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Terms and Conditions and Obligations for VET Student Loans

When you complete either the paperbased form or the online eCaf form and submit the forms you have ticked a box and declared that you understand your obligations.

These obligations are:

  • You have read the VET Student Loans information booklet and you are aware of your obligations if you receive VET Student Loans assistance.
  • You understand, over your lifetime, the amount of VET Student Loans assistance (and FEE-HELP assistance) that you access must not exceed the FEE-HELP limit.
  • You understand that it is your responsibility to be aware of your FEE-HELP balance and to advise your provider(s) (and FEE-HELP institutions if applicable) if you are approaching the FEE-HELP limit and may not have enough FEE-HELP balance to cover your tuition fees. In this situation, you will advise each relevant provider of how much VET Student Loans (or FEE-HELP) assistance you wish to access for your units of study.
  • You understand the statements below relating to repayments of VET Student Loans debts (and refunds under special circumstances).
  • You understand that under the Act, the term 'Commonwealth supported student' refers to a student who is in a 'Commonwealth supported place' - a subsidised higher education place (visit www.studyassist.gov.au for more information). A student accessing VET Student Loans (or FEE-HELP) is not a 'Commonwealth supported student'.

You declare that:

  • you have read the VET Student Loans information booklet and are aware of your obligations if you receive VET Student Loans assistance; and
  • the information on this form is complete and correct and you can produce documents to verify this if required.

You request that:

  • the Commonwealth lend you the amount of the VET tuition fees for the units in your course outstanding at the census date and to use the amount so lent to pay the fees outstanding to your provider on your behalf.

You understand that:

  • if you are a full fee-paying student, a loan fee of 20% will be applied to the amount of VET Student Loans assistance provided (If you are a subsidised student in a state or territory that has implemented subsidised VET Student Loans arrangements, you will not incur a loan fee). The loan fee will be included in your VET Student Loans debt. You should contact your provider for more information;
  • you will repay to the ATO the amount that the Commonwealth has loaned to you (plus the loan fee if applicable). These repayments will be made in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Act when your income reaches a certain level, even if you have not completed your studies;
  • your debt with the Commonwealth will remain if you withdraw or cancel your enrolment after the census date but that your debt may be removed by your provider in special circumstances;
  • your HELP debt will be indexed annually in line with the Act;
  • you will not be able to obtain VET Student Loans assistance for VET unit(s) of study if you do not meet the TFN requirements;
  • you will no longer be able to obtain VET Student Loans assistance when the total amount of VET Student Loans (and FEE-HELP assistance) you have obtained reaches the FEE-HELP limit as set out in the Act;
  • you are able to cancel this request, in writing, at any time, with your provider, and that it will no longer apply from that time. However, this must be done by the census date, otherwise you will have a debt to the Australian Government that you are legally required to repay;
  • your personal information will be collected and stored by the Australian Government in order to administer your Commonwealth assistance and may be shared for this purpose with the ATO;
  • if your eligibility for VET Student Loans changes, you must notify your VET provider;
  • the authority to collect the information on this form is contained in the Act;
  • the information may not otherwise be disclosed without your consent unless authorised or required by law; and
  • giving false or misleading information is a serious offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995.