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Apply for a VET Student Loan

Federation University Australia is an approved VET Student Loan provider. If you're eligible, you'll be able to defer your tuition payment.

Download the VSL information sheet (PDF 123KB)

What is a VET Student Loan?

VET Student Loans (VSL) is an Australian Government loan program that helps eligible students enrolled in approved diploma or advanced diploma courses defer their tuition fee payments. VET Student Loans can't be used for extra study costs such as materials fees.

Eligible courses are assigned a maximum loan amount. If the cost of your course exceeds the loan cap, you'll have to pay the remaining balance. View the 2026 estimated course fees and VET Student Loan caps (PDF 163KB) and the 2026 indicative unit fees (PDF 282KB) to find out more.

You might like to seek independent financial advice before applying for a VET Student Loan.

To be eligible for a VET Student Loan, you must be:

Your eligibility also depends on where you live, the course you're doing and your HELP balance.

Eligible TAFE courses

Courses approved for VET Student Loans must meet certain eligibility criteria to ensure they're linked to industry needs and employment outcomes, as determined by the Australian Government.

Information about how to access a VET Student Loan, including how to find approved courses and course providers, can be found on the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations website. A list of eligible courses and their providers are also available on the Australian Government Your Career website. 

VET Student Loan cap

Approved courses are allocated a maximum loan amount that can be borrowed for each course. If the cost of your course exceeds the loan cap, you'll be required to pay the remaining balance. 

Progression

You’ll receive regular emails from the Department of Education and Training asking you to log into the eCAF system and confirm your enrolment. If you don’t complete the progression form, your VET Student Loan may be cancelled.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for managing student loan repayments. You'll pay your loan back through the tax system once you earn above the compulsory repayment threshold. The more you earn, the higher your compulsory repayment will be. When you complete your tax return, the ATO will calculate your income for the year and tell you how much your compulsory repayment is. You can also make voluntary repayments to the ATO at any time.

You can check how much you owe through the ATO online services in your myGov account or by contacting the ATO on 13 28 61.

How to apply for a VET Student Loan

You must complete an electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) by your first census date to apply for a VET Student Loan.

Follow these steps:

  1. Log into my Student Centre.
  2. Select the 'Commonwealth Assistance' tile.
  3. Select 'VET Student Loan eCAF'.
  4. Find your course and select 'Apply Now'.

You'll receive an email from ecafsystem@education.gov.au. (Can’t find it? Look in your junk folder.) It contains a passkey and link to access and submit your VET Student Loan eCAF via the Government portal.

Use the passkey and your date of birth to log into the eCAF portal.

When you’re filling out your eCAF, your personal details must match those on our system (which you can view in my Student Centre under 'Personal Information'.) You’ll also need your Unique Student Identifier (USI) and your tax file number. If you don’t have a tax file number (TFN), complete your eCAF anyway but apply for a TFN straightaway. 

FAQs when completing your eCAF

No, you only need to complete an eCAF/s once for each program, unless you would like to change the way that you pay. You must complete a new eCAF/s for each type of assistance you are eligible for when accepting a place in a new program.

Yes, if you would like to change the way that you pay for your fees, for example you would like to apply for a HECS-HELP loan after previously paying upfront, you must complete a new eCAF.

There are four types of eCAF covering HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, SA-HELP and VET Student Loans. Most domestic students will need to complete one or more. If you have already completed an eCAF but are being asked to do another, then you have done one for which you are eligible but not the other.

When you accept your offer an eCAF email and unique passkey will be automatically generated for each type of assistance you are eligible for by the eCAF system. If you have not received an email or cannot find it in your inbox:

  1. Search your inbox for Sender ecafsystem@education.gov.au
  2. Check your Junk/Spam folder, particularly for the date that you accepted your offer
  3. Check that your personal email address is correct in my Student Centre
  4. Request a new eCAF email/s via our Enquiry and Application Portal.
    Select Category 'Fees & Charges', Sub-category 'Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF)' > add your request > and Click 'Submit your question'
  5. Add ecafsystem@education.gov.au as a Safe/Recognised Sender once your request is submitted so that you receive the regenerated email/s. 

Your eCAF email/s will be sent to the email address you used when submitting your application. If you have changed emails, you will need to update your email in my Student Centre, and then request a new eCAF email be generated.

  1. Login to my Student Centre, select 'Personal Information' and then 'Contact Details' from the menu. Update your 'Home' email address.
  2. Request a new eCAF email/s via our Enquiry and Application Portal.
    Select Category 'Fees & Charges', Sub-category 'Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF)' > add your request > and Click 'Submit your question'.
  3. Add ecafsystem@education.gov.au as a Safe/Recognised Sender once your request is submitted so that you receive the regenerated email/s. 

Your eCAF passkey expires 12 weeks after it was issued so it's important to complete your eCAF/s as soon as possible after accepting your offer. You don't need to be enrolled to complete your eCAF/s.

  1. Request a new eCAF email/s via our Enquiry and Application Portal. Select Category 'Fees & Charges', Sub-category 'Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF)' > add your request > and Click 'Submit your question'
  2. Add ecafsystem@education.gov.au as a Safe/Recognised Sender once your request is submitted so that you receive the regenerated email/s. 

If your passkey was generated within the last 12 weeks, but you cannot login with passkey and date of birth, your date of birth may be incorrect. 

  1. Check your date of birth is correct in my Student Centre.
  2. Login to the Enquiry and Application Portal and select 'Ask a question', 'Ask a question related to my studies (past or current students)'. Select Category 'Fees & Charges', Sub-category 'Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF)'. Detail your request to change your date of birth and click submit.
  3. On the next page, submit supporting documentation including a copy of your driver's license, passport or birth certificate showing your correct date of birth.
    Once your details are correct, request a new eCAF email/s and passkey/s.

To successfully submit your eCAF, the information you provide in your eCAF must match the details you give to Federation University. If the details held by Federation University are incorrect, they must be corrected in order to submit your eCAF.

  1. Update your addresses, phone numbers, email addresses in my Student Centre
  2. Update your 'Primary' and 'Degree' name with the Amend your Personal Details form (PDF 399 KB) and submit it via our online enquiries portal
  3. Request a new eCAF email/s via our Enquiry and Application Portal.
    Select Category 'Fees & Charges', Sub-category 'Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF)' > add your request > and Click 'Submit your question'
  4. Add ecafsystem@education.gov.au as a Safe/Recognised Sender once your request is submitted so that you receive the regenerated email/s. 

Census dates and fee notices

VET Student Loans have their own census dates and you’ll also receive both invoices and fee notices.

What is the HELP loan limit?

There’s a cap on how much you can borrow through student loans. This is called your HELP loan limit, and it's set by the Australian Government each year.
 
Your limit depends on what you’re studying. In 2025, most students have a HELP loan limit of $126,839, but students studying medicine, dentistry, vet science or aviation may have a higher limit.
 
You can find out more about the HELP loan limit on the Study Assist website, and you can use the myHELPbalance portal to view your available balance.