19. Tuition fees

You are responsible for setting your tuition fees for your courses.

On this page:

Tuition fees are the total fees to be charged to the student for the course, including the covered fees (that is, covered by a VET Student Loan) plus any gap fee (that is, the difference between your tuition fees and the covered fees)

The tuition fees for the course must be reasonably and proportionately distributed across at least 3 sequential fee periods. Each fee period must contain at least one census day. Therefore, there will be at least 3 census days/3 units over the course. See Fee periods [part 25].

The VET Student Loans (Courses and Loan Caps) Determination 2016 sets out loan caps [part 35] for VSL for tuition fees. However, you can set tuition fees that are higher or lower than the loan caps.

If a student has credit recognition or recognised prior learning [part 23] for an approved course, you can set a lower tuition fee that reflects how much of the course the student has yet to complete.

19.1 - Determining tuition fees

You’ll need to set the tuition fees you want to charge for each approved course you offer. You must publish your fees in line with requirements.

Tuition fees must be based solely on the educational value of the course, not on unrelated or ancillary matters.

When deciding what tuition fees to charge, you can’t take into account:

  • how or when students pay tuition fees
  • how or when the Secretary pays loan amounts to the provider

For example, you can’t charge different fees based on whether a student pays upfront, requests a loan or pays before a certain date ahead of the census day [part 26].

When deciding tuition fees you must not take into account:

  • Non-tuition fees - any fees not directly related to:
    • academic suitability assessments
    • enrolment
    • tuition
    • examinations
    • awarding qualifications

You will need to charge a separate fee for the following [see table in part 21]:

  • Alternative access fees
  • Optional purchases
  • Fines or penalties
  • Non-essential goods/services
  • Special admissions tests

A VET Student Loan can only be used to cover tuition fees. The student must pay any other fees and charges themselves. The requirements around non-tuition fees are to help ensure that any upfront costs to students are kept to a minimum and are reasonable and fair.

19.2 - Estimate of fee amounts

You may charge based on an estimate of tuition fees if, at the time the course begins, you don’t know:

  • the total of the tuition fees for the course or
  • the duration of the course or
  • whether a student will need to pay all the tuition fees usually payable for the course.

The estimate cannot exceed the maximum tuition fees mentioned in marketing of the course. If the actual total of the tuition fees for the course exceeds the estimate, you may only charge the excess during the final fee period for the course.

19.3 - Providing and publishing fee information

Before enrolling a student, you must give them information about:

  • the tuition fees for the course
  • any fees other than tuition fees they will need to pay [part 21].

You must publish tuition fees for each part of the course (that is, unit/subject) on your website in a readily accessible way. The fees must be on your website no later than the day before a student enrols in a course on the basis that some, or all, of the fees are covered by a VET Student Loan.

Units of competency covered by fees

Your tuition fee schedules should outline the units of competency (UoC) that sit within the units of study for approved courses. This information allows for determining suitable replacement courses and reducing any extra costs to students and replacement providers. It also makes the information more transparent to students. Where a UoC runs across several units of study, you should list it under each relevant unit of study as part X (i/ii) of Y.

For example, UoC xxxx (part 1 of Y-theory; UoC xxxx (part 2 of Y-practical).

Providing your list of fees to the department

For each approved course you offer, you must provide the department with a list of the fees charged for the course, including the tuition fees for each part of the course.

You must update the list whenever you change the fees you charge for the course.

You must provide the list of fees in the approved manner and form.

19.4 - Charging of tuition fees by Table A providers

Different requirements apply to charging of tuition fees by:

  • approved course providers that are Table A providers
  • other approved course providers.

Table A providers are the higher education providers listed at subsection 16-15(1) of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA).

An approved course provider that is a Table A provider may charge a student tuition fees for an approved course provided by the provider only in a way consistent with:

  • the delivery of the course
  • the student’s participation in the course.

Legislation: ACT s 55, s 57(b), Rules s 18, s 98(2)(b) and (c), s 155 (1), s 115(2), s 122(2), s 122(4)