VET Student Loans (VSL)

A subsidy reduces the cost of tuition fees for specific courses for eligible students. Subsidies can be provided by State Governments or the Australian Government. Subsidies may also be funded by both State and Australian Governments in partnership. The subsidy will have a specific name, such as Higher Level Skills or Fee-Free TAFE. Subsidies available with CQU are shown on our subsidies website.  Subsidies do not need to be repaid by eligible subsidy recipients. VET Student Loans do need to be repaid. 

The VET Student Loans program is an Australian Government loan program that helps eligible students enrolled in approved courses at diploma level or above, at approved course providers pay their tuition fees. The loan has income-contingent repayment arrangements, which means you only need to make repayments if you are earning above the minimum repayment threshold. You can make voluntary repayments at any time.

If you are an eligible student, the department may approve your VET Student Loan for an approved course. The department will pay your loan directly to your approved course provider, such as CQU. You will be responsible for any gap amount in the tuition fees, which are not covered by the loan. You will owe a debt to the Australian Government for the loan, which will be managed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). 

Subsidies can be used in conjunction with VSL. For example, if you are eligible for a subsidy, such as Higher Level Skills, and there is still a balance of tuition fee to be paid, you can apply for a VSL. If you are not eligible for a subsidy you can apply for a VSL to fund the tuition cost of the course up to the loan cap. Full fee paying/fee for service students will incur a 20 per cent loan fee on their VET Student Loan. Students enrolled in a diploma and advanced diploma level course whose enrolment is subsidised by a state or territory government do not incur a loan fee.

Yes, there are loan caps determined by the Australian Government. There are generally three loan cap bands of $5,595, $11,191 and $16,788 (2023 caps) which approved VET Student Loan courses fall within. You cannot borrow more than the maximum loan amount for your course.

For more information on VSL loan caps, view the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations website.

Please note that from 1 January 2020 the Australian Government introduced a combined HELP loan limit which caps the amount you can borrow. This loan limit includes any new HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loans debt incurred from 2020 onwards plus any existing debt.

For more information on the HELP loan limit, visit the Study Assist website.

The Australian Government has approved CQU to deliver a number of courses eligible for a VET Student Loan. Courses that are approved for a VET Student Loan, and the cap on the loan amounts that students can borrow for each of these courses are set by the Australian Government.

A qualifying New Zealand citizen is a New Zealand citizen who meets all of the following:

• holds a special visa category, such as the New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV);
• has been usually resident in Australia for at least 10 years;
• was a dependent child when they were first a resident in Australia;
• has been in Australia for periods totalling 8 years during the previous 10 years; and
• has been in Australia for periods totalling 18 months during the previous 2 years.

If your qualification is from overseas, then the certificate provided must be a letter or certificate issued by a Federal, State, or Territory government agency which assesses overseas qualifications and which shows your qualification has been determined to be equivalent or comparable to a qualification in the Australian Qualifications Framework at level 4 or above.

Visit usi.gov.au to create a USI or find an existing one.

For more information on the minimum threshold set by the Australian Government and repayments, please view the VSL Information Booklet.

An eCAF is short for electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form. To apply for a VET Student Loan you must complete the Request for a VET Student Loan electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) by the census day. See Applying for a VET Student Loan above for more information.

If you do not complete the eCAF, or other permitted form, by the required date for your course, you will have to wait until the next part of your course /unit, next semester or trimester to request a VET Student Loan for future study. Retrospective access to VET Student Loans is not allowed under any circumstances.

Most CQU diploma courses are approved for VSL. Search from the CQU subsidy page for your diploma of interest and check the fees section for more information.

A two-business day cooling off period will occur when you have enrolled in a VET Student Loans eligible course to provide you with some time to make sure of your choice to take out a loan for your tuition.

Please note if you enrol in a unit/s less than two business days prior to Census date you will not be eligible for VET Student Loans for those unit/s of study.

The VET Student Loans Information Booklet provides key information students applying for a VET Student Loan need to know. The topics covered include eligibility, applying for and managing your loan, as well as your rights and obligations. You must read this booklet before applying for a VET Student Loan.