VET Student Loans

Study now and pay later at Hammond Institute

The VET Student Loan (VSL) is a Commonwealth assistance loan that helps eligible students, studying for a diploma qualification or higher, to pay their tuition fees.

Under a VET Student Loan, the Australian Government pays your tuition fee on your behalf directly to Hammond Institute.

For a full list of VET Student Loan-eligible courses, visit https://www.employment.gov.au/vet-student-loans. Hammond Institute is approved to offer a selection of VET Student Loans eligible courses that are on the Department of Education and Training’s list. Each VET Student Loans eligible course has an associated capped amount. Eligible students are only entitled to loans up to the specified capped amount of each VET Student Loans eligible course.

VET Student Loans courses offered by Hammond Institute:

VET Student Loans is a loan and does have to be repaid. Students do not have to repay it until their income is above the minimum repayment threshold for compulsory repayment. Voluntary payments may be made at any time.

VET student loans will not be approved for students who do not meet eligibility requirements; and that a VET student loan gives rise to a HELP debt that continues to be a debt due to the commonwealth until it is repaid.

For more information about the VET Student Loans, visit https://www.employment.gov.au/vet-student-loans.

Alternatively, you can view the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business YouTube video for an overview of the VET Student Loan program and your obligations.

Eligibility
Student Entry Procedure
Parental/Guardian Consent Form(Under 18)
Tax File Number(TFN) Requirements
Keep track your debt
Collection of Information
Storage and security of personal information
Disclosure
Census Dates
Results of assessments of competence in reading and numeracy
Aassessments of competence in reading and numeracy
Information relating to application for VET Student Loans
Withdrawal process and procedures
Cancellation Procedures
Free help review procedures for re-crediting free help balances
Treatments of students seeking review
Procedures as replacement provider

Eligibility

To receive a VET Student Loan, you must:

be studying an approved course
provide a parent/guardian consent form if under the age of 18
be academically suited
an Australian citizen Or a qualifying New Zealand citizen Or a permanent humanitarian visa holder.
have not exceeded the VETSL debt (VET Student Loan debt) limit
have not exceeded the course cap
meet the Tax File Number (TFN) requirements
have a Unique Student Identifier (USI)or otherwise be exempt
confirm your engagement and progression to continue to access the loan throughout your course.

Student Entry Procedure

One of the eligibility requirements for access to tuition fee assistance under the Commonwealth Government’s VET Student Loan scheme is an assessment of your suitability to undertake your chosen course of study.

If you wish to apply for a VET Student Loan, you must either:

provide a copy of a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education awarded to you by an agency or authority of a State or Territory for your completion of your Australian Year 12 (VCAL Intermediate or Senior certificate meets requirements); OR
an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate IV or higher qualification awarded to you which was delivered in English, OR
undertake a reading and numeracy assessment that demonstrates your competence at or above Exit Level 3 in the Australian Core Skills Framework. Access to the assessment tool will be provided by Hammond Institute as part of our information and enrolment process, OR
provide an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) Diploma.

Parental/Guardian Consent Form(Under 18)

If you are under 18 years of age, a parent/guardian must complete and sign a VET student loans (VSL) parental consent form(external link).

This form must be provided to us prior to an electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF)(external link) being issued.

Please note: this is not required if you have been assessed by Centrelink as meeting the requirements of receiving the independent Youth Allowance. In this case, you need to provide your Centrelink Income Statement.

Tax File Number(TFN) Requirements

If you decide to defer your fees via a VET Student Loan (VETSL debt), you will need to apply for a TFN in advance. Your TFN must be valid and your personal details with Hammond Institute must match those held by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Hammond Institute is not notified about your invalid TFN until several weeks after you submit your Commonwealth Assistance Form. You will receive an email notification once we’re advised that your TFN can’t be validated – urgent action is required at this point if you want to keep your VETSL debt.

Keep track your debt

You can keep track of your debt by verifying the Commonwealth Assistance Notice that we provide you. Or you can access this information on these government websites.

MYHELPBALANCE

myHELPbalance will help you keep track of how much you have borrowed under the various HELP loans from 2005 onwards.

Please note, there is a time lag between the census day and when your information on myHELPbalance is updated.

MYGOV

myGov allows you to get more information about your VETSL debt (VET Student Loan debt) online.

