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VET Student Loans (VSL)

VET Student Loans are available to eligible students enrolled in specific Diploma or Advanced Diploma courses.

A VET Student Loan:

  • Is a loan from the Commonwealth.
  • The loan will remain a personal debt until it is repaid to the Commonwealth, and
  • The loan may, until the debt is repaid, reduce a student’s take-home (after-tax) wage or salary and may reduce the student’s borrowing capacity, (for further information on how your loan is repaid to the Commonwealth through and further information please see the following Australian Tax Office website on VET Student Loans). A student may wish to seek independent financial advice before applying for a loan.

The Australian Government pays the amount of the loan direct to SM TAFE, and you repay your loan through the Australian taxation system once you earn a wage equal to or higher than the repayment threshold. 

There’s no application or loan fee for VET Student Loan government subsidised courses, however, there’s a loan fee of 20% for fee-for-service or commercial VET Student Loan debts.

Read the VET Student Loan booklet for more information and follow the steps below. 

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How to Apply
Literacy and Numeracy
Literacy and Numeracy requirements
Pile of documents
Forms, fact sheets and policies