VET costs and loans
How, and how much, will you pay for your VET course?
Your tuition costs will vary depending on the length of the course and on which of the two types of VET courses you choose — a pay-by-the-hour course or a fee-for-service course. Some institutions only offer one option.
Pay-by-the-hour courses
Fee-for-service courses
Pay-by-the-hour courses
Pay-by-the-hour courses are charged at an hourly rate and capped at a certain amount per year. For example, a Victorian TAFE student undertaking an apprenticeship in 2010 would pay up to $1.37 each hour, with a maximum of $903 paid each year.
Where are they available?
These courses are only available at TAFE institutes. However, not all TAFE courses are charged by-the-hour, so check with your preferred TAFE institute to find out which rate applies.
Cost of study
Hourly and maximum charges vary from state to state. No matter how much training you can do, you cannot pay more in tuition fees than the set annual maximum, which varies from state to state. The maximum fee is exclusive of student amenities fees, books and materials. The maximum fee charges are:
Victoria: $2000
NSW: $1490
SA: $2140
WA: $1100
QLD: contact the institutions directly
Tasmania: $990
NT/ACT: Contact Charles Darwin University or Canberra Institute of Technology for information.
Fee-for-service courses
Fee-for-service courses are generally more costly since the entire cost of delivering the course is borne by students, rather than just a partial contribution. They are not capped at a certain rate per year.
Where are they available?
All courses at private VET providers, otherwise known as Registered Training Organisations (RTO), are generally fee-for-service. Although many courses at TAFE have capped fees, plenty of others are fee-for-service.
Cost
Fees vary between courses and institutions so it‘s important to shop around. Ask the providers themselves for all the details.
Loans for fee-for-service courses
VET FEE-HELP is an interest free government loan scheme that allows students to defer payment of their fees. Students do not start paying the loan back until their income reaches a certain level.
VET FEE-HELP is expected to be available to assist students undertaking the following VET-accredited courses with an approved VET provider:
- diploma
- advanced diploma
- graduate certificate
- graduate diploma.
Diploma or advanced diploma courses must have credit transfer to a higher education award.
Like higher education FEE-HELP, VET FEE-HELP loans are capped at $85,062 (or $106,328 for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses that lead to registration as practitioners in those fields) over their lifetime indexed annually. Note also that a 20 per cent loan fee may apply; it is added to your debt but does not count towards the FEE-HELP limit.
Will I get a loan?
All VET providers (including universities already accredited to offer higher education FEE-HELP) must go through an approval process before they are accredited to offer VET FEE-HELP loans.
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