VET Student Loan pre-enrolment information

Students have three options when enrolling into an approved VET Student Loan course at South Metropolitan TAFE.

• payments in full, or
• on a payment plan, or
• a VET Student Loan. - Students can check eligibility by using the Commonwealths eligibility tool.

The following links contain useful information.

• the fees for the course
• the census dates for the course 
• information on withdrawals and refunds

A VET Student Loan:

• is a loan from the Commonwealth, and

• the loan will remain 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, (for further information on how your loan is repaid to the Commonwealth through and further information please see the following Australian Tax Office website on VET Student Loans https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Study-and-training-support-loans/Types-of-loans/(opens in a new tab) ) , and

• a student may wish to seek independent financial advice before applying for a loan.

A student must complete a Progression form each term (opens in a new tab) to continue to use the VET Student Loan to pay fees for the course this will be emailed to students using the eCAF system.

Census dates are the date a student may withdraw from their course or part of the course using the withdrawal form prior to their census dates to not incur a debt.

Note, full refunds prior to census dates are only applicable to Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses that are eligible for a VET Student Loan.  

Students must read the information on the VET student loans page and complete the online VET Student Loan Application form to apply for a loan. This must be done at least 16 days prior to census dates.

Citizenship Documents.

Student will need to provide one of the following documents for Citizenship when applying for the loan online:

• Australian Passport.
• Australian Citizenship Certificate
• Australian Birth Certificate. If students are born on or after 20th August 1986 and both parents born outside of Australia, we require their parent’s proof of citizenship at the time of their birth. This can be either their parent’s citizenship certificate or their Australian Birth Certificates.

Student will need to provide one of the following documents to meet the Entrance requirements when applying for the loan:

• Year 12 completion certificate issued from a Governing Body or Agency.
• Certificate IV or higher in an Australian Qualification delivered in English
• an International Baccalaureate Diploma.
• Sit an approved Literacy and Numeracy test and achieve exit level 3 or higher in both Literacy and Numeracy. If students have sat one of these tests they will need to provide their results if not students can book via our online booking form. 

Students under 18 years of age will need to complete a parental consent form must be completed and submitted with their online application. This can be found on the VET student loans page. 

New Zealand Citizens can requests a VSL however they must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• first began residing in Australia at least 10 years ago and at that time they were a minor
• have lived in Australia for at least a total of 8 of the last 10 years and a total of 18 months out of the last 2 years.
• complete a Statutory declaration – Information on content and a Stat Dec can be found on the Admissions Intranet page
• students must provide an Immigrations Movement Record Form 1359 prior to their first census date.

Visit the Study Assist website(opens in a new tab) for more information. 

It is a student’s responsibility to notify South Metropolitan TAFE of any change of contact details. Download the personal details amendment form (221 KB) (PDF document) and return to Customer Service. 

Students will receive an eCAF or an email requesting further information to their nominated email address within two weeks of enrolling.  This must be completed 16 days prior to their first census date to be eligible for a loan.

Students must apply for a new loan every time they commence a new qualification. This includes studying a dual qualification, transferring studies from another provider to South Metropolitan TAFE, and moving from the Diploma to Advanced Diploma in the same field of study.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they have applied for a loan in the course(s) they are enrolled into.