It will show:

all of your current VETSL debt
any indexation (increase) that has been applied to your debt
any repayments that you have made, so you can see how much you have left owing.

Collection of Information

Where personal information is collected for inclusion in a record or in a generally available publication, Hammond Institute takes reasonable steps to ensure that, before the information is collected or, if that is not practicable, as soon as practicable after the information is collected, the student concerned is generally aware of:

the purpose for which the information is being collected;
if the collection of the information is authorised or required by or under law the fact that the collection of the information is so authorised or required; and
with whom the information may be shared (such as the Australian Government or Tuition Assurance Scheme).

Hammond Institute will take reasonable steps to ensure that:

the information collected is relevant to the purpose it is obtained and is up to date and complete; and
the collection of the information does not intrude to an unreasonable extent upon the personal affairs of the student.

Where the student needs to update their personal information or to have their incorrect personal information corrected in the Student Management System, the student is required to complete the Student Details Check Form and submit it to the Student Services.

Storage and security of personal information

Hammond Institute will ensure:

that the record is protected, by such security safeguards as it is reasonable in the circumstances to take, against loss, against unauthorised access, use, modification, or disclosure, and against other misuse; and
that if it is necessary for the record to be given to a person in connection with the provision of a service to Hammond Institute, everything reasonably within the power of the Institute will be done to prevent unauthorised use or disclosure of information contained in the record.

Hammond Institute will not use the information without taking reasonable steps to ensure that, having regard to the purpose for which the information is proposed to be used, the information is accurate, up to date and complete. Hammond Institute will not use the information except for a purpose to which the information is relevant.

Disclosure

Hammond Institute will not disclose the information to a person, body or agency (other than the individual concerned) unless:

the student concerned is reasonably likely to have been aware that information of that kind is usually passed to that person, body or agency;
the student concerned has consented to the disclosure;
Hammond Institute believes on reasonable grounds that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of the student or of another person;
the disclosure is required or authorised by or under law eg: information may be disclosed to is closed to the Commonwealth and the VSL Tuition Protection Director
the disclosure is reasonably necessary for the enforcement of the criminal law or of a law imposing a pecuniary penalty, or for the protection of the public revenue.

Where personal information is disclosed for the purposes of enforcement of the criminal law or of a law imposing a pecuniary penalty, or for the purpose of the protection of the public revenue, a note of disclosure detailing the information released will be applied to the record.

A person, body or agency to whom personal information is disclosed will not use or disclose the information for a purpose other than the purpose for which the information was given to the person, body or agency.

Census Dates

The census date is important as it is a legal deadline. The census date is the last day you can:
• submit your Request for VET Student loan form, or
• withdraw your enrolment, following Institute withdrawal procedure, without incurring the cost or debt for that unit. part of the course.
Training Providers set their own census dates (within rules set by the Government). Every unit has its own census date, so that you are charged progressively for your course as you undertake your studies, and not for the whole course at the beginning. Hammond Institute will confirm the census date for each unit you enrol in and the exact deadline of the census date (i.e. close of business).

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Results of assessments of competence in reading and numeracy

When the student has completed the test, the result of the testing will be reported to the student immediately and a copy of the test results will be provided to the student. The results are confidential.

Results are to be reported to the Secretary in the form, manner and by the time requested by the Secretary.

Aassessments of competence in reading and numeracy

Potential students will be provided with access to the Assessment Tool at no cost.

They will still be required to complete a Hammond Institute ‘Language Literacy and Numeracy test’ (LLN) prior to their enrolment. This can be a handwritten test that has been developed based on requirement of the ACSF at level 3 or this can be a link to an online test environment and students will need to ensure they can access the internet to complete the test. The online VSL LLN Assessment tool must be completed on a supported device (computer or tablet) with stable internet access.

The assessment takes an average of 30-60 minutes to complete and must be done in a single sitting. The learner should have access to a calculator and pen and paper for making notes during the assessment.

Testing must be conducted with honesty and integrity; and training staff must be confident that a student displays that competence. The learner is required to make a declaration that the assessment will be completed without assistance and that the answers are the learner’s own work.

Information relating to application for VET Student Loans

Hammond Institute collects and verifies all information required for and in relation to, applications by students for VET Student Loans. This information is systematically collected and verified.

