VET Student Loans

Important Note: We endeavour to reflect the most current information available on this page but you are required to gather sufficient information from the relevant Australian Government departments to independently gain a full understanding of the eligibility requirements, commitment, debt responsibilities and process for responsibly accessing and using VET Student Loans.

VET Student Loans Information

Overview

VET Student Loans is a Commonwealth Government scheme that assists Eligible Students pay tuition fees for approved higher-level (diploma and above) vocational education and training (VET) courses, when studying at VET Student Loans approved course providers.

Flight One School of Aviation is a registered trading name of Flight One Australian Pty Ltd (RTO 31285). Flight One Australian Pty Ltd is a VET Student Loans approved course provider.

VET Student Loans scheme is only available for enrolment into the following Approved Courses.

Professional Pilot Double Diploma Programme

Commercial Pilot Diploma Programme

Commercial Helicopter Pilot Licence Diploma

Our course pages provide the following relevant information:

• The tuition fees associated with the course.
• Your options for paying tuition fees, including payment as fees become due, and a VET Student Loan
• The census day for the course intakes
• Any other fees and costs associated with the course
• The total VET Student Loan debt (VETSL debt) you may incur if you receive the maximum VET Student Loan available for your training

Code of Practice

The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman is an independent and impartial integrity agency with oversight of Commonwealth Government agencies and some private sector organisations. Flight One School of Aviation has advised the Commonwealth Ombudsman of our commitment to the Ombudsman’s Code of Practice for VSL Providers.

Tuition and Other Fees

Tuition and other fees associated with Approved Courses are published on the relevant course page including the total VET Student Loan debt (VETSL debt) you may incur if you receive the maximum VET Student Loan available for your training.

Tuition fees will be reasonably apportioned across a specified number of sequential Study Periods (fee periods). Each fee period will contain at least one census day.

Census Dates

A census date is the last date on which a student can withdraw from a Study Period without incurring a debt for that Study Period. The census date of a Study Period is calculated as the commencement date of the nominated Study Period plus at least  20% of the Study Period duration.

Our Census dates are located on the course page of Approved Courses.

Incurring a Debt

If you use the VET Student Loans scheme, you will owe a debt to the Australian Government for the loan, which will be managed by the Australian Taxation Office. The loan will remain a personal debt until it is repaid to the Commonwealth, and the loan may, until the debt is repaid, reduce your take‑home (after‑tax) wage or salary and may reduce your borrowing capacity. You may wish to consider seeking independent financial advice before applying for a loan.

When your income reaches the repayment threshold, you will be required to start repaying your loan. The threshold and further information can be found at www.studyassist.gov.au and additional information is available on the DEWR Website.

Loan Caps

• Eligible students are entitled for loans up to a capped amount. The capped amount for eligible courses is shown on the course page.
• You will be responsible for any amount in the tuition fees, which are not covered by the loan (Gap Fee).
• You must be prepared and able to pay a Gap Fee for the difference between the capped loan amount and the course fee if this occurs.
• The amount of the loan cannot be greater than your remaining HELP balance, so it is essential that you are aware of your balance at all times.

Before You Enrol

• Check on the course pages that the course you are interested in is an Approved Course and that you meet the course entry criteria.
• Check on the DEWR Website that you meet the eligibility and entry requirements.
• Be prepared to provide evidence of identification (including your Australian Birth Certificate or a copy of your visa), records of your past academic qualifications and you may be required to undertake a Language, Literacy and Numeracy assessment.
• You must have a current Tax File Number. This detail is required on your loan application form.
• Read VET Student Loans Booklet (https://www.dese.gov.au/vet-student-loans/resources/vet-student-loans-information-booklet).

Application Process

Prospective students who wish to utilise VET Student Loans to assist with the payment of tuition fees and are eligible to do so, are required to indicate their request to use VET Student Loans on the application form (www.flightone.edu.au/apply). Once the application has been processed, you will receive further information regarding the outcome of your application and the steps required to access VET Student Loans if your application is successful and you are eligible.

Course Enrolment Process

Our enrolment procedures ensure equal and fair treatment of students seeking to enrol in approved course.

We maintain open, fair and transparent procedures that we believe are based on merit for making decisions about:

(a)  The selection of students seeking to enrol in Approved Courses; and

(b)  The treatment of such students.

This is detailed in our Admissions Policy document.

Course Progression Requirements

Flight One School of Aviation has academic standards that are expected of all students including requirements for students to progress at a suitable pace throughout the course. Students utilising VET Student Loans may additionally be required, during the course, to complete Progression Forms in order to confirm that you are progressing through the course. Progression Forms will be sent to you every few months via email from the eCAF System.

Throughout the course, it is important for you to notify us of any changes in your contact details. This is a requirement under our general terms and conditions of enrolment.

Loan Fee

Non State Government subsidised students are charged a 20% loan fee. The loan fee is added to your student loan, but is not included within your lifetime FEE-HELP limit.

Withdrawal from a Course

If you are an eligible student studying a Diploma and you withdraw before the census date you will receive a full 100% refund of any tuition fees you have paid in advance of the upcoming study period and will not incur a student loan debt.

If you are an eligible student studying a Diploma and withdraw after the census date you will incur a debt, unless the debt is remitted under special circumstances. If special circumstances apply, you will need to apply for a refund/re-credit. Please refer to our policies for further information.

