The VET Student Loan (VSL) program is an Australian Government assistance loan that helps eligible VET students, studying for a diploma qualification or higher, to pay their tuition fees.
VSL only applies to your course tuition fees. You are still required to pay your materials/ auxiliary fees and the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) upfront before the due date.
As part of your course application you will undertake a Pre-Training Review
which will assist VU in identifying equivalent units of competency that you may have completed previously. VU will grant you a credit transfer for equivalent units you have previously completed. You will not be charged fees for units where you have been granted a credit transfer.
Note that a VET student loan gives rise to a HELP debt that continue
If you would like to defer your course tuition fees via a VSL application, these are the steps involved:
VET Student Loan (VSL) request form (PDF, 208.92 KB)
To obtain a VET student loan applicants must meet eligibility requirements. Applicants who do not meet these requirements will need to pay fees upfront for their course enrolment.
To be eligible to receive a VET Student Loan, you must:
The following documents are required to apply for a VET Student Loan:
You must complete the VET Student Loan (VSL) request form and provide all supporting documentation to meet the academic suitability and citizenship/residency requirements so we can assess your eligibility.
VET Student Loan (VSL) request form (PDF, 208.92 KB)
Academic suitability – evidence of meeting requirements
The following documents are accepted as evidence of academic suitability:
Citizenship or residency – evidence of meeting requirements
The VET Student Loans program is only available to Australian citizens, qualifying New Zealand citizens, or permanent humanitarian visa holders who are residing in Australia. To meet the citizenship and residency requirements you need to provide evidence that you meet one of the following categories:
The following documents are accepted as evidence of citizenship/residency requirements, depending on your citizenship status.
*Please note that if you were born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986 and both your parents are listed on your birth certificate as been born overseas then you will be required to provide one of the following additional documents to prove your citizenship:
For more information on how to prove your citizenship and other documentation that can be accepted to confirm your Australian citizenship, please refer to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website
If you're an eligible NZ citizen with an NZ Special Category Visa
you'll need to provide evidence that you have been living in Australia and you meet all the following long-term residency requirements:
Victoria University accepts an international movement record as prove that you meet the above criteria. You can apply for a movement record via the Department of Home Affairs
. Processing time can vary and we encourage you to apply for a movement record 3-4 weeks before commencing your course.
Once you receive your movement record you need to submit this document along with your VSL application via AskVU.
See 'How to apply & submit VSL application'.
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.
This form must be provided to us in addition to the VET Student Loan (VSL) request form and your supporting documentation to meet the academic suitability and citizenship/residency requirements.
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.
VET Student Loan (VSL) parental consent form (PDF, 276.6 KB)
How to apply & submit your documentation
You can submit the VET Student Loan (VSL) request form and supporting documentation in person at one of our VUHQ centres or by email:
VET Student Loan (VSL) request form (PDF, 208.92 KB)
The government has set a maximum loan amount for each approved course of study. The loan may not be sufficient to cover the tuition fees for a course. We will send you a VET Student Loan Notice with the course tuition fees covered by the loan and any gap fees you need to pay.
If you are enrolled in a course whereby course tuition fees will exceed the course cap, you will be required to make upfront contributions throughout your study with us to cover the amount that will go over the VSL course cap.
If you have changed your course provider (TAFE) but not your course and wish to continue to access VSL for the same course, you will need to complete another eCAF with us to apply for the remainder of the loan.
Example: If the course cap was originally $10,150 and have you already accessed $5000 at another provider for the same course, you will only be eligible for the remainder $5150.
You may be required to provide us with additional information on how much you have accessed with your previous provider. If you do not correctly declare this information, you will be made liable for any tuition fees not covered by the overall VSL course cap.
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 Victoria University must match those held by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Victoria University 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.
Ensure you have a valid TFN
For your TFN to validate, the following personal details on your VU student record must match the details recorded at the ATO:
If any of these details do not match, your TFN cannot be validated.
How to validate your TFN if an error is identified
You will need to identify why there is a mismatch of information and change your details with either the ATO or VU by the relevant census date .
If your personal details with the ATO are incorrect you will need to update them in one of these ways:
If your personal details at VU are incorrect you will need to update them by filling out a Personal Details Amendment form (A11) .
Personal Details Amendment form (PDF, 213.96 KB)
Once your details have been corrected and you have let us know we can then validate your TFN with the ATO.
A USI is your individual education number. You keep this number for life and will use it for all of your higher education or training, at any university, TAFE or other nationally registered training organisation in Australia.
Your USI identifies you as a student who has undertaken vocational education and training (VET) and/or higher education studies. It also creates an online record of your Australian training achievements in the form of a USI Transcript
. It is also used to connect your student loan information to your personal details.
You can log in and check or update your details at any time. For more information, view the USI government website
Applying for a USI
Applying for a USI is fast and free, and you keep the same USI for life.
If you have studied a VET course in the last five years, you will have an existing USI. Find your USI online
(don't apply for a new one).
Make sure that the details you provide to VU (such as your full name and date of birth) match the details you use to create your USI. Please use your legal name as it appears on your passport or other official identification.
If you are an international student, you cannot apply for a USI while you are overseas, but can apply once you have arrived in Australia. Enrolment without a USI is enabled on MYVU for international students.
You need one form of identification to create a USI.
if you are experiencing any issues submitting the USI to VU.
