VET Student Loans Information

Eligible students enrolled in the Diploma of Nursing can access VET Student Loans.

The Australian Government directly pays the loan amount to the school on your behalf. You will repay the loan through your taxes once your income reaches or exceeds the repayment threshold.

There is no application or loan fee for government-subsidised VET Student Loan courses.

For more information, read the VET Student Loan booklet and follow the steps below. First, check your eligibility using the Australian Government’s eligibility tool
To visit the VET Student loans website, click HERE

VET Student Loan Booklet

It is important to have all the correct information to ensure you make the right decision about applying for your VET Student Loan (VSL). Download your VET Student Loan Booklet for eligibility criteria and requirements.

Eligibility

You must meet the following eligibility criteria to apply for a VET Student Loan:

Be enrolled in an eligible course of study.
Citizenship / Residency Requirements
- Australian Citizen,
- Permanent Humanitarian Visa holder
- Pacific Engagement Visa holder
- or a New Zealand Citizen Special Category Visa holder;
Educational loan entrance requirements:
- completed an Australian Certificate of Education, SACE or WACE equivalent, issued from a Governing body or Agency, or
- achieved a Certificate IV or higher in an Australian Qualification Framework or equivalent and this course was delivered in English, or
- achieved an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, or
- sit an approved Numeracy and Literacy assessment (LNN / RNW test) and achieve an Exit Level 3 or higher in the Australian Core Skills Framework in both English and Maths;

VET Student Loans will not be provided for students who do not meet eligibility requirements

Other requirements

The following requirements must be met to activate your loan:

Have received an offer to study an eligible Diploma course
Have a Tax File Number;
Have a Unique Student Identifier (USI);
Have not exceeded your HELP loan limit;
Have activated your electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) after your two day cooling off period and before your administrative dates;
Read and understand the VET Student Loans booklet [link: https://www.dewr.gov.au/vet-student-loans/resources/vet-student-loans-information-booklet]

Fee Notices and Commonwealth Assistance Notices (CAN)

All students on an approved course will receive a Fee Notice regardless of if you have applied for a loan. The Fee Notice contains information:

about your enrolment
any HELP debt you will incur
how much you have paid towards your fees and,
if you have been approved for a loan, how much will be reported to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)

We sill send you a Fee Notice at the beginning of each Fee Period or 14 days prior to the census date.

A Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) will be sent to all students accessing a loan within 28 days of a census date.

Census dates

To access VET Student Loans, you must submit your eCAF by the first course census date.

Census dates are the deadlines by which a student can withdraw from their course or part of the course using the withdrawal form to avoid incurring a debt.

Census dates can be found on your cohort’s fee schedule.

Progression forms

Over the duration of your course, you will be sent requests via the eCAF system to complete a VSL progression form. It is important to complete these forms in order to prevent your VET Student loan being stopped, or from incurring a debt for studies you may have chosen to discontinue.

Progression forms are sent in February, June and October. For more information, visit VSL Progression form fact sheet

Withdrawals

If you have applied for a VET Student Loan, and if you withdraw from a unit or course before or on the census date, you will not incur a VET Student Loan debt for the unit or course you are withdrawing from and you will receive a full refund/re-credit on your loan.

If you withdraw from a unit or course after the census date, you may be eligible for re-credit of your FEE-HELP balance, if special circumstances apply. Visit Study Assist for further information.

Reminder: You will incur a debt if you applied for VET Student Loan and failed to withdraw before the census dates. These will need to be paid up-front to the provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a limit to what I can borrow?

A Loan cap is applied to all approved courses. For Diploma of Nursing this cap is $18,097.
There is no application fee for VET student loans. Course tuition fees may exceed the applied loan cap, the student is responsible for paying the difference.

How do I repay my loan?

Loans are repaid to the Australian Government through the tax system. This will commence once you have reached the minimum income threshold for repayment.

More information about repaying your loan can be found on the Australian Tax Office website.

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