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Eligibility Requirements

​There are specific criteria students must meet to be eligible for a loan through VET Student Loans (VSL). Further infromation available at Myskills, click here. To be an eligible student, you must meet the criteria – listed 1-9 below.​

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1. You are:

  • an Australian citizen, or

  • a qualifying New Zealand citizen,  or

  • a permanent humanitarian visa holder, who is usually resident in Australia.

 

​2. Your HELP balance (the amount of your FEE-HELP limit you have left) is more than $0​.

 

3. You are enrolled in an approved course and have enrolled in accordance with the application requirements.

    Benchmark College is an approved course provider for the following approved courses:

  • CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

  • BSB51918 Diploma of Leadership and Management

  • BSB50215 Diploma of Business​​​

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4. You are studying the approved course primarily at a campus in Australia.​

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5. You have been assessed as academically suited (refer to the VSL Student Entry Procedure) to undertake the approved course on the basis of either:

  • providing your Australian Year 12 Certificate; OR

  • providing evidence of successful completion of an Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate IV or higher qualification (where the language of instruction is English); OR

  • displaying competence at Exit Level 3 in the Australian Core Skills Framework in both reading and numeracy through an approved Language, Literacy and Numeracy test.​

  • Benchmark College must reasonably believe you show competence in completing the course.

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6. Tax file number (TFN) requirements - If you want to use a VET Student Loan to pay for your study, you must meet the TFN           requirements:​

  • you must have a valid TFN by the census date, or

  • if you don’t have a TFN, you can apply for one from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website. You can obtain a Certificate of application for a TFN. This certificate is available from the ATO after you have applied for a TFN. If you get a Certificate of application for a TFN, you are required to upload it to your eCAF before you submit.

  • You must advise Benchmark College as soon as you have received your TFN from the ATO. If you do not provide your TFN, you will not be able to use a VET Student Loan for that study period. You must keep your TFN secure.  

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7. You have a Unique Student Identifier (USI) or are otherwise exempt. For information about the USI, click here.

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8. You have given the required documents to your approved course provider and submitted the loan application form before the first census day no less than two business days after enrolling.

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9. Be 18 years of age or older or 

  • have a parental consent form signed by a responsible parent of the student, or

  • the student has received youth allowance on the basis that the student is independent (evidence of this must be provided- Centrelink Income Statement noting the assessment of independence.)
     

​A range of measures will be implemented that will affect students hoping to access VET Student Loans to pay for their course fees, including:

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  • VET Student Loans will not be approved for students who do not meet eligibility requirements;

  • A VET Student loan gives rise to a HELP debt that continues to be a debt due to the Commonwealth until it is repaid;

 

For further information in relation to VET Student Loans, please visit VET Student Loans (VSL) page.

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