Fee Help 

VET FEE-HELP is an income contingent loan scheme for the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector that is part of
the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP). It is an extension of the higher
education FEE-HELP arrangements.

VET FEE-HELP is being introduced to the VET sector in 2008. Over the next four years, it is expected that around $261
million in loans will be issued. 

VET FEE-HELP will assist eligible full fee-paying students who are enrolled in one of the following VET accredited
courses through a VET provider (an RTO approved to offer VET FEE-HELP to its
students) to pay for all or part of their tuition fees:

• Diploma*
• Advanced Diploma*
• Graduate Certificate
• Graduate Diploma

* with a credit transfer to a bachelor degree with a higher education provider.

Legislative amendments to the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) received Royal Assent on 20 March 2008. The legislative
guidelines for VET FEE-HELP are available
here.

Available from 14 July 2008:

The VET FEE-HELP IT System (VITS) is available for Registered Training Organisations seeking approval as a VET provider. Organisations must meet
specific requirements under Schedule 1A of the Higher Education Support Act
2003 to receive approval as a VET provider before their current and future
students can access VET FEE-HELP assistance.

As a pre-requisite, you should be able to confirm that your organisation can meet the following requirements before you seek approval as a VET
provider:

• Be a body corporate whose principal purpose is to provide education;
• Be a Registered Training Organisation as listed on the National Training Information Service (NTIS);
• Be financially viable and likely to remain financially viable;
• can offer VET accredited Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses with credit transfer arrangements and/or VET accredited Graduate Certificate and Graduate
  Diploma courses;
• Is part of an approved tuition assurance scheme, a guarantee or an exemption; and
• Have administrative procedures and capacity to meet reporting requirements.

The application is designed to be completed in stages. These include sections on Financial Viability, Tuition Assurance, Courses and Credit Transfer
arrangements. You can log out and re-enter the system as many times as you need
to add information. 

Note: All information requested by VITS must be completed and required documentation attached before you can submit a VET provider
application.

To start your application, click here at https://vetfeehelp.deewr.gov.au/   to access the VITS. You will be required to complete some preliminary information prior to the
provision of a Logon Id and Password to access the system.

Supporting documentation

There are a number of documents applicants should be familiar with prior to and during the application process. These are available to access and/or
download:

• Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA)
• VET Provider Guidelines PDF    (81.1 KB) | RTF    (385.1 KB)
• VET FEE-HELP Guidelines PDF    (21.2 KB) | RTF    (94.7 KB)
• VET Administration Guidelines PDF    (31.7 KB) | RTF    (148.5 KB)
• Draft VET Provider Handbook PDF    (1.9 MB)

Please note that in the case of any inconsistency between the draft VET Provider Handbook and the provisions of HESA or the Guidelines, the provisions of
HESA and the Guidelines will prevail.

• Financial Viability Assessment Auditor Guidelines PDF    (870.6 KB) | RTF    (2.1 MB)
• Financial Viability Excel Ratio Analysis Workbook - Example Only  XLS    (109.5 KB)

• Financial Viability Excel Ratio Analysis Workbook – template XLS    (110.0 KB)

A VITS user manual will be available under ‘Help’ when you gain access to the System.

How will I know I’ve completed the Application process?

VITS is designed to check all relevant fields have been completed and where documentary evidence needs to be attached or uploaded into your
application. 

You will be prompted if there are sections of the application that remain incomplete. Once you complete the noted sections, it will acknowledge completion
prior to ‘submitting’ the application. All applications will be sent
to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for
assessment.

What happens after the Application is ‘submitted’?

Once your VET provider application is submitted, the system will automatically advise that your submission has been received. This will be sent
to the email address you nominated at the time of creating your Logon Id and
Password.

Once your application is acknowledged as being complete (via email), you will be notified in writing whether or not your application is approved by the
Minister within 90 days.

If further information in relation to the application is requested, a further 60 days from the end date of this request will apply.

VET provider approvals are legislative instruments subject to a disallowance period. Following approval by the Minister, each notice of approval is subject to a
disallowance period of 15 sitting days in both Houses of Parliament.

The day after the disallowance period has passed, is the date a registered training organisation is approved as a VET provider. Further details will be
available to applicants throughout the application process. 

Note: Registered Training Organisations cannot advertise or advise students of any information relating to their status as an approved VET
provider until the date the VET provider approval comes into effect.

Further Assistance

For technical, user enquiries about VITS, please log your enquiry here VETFEEH This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ;
or

For general enquiries about VET FEE-HELP, please email your enquiry here VETFEEHELP@deewr.gov.au; or

Contact the Call Centre on 13 38 73

Further, general information can be found at: Vocational education & training  

Approved Higher Education Providers: Higher education providers at a glance             

Information about student loan repayments for VET FEE-HELP and Higher Education FEE-HELP: Compulsory and voluntary    

Information about obtaining a tax file number:  http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/41612.htm    

Australian Taxation Office - http://www.ato.gov.au/    

• 10 July 2008    (13.3 KB)
• 25 March 2008    (12.1 KB)
• 26 February 2008    (14.8 KB)

For technical, user enquiries about VITS, please log your enquiry here: VETFEEH This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

For general enquiries about VET FEE-HELP, please email your enquiry here: VETFEEHELP@deewr.gov.au

Or contact the Helpline: 13 38 73

Or subscribe to the VET FEE-HELP Email Alert Mailing List:  http://www.dest.gov.au/dss/

Note: The VET FEE-HELP email Alert subscription service is designed only to notify subscribers of significant developments or new
information that has become available on the VET FEE-HELP website.