Martin College ("the College") will conduct this procedure in compliance with Schedule 1A of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and the VET Provider Guidelines.

For the purposes of this procedure, a student is an Australian citizen or an Australian resident permanent humanitarian visa holder enrolled in a VET FEE-HELP enabled course with the College.

The College will ensure that all students are informed of the census dates for each VET unit of study by the prescribed dates and the procedures for the re-crediting of a FEE-HELP balance.

If a student who has requested VET FEE-HELP assistance withdraws from a VET unit of study on or before the census date for that VET unit of study, the student will not incur a VET FEE-HELP debt for that VET unit of study.

If a student who has requested VET FEE-HELP assistance withdraws from a VET unit of study after the census date for that VET unit of study, the student will incur a VET FEE-HELP debt for that VET unit of study.

If a student withdraws from a VET unit of study on or after the census date for that VET unit of study, or has been unable to successfully complete a VET unit of study, and believes this was due to special circumstances then the student may apply to have their FEE-HELP balance re-credited for the affected VET units of study.

The College will re-credit the student’s FEE-HELP balance if it is satisfied that special circumstances apply that:

i. are beyond the student's control; and

ii. did no make their full impact on the student until on or after the census date for the VET unit of study in question; and

iii. make it impractical for the student to complete the requirements for that VET unit of study

The College will be satisfied that a student’s circumstances are beyond the student’s control if a situation occurs that a reasonable person would consider is not due to the person’s action or inaction, either direct or indirect, and for which the student is not responsible. The situation must be unusual, uncommon or abnormal.

Each application will be examined and determined on its merits by considering a student’s claim together with independent supporting documentation substantiating the claim.

Initial applications for the re-crediting of a student’s FEE-HELP balance are to be made, in writing, to the VET FEE-HELP Administrator of the campus at which the student is enrolled.

The procedure for the re-crediting of a FEE-HELP balance is as follows:

The VET FEE-HELP Administrator will consider the application and will agree to such requests if they are satisfied that there were special circumstances in the student’s case. If a decision is made to re-credit the student’s FEE-HELP balance, the College will notify DEEWR and will repay to the Commonwealth any VET FEE-HELP assistance received on the student’s behalf and the student’s VET FEE-HELP debt for those VET units of study will be removed.

2)     Review of a Decision

If a student is not satisfied with the decision made by the VET FEE-HELP Administrator in relation to re-crediting their FEE-HELP balance they may request a review of the decision.

The review shall be carried out by the Review Officer who is the Campus Director and is senior to the original decision maker.

Any such request must be submitted to the Review Officer in writing and:

The Review Officer shall acknowledge receipt of an application for a review of the refusal to re-credit a FEE-HELP balance in writing and inform the applicant that if the Review Officer has not advised the applicant of a decision within 45 days of having received the application for review, the Review Officer is taken to have confirmed the original decision. This notice shall also advise the applicant that they have the right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of the decision and will provide the contact details of the closest Administrative Appeals Tribunal Registry and the approximate costs of lodging an appeal.

The Review Officer shall:

The Review Officer may:

The Review Officer will give written notice of the decision setting out the reasons for the decision. The applicant shall also be advised in the decision of the right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of the decision; and be provided with the contact details of the closest Administrative Appeals Tribunal Registry and the approximate costs of lodging an appeal (refer Section 2.1 below).

Where a student is unsatisfied with the reviewed decision they may apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for consideration of the College’s decision to refuse to re-credit their FEE-HELP balance. The student may supply additional information to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal which they did not previously supply to the College either in the original application or the request for review.

2.1 Administrative Appeals Tribunal

Students who apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for review of a decision, may have to pay an application fee; it depends on the circumstances. The application cannot proceed until the application fee has either been paid or waived. The application fee is refunded when the review is completed if the AAT decides that it is finalised in the student’s favour. (For the purposes of providing a guide, the application fee during 2009 is $682.)

Further information about the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, including the required application forms and current costs, can be obtained from their website at: http://www.aat.gov.au/AboutTheAAT/IntroductionToTheAAT.htm

These Student Review Procedures for Re-crediting a FEE-HELP Balance will be published in the Student Handbook and on the College’s website at (http://www.martincollege.edu.au/)

• Document: Student Review Procedures for re-crediting a FEE-HELP Balance
• Version #: SGA-VET-550/09/09 Vr 1.2 (14 September 2009)
• Approved by: Martin College Product Management Team
• Administrator: Jennie Wallace, National Compliance Manager
• Contact Details: jwallace@studygroup.com  (07) 3232 1517