VET Student Loans
The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman investigates complaints about problems that VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loans students have with their provider. Our services are free, independent an impartial—we do not take sides. To find out how to apply for a VET Student Loan, go to StudyAssist.
Our role
- We investigate complaints about providers delivering education and training services under both the VET Student Loans program and VET FEE-HELP scheme
- We provide best practice complaint-handling advice and training to providers
- We report on trends and issues we identify with VET student loans
- We work with industry to maintain the VET Student Loans Code of Practice.
How we help
We help students with a VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loan debt, who are studying or have studied a:
- diploma
- advanced diploma
- graduate certificate
- graduate diploma course.
We also help students who don’t think they should have a VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loan debt.
Click here for more information.
Before you contact us
Did you incur your debt after 1 January 2017 under the VET Student Loan program?
- contact your provider before contacting us and tell them why you don’t think the debt is correct.
- read our factsheet to find out how to make a complaint with your provider.
Did you incur your debt between 2009 and 2017 under the ‘VET FEE-HELP’ assistance scheme?
- you can apply to the VET FEE-HELP Student Redress Measures.
- We will assess whether all or part of your debt should be recredited
- Read our factsheet to find out more.
The VET Student Loans Code of Practice
This voluntary code of practice (the Code) is for education providers who deliver VET Student Loan approved courses. It contains 10 principles for good practice service and complaint management for VET student loans.
The Code also includes tips to help students making a complaint to their provider. A copy of the Code is available here and on our dedicated VET.Ombudsman website here.
Contact us
If you, or someone you know, has a problem or complaint about your VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loans training provider you can contact us here.
Resources
- How we can help you with your VET loan debt complaint
- VET FEE-HELP Student Redress measures
- How to raise a complaint
- How to seek a review of your VET loan debt complaint
- Education providers: what to expect when we contact you
- Learn more by watching the videos about the VET Student Loans program on the Commonwealth Ombudsman YouTube channel
- Find out how the Commonwealth Ombudsman can help you lodge a complaint
Frequently Asked Questions
How can the Commonwealth Ombudsman help you?
We can help if:
- you have a VET FEE-HELP or a VET Student Loan to cover all or part of the cost of their studies, or
- you have a VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loan debt but you don’t think you should.
Family or friends of a person with a VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loan debt can contact us on a student’s behalf by filling out a Permission for someone else to act on my behalf form.
How does the Commonwealth Ombudsman investigate a complaint?
We don’t take sides. Our investigations are private and usually informal.
When we receive a complaint, we first decide if it is an issue we can investigate. In some cases, we decide not to investigate. This might be because:
- you have not complained to the education provider first, or
- another organisation is better able to help.
If we decide not to investigate, we will tell you why and let you know what to do next. If you are not happy with our decision not to investigate, you can ask for a review. More information is available in our factsheet.
If we decide to investigate a complaint, we will ask the education provider about the problem. We may request relevant information, such as student records, from the provider. Further information on complaint investigations is available in our factsheet
How long will it take to investigate my complaint?
VET Student Loans
It takes an average of 3 months to investigate a VET Student Loans complaint, but this can vary. Some problems are simple to resolve while others are more complex and take longer to investigate. You can help the process by responding quickly to our requests for information and presenting your information clearly.
We will contact you within 5 working days of receiving your complaint, and we will keep you informed about the progress of your complaint.
VET Fee-Help
Complaints about VET Fee-Help can take up to 12 months.
Will the information you give us be kept private?
To investigate a problem we usually need to give some information about the complaint to the provider to find out what has happened. This will include your name and a description of your complaint. You can ask us not to provide specific information.
We will treat your information with privacy and respect, and collect, store, use and disclose your personal information only in accordance with Australian privacy laws.
You can view our Privacy Statement here.
Do providers have to use the VET Student Loans Ombudsman?
Yes, VET Student Loans approved course providers are members of the VET Student Loans Ombudsman, as the external dispute resolution scheme, as stated in the VET Student Loans Act 2016 section 25(2)(h).
We recommend VET Student Loans approved course providers give students information about our services.
What do I do if my provider has closed down and I cannot follow a complaints process?
If your provider has closed down and you have a complaint about your VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loan debt you can make a complaint to our Office.