Can I use HECS at TAFE?

Maybe. It depends on the kind of course you’re doing and whether your TAFE has Commonwealth-Supported Places.

Let me explain.

What kind of course are you taking?

The kind of course you do at TAFE determines the kind of government loan you might use.

Course type	Loan you might use
*Certificate*	no government loans available
*Diploma*	VET Student Loans (VSL)
*Associate degree*	FEE HELP
*Bachelor degree*	HECS HELP or FEE HELP

I want to do a certificate

If you’re interested in going to TAFE to do a Certificate II, Certificate III or Certificate IV, unfortunately you won’t be able to use a government loan to defer the payment of your fees.

But you may be able to arrange a payment plan with TAFE so that you can spread out your fees across the time you’ll be studying your course – this can make paying the fees more manageable.

I want to do a diploma

If you’re interested in doing a diploma (or advanced diploma or graduate certificate) at TAFE, you might be able to put your course fees on VET Student Loans (VSL).

VET Student Loans is a type of Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loan, like FEE HELP and HECS HELP, but it works a bit differently. With VET Student Loans, you can borrow different amounts of money based on the kind of course you want to study. This is called the “loan cap” for your course.

Band	Study areas	Loan cap in 2022
1	some business, management, and financial courses	$5,406
2	• marketing, communication, visual merchandising, salon management • information technology, blockchain • youth work, community development, paralegal studies, interpreting, translating, AUSLAN • sport development, event management, hospitality management • other business, leadership, accounting and finance courses	$10,813
3	• nursing, paramedical science, massage, dental technology • community services, early childhood education and care, mental health, leisure and health, alcohol and other drugs • library and information services • cyber security, software development, product design, digital media technologies • engineering, surveying, building design • veterinary nursing, agriculture, horticulture, landscape design, land management • graphic design, screen and media, music industry, interior design • fitness, beauty therapy, sport and recreation management • various aeroskills and aviation engineering courses	$16,221
specific schedule	• other approved aviation courses, including some pilot license and flight instructor diplomas	$81,111

You can find a full list of approved courses for each band here and the official VET Student Loan loan caps here.

It’s also important to know that not all diplomas are eligible for VET Student Loans (VSL). If the diploma you are interested in doesn’t appear on the approved courses list, you won’t be able to use a VET Student Loan to pay your course fees.

You also need to meet the eligibility criteria in order to use VET Student Loans, which includes demonstrating you have an appropriate level of literacy and numeracy to do diploma-level study. This is a bit different to FEE HELP and HECS HELP. For more info about eligibility, jump on VET Student Loans (VSL) section of the DESE website.

I want to do an associate degree

If you’re interested in an associate degree, you’ll usually be asked to pay “full fee”. This means that the federal government isn’t subsidising your course. For this reason, you might be eligible to use FEE HELP to defer to payment of your fees.

Because full fee places are usually very expensive, make sure that you keep in mind the combined HELP loan limit. There is also usually a 20% loan fee for using FEE HELP. This doesn’t contribute to your combined HELP loan limit, but it is still a chunk of extra debt that you should know about before you start.

To learn more about FEE HELP, you might like to check out this video — What is FEE HELP? Important things you should know [VIDEO] — and/or jump on the Study Assist website.

I want to do a bachelor degree

If you’re interested in a bachelor degree, then you might use FEE HELP or HECS HELP to defer the payment of your course fees. Which loan you use will depend on whether your place in the course is a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) or a full fee place.

Full fee places

Most students who do a bachelor degree at TAFE are in full fee paying places. If this is you, then you might be eligible to use FEE HELP to defer to payment of your course fees. But, as I said in the section above, keep the combined HELP loan limit and 20% FEE HELP loan fee in mind.

To learn more about FEE HELP, you might like to check out this video — What is FEE HELP? Important things you should know [VIDEO] — and/or jump on the Study Assist website.

Commonwealth supported places

If your bachelor degree is delivered in partnership with a university, like the University of Canberra, you might be offered a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP). In a Commonwealth Supported Place, the federal government subsidise your course fees, which makes them more affordable.

If you are in a Commonwealth Supported Place, you might be eligible to use HECS HELP to defer your course fees. Fees you put on HECS HELP do contribute to your combined HELP loan limit, but there is no loan fee. The federal government have introduced something called the Student Learning Entitlement (SLE), which limits most people to seven (7) years of commonwealth-supported study in their lifetime. This is also important to know before you start!

You can check you’re eligible for HECS HELP here.

You might also find the following resources helpful:

Hopefully this has helped you to understand the different types of loans available for different kinds of study.

If you want to know more about your options, you might like to talk things over with a Careers Counsellor (like me).

Good luck!

Tom

graphic by pch vector