VET Student Loans and Payment Options

To be eligible to apply for a VET Student Loan, you must meet the eligibility criteria as outlined below:

• Are an Australian citizen, a New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holder who meets the long-term residency requirements, or are a permanent humanitarian visa holder. (Proof of Australian Citizenship is required i.e Australian Birth Certificate or Australian Passport).
• Have not exceeded the FEE-HELP limit.
• Can provide your Australian Year 12 Certificate; or International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) Diploma, OR evidence of successful completion of an AQF Certificate IV on higher (where the language of instruction was in English) OR can display competence of Exit Level 3 in the Australian Core Skills Framework in both reading and numeracy through an approved test. (Bedford College can provide an ACSF test to you if required, the results of assessing a student’s competence in reading and numeracy under the procedure must be reported to the student as soon as practicable after the assessment and be reported to the Secretary in the form, manner and by the time requested by the Secretary). See the Enrolment page for more details of Approved ACSF test.
• Meet the Tax File Number (TFN) requirements. See the Enrolment page for more TFN Information.
• Have a Unique Student Identifier (USI). See the Enrolment page for more USI information.
• Have read the VET Student Loans information booklet produced by the Australian Government.

Note: Documentary evidence of the above is required

What you need to know:

• $10,000-$16,000 is what you can borrow on a VET Student Loan (VSL), depending on the ‘loan cap’. The loan cap amount is different depending on the course you study.
• Using the VSL system, you are automatically charged a 20% loan fee. $10,000 becomes $12,000.
• VSL is interest-free. However, the loan is indexed annually in line with the consumer price index (CPI).
• You start paying back the loan through the Australian Taxation Office as soon as your income is above the minimum repayment income threshold ($48,361.00) for 2022-23.