HKTC News
Posted on 21 May, 2020

Do you have a student loan debt you shouldn’t have? VET FEE-HELP Student Redress Measures.

VET FEE-HELP Student Redress Measures came into effect at the beginning of 2019 and provide a remedy for students who incurred a debt under the VET FEE-HELP scheme due to the inappropriate conduct of their education provider, by removing all or part of a VET FEE-HELP debt.

Applications under the redress measures need to be made to the VET Student Loan Ombudsman by 31 December 2020.

What is ‘inappropriate conduct’?

Under the redress measures, ‘inappropriate conduct’ includes:

  • being offered an incentive (such as a laptop) to enrol even though the person had no intention of completing the course
  • failing to provide accurate information about the course before the person enrolled, leading to the person enrolling in a course that wasn’t suitable and was different to what they believed
  • not withdrawing a student’s enrolment when asked to do so by the student, leading them to incur a VET FEE-HELP debt.

Please note that this is about VET FEE-HELP debts only, and that it does not apply to VET Student Loans debts.

How can someone make a complaint?

Complaints can be made through the Commonwealth Ombudsman website, just select ‘VFH outreach referral 2020’ in the ‘how found’ field. If you have any questions then they can contact the Ombudsman by email at VET@ombudsman.gov.au, or call us on 1300 362 072.

Where can I go to get more information?

You can find more information, including factsheets, posters and other resources, at vet.ombudsman.gov.au/

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