Collection procedure

All applications for entry into institute courses require students to provide proof of their identity. Acceptable proof includes at least one of the following (must include one form if photo identification):

o Current Australian Passport

o Australian Birth Certificate

o Citizenship Certificate

Applicants under the age of 18 must provide further information that includes:

o A signatory on the enrolment contract who is a responsible parent of the applicant; or

o the applicant has received youth allowance on the basis that the student is independent

A tax file number or a certificate from the Commissioner that the student has applied for a tax file number.

The student is required to provide their unique student identifier and their Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN) if available.

Verification procedures

The names on all documents are checked for consistency by student services handling the enrolment process and if there are discrepancies in the names, applicants will have to provide further evidence such as a Change of Name Certificate or Marriage Certificate.

Student unique identifier is verified through the institute’s student management system

Withdrawal process and procedures

If you are considering withdrawing from your course or any part of your course, we suggest you talk to the course coordinator first.

Withdraw correctly and avoid a VET Student Loan debt!

Hammond Institute ensures that its administrative processes support the provision of assistance to all students withdrawing from their study, including students who are undertaking their course through: o The VET Student Loans assistance scheme – by enabling them to withdraw from a VET unit(s) of study on or before the census date for that unit(s) of study

Hammond Institute does not have financial, administrative or other barriers that would result in a student not being able to withdraw from a VET unit of study on or before the census date.

Students will not be charged any fee (fine, penalty or cancellation fee) to withdraw from a course or a VET unit of study. If a VET Student Loans assisted student withdraws from a VET unit of study.

Hammond Institute does not enrol that student in subsequent unit/s of study without written permission from the student, and Hammond Institute has a process in place for the student to select, initiate or request enrolment in subsequent unit/s of study.

Hammond Institute requires students, who were not successful in their previous enrolment with Hammond Institute and who wish to re-enrol, to attend an interview with the Student Welfare & Support Manager, before the student’s acceptance into the new course is determined.

How to withdraw from your course or individual units of study

Withdrawal initiated by students

To avoid incurring a VET Student Loan debt it is important to withdraw before the census date. You will be issued with a list of census dates for your course. It is important that you check the census date for each unit of study. If you commence a unit of study on a date other than what is listed on the Schedule of VET Tuition Fees, the census date will be automatically set at 20% of the unit from your first attendance date.

Should you wish to withdraw from the course or part of the course you will need to officially request to be withdrawn by sending an email to [email protected] with the Withdrawal form advising your intention to be withdrawn from the entire course or part of the course. If you are only withdrawing from part of the course you need to list the units of study.

To avoid a VET Student Loan debt, the email must be received prior to the census date.
You will receive a confirmation email of your withdrawal, including the date and time of the withdrawal, the unit of study, part of a course or whole course and the relevant census day.

If you do not receive an acknowledgment email, please ring and advise the main office. The email will also confirm whether you have incurred a debt for the unit, part of the course or whole course. No debt will be incurred if you withdraw prior to the census day.

If you withdraw before the census day, you will not incur tuition fees for the course or part of the course, to which the census day applies.

Withdrawals Initiated by Hammond Institute

Withdrawals can also be initiated by Hammond Institute when:

the student is not considering any attempts to support their progress;
contact with the student has been lost.
the student has not participated in the Orientation Session (whenever possible Hammond Institute Training will attempt to re- schedule the student into another session); or

as a result of misconduct.

Student Services will contact students, who have not attended the first class. If the student does not wish to attend this session, Student Services will cancel the student’s enrolment. Students, who have commenced the course but have not participated for 4 weeks of classroom and have been uncontactable, will be withdrawn from the course.

Students will be issued with Intent to withdraw letter/ email asking the student to contact the RTO within 1 week of the date of the letter or they will be withdrawn from their course. Students failing to contact Hammond Institute will be cancelled/ withdrawn from the enrolled course.

Cancellation Procedures

Hammond Institute may cancel a student enrolment on the following instances:

When a student demonstrates serious breach of the Student Code of Conduct

When a student is not progressing in line with their Training Plan,

When a student is continually absent from scheduled course hours

When a student is continually not responding to any correspondence from Hammond Institute

Non-payment of outstanding fees

In the event that a student enrols on the basis that some or all of the VET tuition fees will be covered by a VET student loan, if the student does not submit an eCAF on or before the census date (or is not approved for a VET student loan) and does not voluntarily pay for the part of the course (i.e. unit) upfront Hammond Institute can cancel the students enrolment for the course in whole or in part on the census day.

