43. Information you must give to students

43.1 - Statements of Covered Fees

The Statement of Covered Fees shows whether the student’s enrolment is on the basis that all, or part of, their tuition fees will be covered by VET Student Loans.

Tuition fees covered by VSL are ‘covered fees’.

You must give each student a Statement of Covered Fees after they enrol but before the course’s first census day. It must be titled ‘VET Student Loan Statement of Covered Fees’.

Some students will only want to use a loan to pay for part of their fees. For these students, the statement must show how much of their tuition fees will be covered by a loan and how much will not.

The Statement of Covered Fees must also include:

the student’s name, residential address, phone number and email address
your name, any other business name you use and your RTO registration code
the date of the statement
the student identification number you issue to students
the student’s Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN) if available
the student’s unique student identifier (USI)
the name of the course.

You can give the Statement of Covered Fees to students along with the Fee Notice for the first fee period of the course.

You’ll find an example of a Statement of Covered Fees at Appendix M. This is a sample only. You’ll need to ensure that your Statement of Covered Fees meets legislative requirements.

43.2 - Fee Notices

Fee Notices tell students exactly what fees you are charging them, including fees they are using a VET Student Loan for.

You must give Fee Notices to each student enrolled in a VSL approved course. This includes students who don’t want to use VSL. Only students who are clearly not eligible for VSL, such as international students, do not need Fee Notices.

You must give students a Fee Notice at least 14 days before the first census day for each fee period of a course. This means students will receive multiple Fee Notices during their studies.

A Fee Notice can include more than one census day. For example, you may give one Fee Notice for a whole term or semester of study.

However, you may not give the Fee Notice to students more than 42 days before the beginning of the fee period. (This rule does not apply to providers that are public universities).

The Fee Notice must contain:

the student’s name, residential address, phone number and email address
your name, any other business name you use and your RTO registration code
the date of the notice
the student’s student identification number as issued by you
the student’s Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN) if available
the student’s Unique Student Identifier (USI)
the name of the course
the names of the parts of the course included in the fee period
an identifying code for each part of the course included in the fee period
the census day for each part of the course included in the fee period
information about how to withdraw, including where to find a copy of your procedure for withdrawal
information on the student’s right to request correction of information in the notice, in accordance with your information handling procedure
advice that the student may need to communicate their agreement to continue to use VSL to pay tuition fees for the course
advice that VSL will not be used to pay the covered fees for a part of the course if the student advises you on or before the relevant census day that the student doesn’t want the tuition fees to be paid using VSL
advice that any VETSL debt will remain a personal debt until it is repaid to the Commonwealth.

For each part of the course included in the fee period:

the amount of the tuition fees covered by VSL
the amount of VSL debt the student will accrue (which could be up to 120% of the loan amount if a loan fee applies
the amount of the tuition fees to be paid by the student, and when the amount must be paid

It must also include a statement that:

withdrawal of the student’s enrolment in a part of the course on or before the census day for the part of the course must be in accordance with your procedure and
if the student withdraws from a part of the course on or before the census day for the part of the course, they will not incur a VSL debt for the part of the course and will receive a refund for any upfront payment of tuition fees

A sample VSL Fee Notice is at Appendix N. This sample is provided for guidance only. You are responsible for ensuring that your Fee Notices meet the legislative requirements.

43.3 - Commonwealth Assistance Notices

A Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) gives a student essential information about their course, their tuition fees and VETSL debt.

You must give a CAN to all students accessing VSL. You must do this within (or on) 28 days after each census day during the course. This means students should receive multiple CANs during their studies. A CAN may cover more than one census day if it meets the 28-day rule.

The CAN must contain:

the student’s name, residential address, phone number and email address
your name and any other business name that you use
the date of the notice
the student’s student identification number as issued by you
the student’s CHESSN
the student’s USI
the name of the course
the name of the part of the course
an identifying code for the part of the course
the Census Day for the part of the course
the student’s tuition fees for the part of the course
the amount of the student’s tuition fees that VSL covers
the amount of VSL debt the student will accrue (which could be up to 120% of the loan amount if a loan fee applies)
the amounts of any payments of the tuition fees made by the student
information on the student’s right to request the correction of information contained in the notice in accordance with your information handling procedure.

You’ll find an example of a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) at Appendix O. This sample is for guidance only. You are responsible for meeting the legislative requirements. Make sure your CANs are in line with these requirements.

How to provide notices

You can send the Statement of Covered Fees, Fee Notice and the CAN to students in one of 3 ways:

using the student’s personal email
using the student’s postal address
by another method agreed to by the student.

An email address you have issued to the student is not considered the student’s personal email address.

Legislation: Act s 50, 56–57, Rules s 98-100 and Rules s 129