VET Student Loan debts and repayments. Prospective students can also refer to the VET Student Loans Information Booklet for more information.

ACBI is an approved provider under the VET Student Loan Scheme since 19th October 2020. Eligible students can only access VET Student Loans for approved qualifications.

VET Student Loans are available for the approved qualifications:

• BSB50820 Diploma of Project Management 
• MSS50122 Diploma of Sustainable Operations
• ICT60220 Diploma of Information Technology

Eligbility is determined upon set criteria, determined by the Commonwealth Government. To be eligible for a VSL loan, a person must provide evidence to ACBI of the following:

• Australian citizenship; or
• Permanent humanitarian visa holder; or
• (resident in Australia for the duration of the unit): or
• New Zealand Special Category Visa holder who meets the long term residency requirements.

Further eligibility requirements include;

• Not have exceeded the VSL limit
• Be enrolled on or before the first census date of your course (or entry point into the course) by completing an Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF)
• Meet the Tax File Number (TFN) requirements.
• Have a Unique Student Identifier (USI) or otherwise exempt.
• Have read the VET Student Loans information booklet.

To see if you are likely to meet the eligibility requirements, check out the VET Student Loans Eligibility Tool on the My Skills website.

Detailed eligibility information can be found in the VET Student Loans Information Booklet.

Before a student can access VET Student Loans, ACBI must also determine if they have the ability to undertake the qualification. To be assessed as academically suitable, students must either:

• provide an identification and citizenship details
• provide an Australian Year 12 Certificate, or equivalent
• If the student is an adult learner, or Year 10 or 11 graduate, the student must undertake the LLN requirements for the appropriate requirements for the appropriate AQF level of the course

In addition, ACBI must reasonably believe the student will be able to successfully complete the qualification.

Students under the age of 18:

If the student is under 18, information below needs to be provided:

• one of the signatories to the application is a responsible parent of the student (by submission of the signed parental consent form) or
• If the student has applied for, but not been issued with a tax file number (TFN), a certificate from the Commissioner that the student has applied for a TFN.

• VSL Withdrawal Procedure
• VSL Application to Withdraw Form

• VET Student Loans will remain as a personal debt in the student’s name until it is repaid to the Commonwealth Government via the Australian Taxation Office.
• The loan may, until it is repaid, reduce the after-tax wage or salary, and may reduce the student’s borrowing capacity.
• Repaying the Government’s loan is required when the income reaches the repayment threshold. The income threshold can be found on the Governments Study Assist website.
• As with any loan, students may wish to seek independent financial advice before they take out a VET Student Loans.

As part of stronger compliance measures, students will use the eCAF to demonstrate they are engaged with their training. Students will be required to indicate continuing engagement only after at least three months have elapsed since their eCAF application was submitted, or they last indicated engagement.

The absence of student engagement will be monitored through compliance procedures and may prompt an investigation of student lack of engagement which may trigger the remission of debts.

For more information regarding student progression, please refer to Student Enrolment Process (Domestic Student) document.

Statement of Tuition Assurance

Under the provisions of the Higher Education Support ACT ext 2003 (HESA) and the VET Guidelines Australian College of Business Institute must comply with the VET Tuition Assurance requirements. This is to protect VET students in the event that ACBI ceases to provide a VET course of study in which a VET student is enrolled.

For details of ACBI Tuition Assurance please refer to Student Fees Policy document in our Forms and Policies page.

• If you require support you should contact our ACBI Admissions Officer on admissions@acbi.edu.au
• If you have a grievance or complaint you should consult the ACBI Student Complaints and Grievances Policy downloadable from our Forms and Policies page.
• If you have any questions, concerns, or require more information regarding any element of VET Student Loans, students should contact the Department of Education and Training HELP Student Enquiry line on 1800 020 108, email VETStudentLoans@employment.gov.au or visit the Governments VET Student Loans page.

A new VET Student Loans Ombudsman has been established, and from 1 July 2017 complaints about VET FEE-HELP debts and VET Student Loan debts will be handled by the new VET Student Loans Ombudsman.

The VET Student Loans Ombudsman is part of the broader Commonwealth Ombudsman’s office. The Ombudsman is separate from the Department and has its own legal powers to investigate and deal with complaints. More information about the Commonwealth Ombudsman is available on their VET Student Loan Complaints page. 

Please note, the Ombudsman will normally not commence an investigation of a complaint unless the student has first tried to resolve their complaint with their qualification provider. If the student has not done so, the Ombudsman will advise the student to raise their complaint with their provider in the first instance.

Please refer to our Complaints and Appeals Policy available on our website for more information regarding complaints and appeals.

To view all of our current documents, you can head over to our Forms and Policies page.