Where Hammond Institute cancels a student’s enrolment in an Approved course, or a part of an Approved course, after the census date for the course, Hammond Institute will:

Inform the student concerned of the proposed cancellation in writing at the earliest available opportunity; and

Allow the student with at least 28 days to initiate grievance procedures before the cancellation takes final effect: and

Withhold the cancellation until after any grievance procedures initiated by the student have been completed; and d. Confirm in writing, which fees, if any, will or will not be refunded as a result of the cancellation (Refer to our Refund Policy).

Administration Cancellation Procedure

The administrative procedure when a student is cancelled is as follows:

Student Services to e-mail the student concerned regarding their proposed cancellation as soon as possible; and

Refer the concerned student to our Complaints, Appeals and Grievance Policy and Procedure when the proposed cancellation is forwarded.

If after 28 days has passed and no grievance procedures had been initiated by the concerned student, then Student Services will proceed to formally cancel the concerned student via written e-mail. d. If the concerned student has initiated any grievance procedures, then Student Services will forward this information to Management and wait for their further instructions.

Administration Re-enrolment Procedure

The administrative procedure when a student re-enrols in part of a course in where the student had earlier withdrawn:

If a student is wanting to re-enrol in part of a course they had earlier withdrawn from before the first census date, they are required complete new enrolment paperwork and Vet Student Loan Application Form.

If a student is wanting to re-enrol in part of a course they had earlier withdrawn from after the first census date, they are required to email a written request to Student Services who will need to seek final approval from Management.

Free help review procedures for re-crediting free help balances

INCURRING A VET STUDENT LOAN DEBT

1.1 A Student who is, or would be, eligible for VET Student Loans and has requested VET Student Loans Assistance, who withdraws from a Subject/Unit of Study on or before the census date will not incur a VET Student Loan debt for the tuition fees for that Subject/Unit of Study.

1.2 Students who have requested VET Student Loan Assistance who remain enrolled after the published census date will incur a VET Student Loans debt for the Subject/Unit of Study in which they are enrolled.

1.3 A Student who withdraws from a Subject/Unit of Study after the published census date for that Subject/Unit of Study will incur a VET Student Loans debt for that Subject/Unit of Study.

RE-CREDITING A FEE-HELP BALANCE

2.1 If you withdraw from a Subject/Unit of Study after the published census date, or fail to complete a Subject/Unit of Study, you may apply to have your FEE-HELP balance re-credited with respect to the Subject/Unit of Study if you believe special circumstances apply in accordance with the following procedures

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

3.1 If you withdraw from a Subject/Unit of Study after the published census date for

that Subject/Unit of Study, or have been unable to successfully complete a Course/Subject/Units of Study, and believes this was due to special circumstances, you may apply to have your FEE- HELP balance re-credited for the affected Course/ Subject/Units of Study under Section 68 of the Act.

3.2 The institute will re-credit your FEE-HELP balance if it is satisfied that special circumstances apply where:

a) these circumstances were beyond your control; and
b) these circumstances did not make their full impact on you until on, or after the census date for that Subject/Unit of Study; and
c) these circumstances were such that it was impracticable for you to complete the requirements for the Subject/Unit of Study in the period during which you undertook or was to undertake the Subject/Units of Study.

3.3 For circumstances to be beyond your control, the situation should be that which a reasonable person would consider is not due to your action or inaction, either direct or indirect, and for which you are not responsible. The situation must be unusual, uncommon or abnormal to be considered special circumstances.

3.4 Special circumstances do not include: lack of knowledge or understanding of requirements for VET Student Loans assistance; or your incapacity to repay a VET Student Loans debt (repayments are income contingent and you can apply to the Australian Taxation Office for a deferral of a compulsory repayment in certain circumstances).

RE-CREDIT OF A STUDENT’S FEE-HELP BALANCE THE PROCESS

4.1 Each application for re-credit of your FEE-HELP balance will be considered on its merits together with all supporting documentation substantiating the special circumstances claim.

4.2 The Training Coordinator is the designated officer responsible for the assessment of your request for a re-credit of your FEE-HELP balance due to special circumstances and for the initial decision regarding the request.

