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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.​

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​

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

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.

6. Tax file number (TFN) requirementsIf 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.  

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

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.

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:

  • 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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