Policies & Procedures

Flight One School of Aviation’s policies and procedures are published on our Policies page here: www.flightone.edu.au/documents.

VSL Criteria

General Criteria

To apply for and access VET Student Loans to assist with the payment of a course or part of a course, you will be required to meet entry criteria including the following.

Academic Suitability

• Australian Year 12 (Senior High School) Certificate of Education; or
• International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) diploma; or
• Successful completion of an Australian Qualifications Framework certificate IV or higher qualification (where the language of instruction is English), or at a level in a framework that preceded the AQF that is equivalent to level 4 or above in the AQF or;   that has been assessed by a Federal, State or Territory government agency which assesses overseas qualifications (or an organisation contracted by such an agency to undertake such assessments) as equivalent or comparable to a qualification referred to in the VET Student Loans Rules; and the course for the qualification was delivered in English.
• If you cannot provide the above documents, you will be required to display competence at Exit Level 3 in the Australian Core Skills Framework in both reading and numeracy. We will assess your competence using the Australian Government approved assessment tool — LLN Robot, or other approved tool of our choice.

Where an LLN Test is used to assess your academic suitability, the results of assessing your competence in reading and numeracy under the procedure must be reported:

• To you as soon as practicable after the assessment; and
• To the Secretary in the form, manner and by the time requested by the Secretary.

Tax File Number (TFN)

To apply for and use the VET Student Loans scheme, you will be required to enter your Tax File Number (TFN) into your electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF). If you don’t have a TFN you can apply for one online via the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website.

Please note: If you have a TFN already, please check your details are correct by logging into your myGov account prior to lodging your eCAF to avoid delays.

Unique Student Identifier (USI)

To apply for and use the VET Student Loans scheme, you will be required to enter your Unique Student Identifier (USI) into your electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF). If you don’t have a USI or your name, address and date of birth held on the USI Registry do not match your details held by the Australia Tax Office (ATO) you will be required to apply for or update your USI. If you don’t already have a USI or need to update your details, go to the USI website.

Parental consent for under 18s

If you are under 18 years of age you must provide one of the following required documents: a signed parental statement of consent or a Centrelink Income Statement (if you are receiving Youth Allowance on the basis that you are independent.)

VSL Residential Status Criteria

To apply for and access VET Student Loans to assist with the payment of a course or part of a course, you will be required to meet residential status criteria as follows.

• Australian citizen, or
• New Zealand citizen on Special Category Visa (SCV subclass 444) who meets the long term residency requirements.
• A pacific engagement visa holder, who is usually a resident in Australia, or
• Eligible permanent humanitarian visa holder who usually resides in Australia

Requirements for New Zealand Citizens

Eligibility

To be eligible for a HELP loan you must:

• be a New Zealand Special Category visa (SCV) holder or formerly be a Special Category Visa holder and on a pathway to Australian citizenship;
• meet ALL of the long-term residency requirements; and
• be living in Australia while you study.

Long-term residency requirements

We will ask you to supply documentation to assess whether you meet all of the long-term residency requirements. The long-term residency requirements for New Zealand SCV holders (and former SCV holders) are that you:

• first began to be usually resident in Australia at least 10 years ago,
• were a child under the age of 18 with no spouse or de facto partner when you first began to be usually resident in Australia, and
• have been in Australia for at least:
• a total of eight out of the past 10 years (from when you apply for the loan), and
• a total of 18 months out of the last two years (from when you apply for the loan).

If you do not meet ALL of the above requirements, you cannot get a HELP loan.

New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holders transitioning through a permanent resident visa to Australian citizenship

From 29 June 2023, New Zealand citizens who formerly held a Special Category Visa and have transitioned to a permanent resident visa on the pathway to citizenship will have continued access to the Higher Education Loan Program.

This amendment will allow these students to return to their course of study, without the burden of upfront payment of tuition fees while they wait for their Australian citizenship to be granted.

Residency requirements during study

As a New Zealand citizen and/or NZ SCV holder, you must be resident in Australia for the duration of your unit(s) to meet the HELP residency requirements. However, any period of residence outside Australia will be disregarded if:

• it cannot be reasonably regarded as indicating an intention to reside outside Australia for the duration of the unit, or
• it is required for the purpose of completing a requirement of that unit.

Requirements for Humanitarian Visa Holders

Permanent humanitarian visa holders and eligible former permanent humanitarian visa holders can access a HELP loan if they meet the residency requirements.

An eligible former permanent humanitarian visa holder means a person who is:

• not a permanent humanitarian visa holder; and
• was previously a permanent humanitarian visa holder; and
• is the holder of a visa of the subclasses 155 and 157 (Resident Return).

Residency requirements during study

As a Permanent humanitarian visa holder (or eligible former), you must be resident in Australia for the duration of your units(s) to meet the CSP and HELP residency requirements. However, any period of residence outside Australia will be disregarded if:

• it cannot be reasonably regarded as indicating an intention to reside outside Australia for the duration of the unit, or
• it is required for the purpose of completing a requirement of that unit.

Useful Links for Further Information

• Department of Education (www.education.gov.au/)
• Study Assist (https://www.studyassist.gov.au/
• Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (www.dewr.gov.au)

If you have any questions, please contact us for assistance.