4.3 You must apply in writing to the Training Coordinator at: [email protected] within 12 months of the withdrawal date, or if you have not withdrawn, within 12 months of the specified completion date of the Subject/Unit of Study.

4.4 The institute has the discretion to waive this requirement if it is satisfied that it was not possible for the application to be made within the 12 month period. Relevant supporting documentation will be required to substantiate your claim.

4.5 Your application for re-crediting a FEE-HELP balance must include details of the Subject/Unit of Study for which you are seeking to have a FEE-HELP balance re-credited; and special circumstances as referred to above, including supporting documentation.

4.6 The institute will consider each application within 28 days of receipt of the application. The institute will consider each request to re-credit a FEE-HELP balance in accordance with the act. Applicants will be notified in writing of the decision within 28 days.

REVIEW OF DECISION

5.1 Where the institute decides NOT to re-credit your FEE-HELP balance that decision may be subject to review in accordance with this Procedure.

5.2 If you are not satisfied with the decision made by the institute you may apply, within twenty-eight (28) days of the receipt of the original decision at no charge, for a review of the decision. The application for review must:

a) be made within twenty eight (28) days of receipt of the original decision;
b) include the date of the original decision;
c) state fully the reasons for applying for the review; and
d) include any additional relevant evidence.

5.3 Applications should be made in writing to the RTO Manager, at: [email protected] as the designated Review Officer of any decisions relating to a request for re-crediting of a FEE-HELP balance. The Review Officer is senior to the designated officer responsible for the original decision and will not have been involved in making the original decision to be reviewed.

5.4 The Review Officer will:

a) acknowledge receipt of the application for review of a decision in writing within ten (10) working days; and
b) inform you that if the Review Officer has not advised you of a decision within forty five (45) days of receipt of the application for review, it is taken that the Review Officer has confirmed the original decision.

5.5 The Review Officer will then:

a) review the information from the original decision and then assess any new evidence provided by you;
b) provide written notice to you of the decision, setting out the reasons for the decision;
c) inform you of your right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal if you disagree with the Review Decision, and timelines involved (see below)
STUDENT MAY APPLY FOR RE-CREDITING BY SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT

6.1 You may apply to the Secretary for the Student’s FEE-HELP balance to be re-credited under section 71 of the VET Students Loans Act.

6.2 Your application must be in writing and meet any requirements set out in the FEE-HELP re-crediting rules.

6.3 Your applications for re-crediting under Section 71 of the VET Students Loans Act must be made within 5 years of the census date of the Subject/Unit of Study.

RECONSIDERATION BY THE ADMINISTRATION APPEALS TRIBUNAL

7.1 At the time of the original decision, and at the time of the subsequent review decision, you will be notified of your review rights and responsibilities. The Training Coordinator will inform you in writing of your right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) if you are not satisfied with the outcome and the contact details of the closest AAT office and the approximate costs of lodging an appeal. Your application must be lodged at the AAT within twenty eight (28) days of receiving written notice of the review decision. This time limitation can be extended in limited circumstances by order of the AAT.

7.2 Full details of the application process and fees payable are available on the AAT’s website: www.aat.gov.au. Applications cannot proceed until the fee has been paid or waived. Applications for fee waiver must be made to the AAT. Refer to the AAT website for more details.

7.3 Details of closest AAT office can be found on the AAT’s website.

7.4 The Secretary of the Department, or the Secretary’s delegate, will be the respondent for cases that are brought before the AAT. Upon the Department’s receipt of a notification from the AAT, the Department will notify the Institute that an appeal has been lodged. Upon receipt of this notification from the Department, the Review Officer will provide the Department with copies of all the documents that are relevant to the appeal within ten business days.

Treatments of students seeking review

Hammond Institute will ensure that no victimisation or discrimination of students for seeking a

review occurs.

Equal and fair treatment of students will occur when:
- Making a withdrawal from study submission
- Making an application for re-crediting of the student’s HELP balance
- Utilizing Hammond Institute’s processes or procedures about dealing with complaints,
grievances or appeals

Procedures as replacement provider

Where a student is enrolled in a replacement course with Hammond Institute, it will ensure that the student:

1 Is granted course credits for parts of the original course successfully completed by the student, as evidenced by a statement of attainment issued in accordance with the Australian Qualifications Framework; and

2 Is not charged tuition fees for a replacement component of the replacement course