VSL Provider Newsletter – October 2024

Welcome to the VSL Provider Newsletter – October 2024

In this edition of the VSL Provider newsletter we welcome the new Assistant Secretary, Jane Hayden. Jane has more than 30 years’ experience working in private, not-for-profit and public sectors. These include as a senior executive with the Australian Public Service, CEO of a national charity, partner in a mid-tier consulting firm and company director for a range of not-for-profit organisations.

Immediately prior to joining the VSL program, Jane was the Assistant Secretary for Trades Recognition Australia.

In this edition we also include important news for the VET sector. The revised Standards for Registered Training Organisations have been released, as has the National Skills Plan and the VET Workforce Blueprint.

Annual reporting requirements

We recently emailed notices about the new annual reporting requirements to individuals identified as CEO, SAO, and PVC contacts in the HELP IT System (HITS). The notice specified the information we require you to provide under section 116 of the VET Student Loans Rules 2016.

The email included template Excel spreadsheets. These will reduce administrative burden and standardise data on industry links and third-party arrangements. You must upload completed spreadsheets, along with a report on your last annual student satisfaction survey to HITS by COB 15 November 2024.

If you haven’t received this notification, or have any queries about the annual reporting obligations, please send an email to the department at VETStudentLoans@dewr.gov.au and include ‘annual reporting’ in the subject line.

Annual financial statements

Approved non-listed VSL providers with a financial year ending on 30 June 2024 must submit audited general purpose financial statements by 31 October 2024. You should note that special purpose financial statements are not an acceptable form of submission.

The VET Student Loans Ongoing Financial Performance Requirements advises of all required information. You should also provide a copy of your current workers compensation and public liability insurance policy. Please submit all documentation, including your financial statements via HITS.

Section 113 of the VET Student Loans Rules 2016 stipulates that you must provide general purpose financial statements for each financial year within 4 months of the end of the financial year. The department may take compliance action if you fail to do so. This could include suspending payments or revoking your approval as an approved course provider.

Please email queries relating to financial statements to VSLProgramintegrity@dewr.gov.au.

2024 VSL Tuition Protection Levy

The Tuition Protection Service (TPS) has commenced the preparatory data work for the 2024 VSL Tuition Protection Levy (VSL levy). Information collected from VSL providers will include financial data, late payment information and contact details.

VSL providers will receive their early advice notice from the TPS on 22 October 2024. We strongly encourage you to check and update all contact information in the HELP IT System (HITS) to ensure your organisation receives all correspondence relating to the 2024 VSL levy. The TPS will send all correspondence to the person identified in HITS with the contact type of CEO/Vice-Chancellor (VC) and copy it to other contacts with the contact type of Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Senior Authorised Officer (SAO), Primary Contact – VET (PCV) or Primary Contact – VET/HE (PVH).

Please note, the three domestic tuition protection levies – the VSL levy, the HELP Tuition Protection Levy, and the Higher Education Up-front Payments Tuition Protection Levy – are calculated and collected separately. Therefore, if you are also an approved provider under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 and/or the Higher Education Support Act 2003, you will receive separate correspondence regarding these levies.

If you have any questions regarding the 2024 VSL levy, please contact the TPS using the online contact form.

Revised Standards for Registered Training Organisations

The revised Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) (the revised Standards) are now available. The revised Standards will come into full regulatory effect from 1 July 2025. The Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 will apply until then.

Changes to the Standards are designed to better reflect the diversity of the VET sector and ensure they are fit-for-purpose across different RTO settings. The revised Standards provide a clearer and more direct link between the requirements RTOs are expected to meet and the outcomes they are expected to deliver.

The department is seeking your feedback on the draft Credential Policy and Compliance Requirements to ensure they are clear, that their purpose is understood, and to identify any concerns with how RTOs might meet the requirements. Your feedback will inform the development of the legislative instrument to enact the Standards prior to the revised Standards taking regulatory effect.

The survey will be open until AEDT 11:59 pm on Sunday 20 October 2024.

VET Workforce Blueprint

The VET Workforce Blueprint (the Blueprint) has been released, providing a plan for strengthening our vocational education and training (VET) sector.

Developed in collaboration with states and territories, the Blueprint provides a long-term plan for supporting continuous improvement for the VET Workforce. The Blueprint has been informed through consultation with various stakeholders including RTOs, unions, employers, and peak bodies.

Jobs and Skills Australia has undertaken a VET Workforce Study to support the development of the Blueprint and provide an evidence base. The study profiles the VET workforce, identifies key trends and consolidates an understanding of the current VET workforce. The study has been released alongside the Blueprint.

The Blueprint’s aims are:

• growing the workforce, by increasing the number of people entering the VET workforce pipeline to ensure long-term supply of staff, including teachers, trainers and assessors
• retaining and developing the workforce, by supporting and building workforce capability to ensure a sustainable, highly skilled and quality VET workforce
• understanding the workforce, by developing a data collection on the VET workforce and undertaking occupational mapping and research to better understand the roles and pathways across all VET contexts.

National Skills Plan

The first National Skills Plan developed under the National Skills Agreement has been released. It sets out the national approach to delivering Australia’s skills needs for individuals, industry and community.

The reforms set out in the National Skills Plan recognise the importance of ensuring the VET system supports and meets the needs of Australians and that it delivers more opportunities for Australians to re-skill and upgrade their skills to respond to the changing economy and labour market.

The first National Skills Plan is the start of the planning process over the five years of the National Skills Agreement. The Commonwealth, states and territories will also produce individual jurisdictional action plans that detail the action each government will take to deliver on the National Skills Plan and National Skills Agreement. These will be published beginning in November 2024.

Services Australia support for school leavers

Students starting tertiary study or an apprenticeship next year may have questions about what student payments they can get from Centrelink in 2025.

Download posters, factsheets and other resources from Services Australia’s School Leavers resource eKit to help your students learn about the support available. The eKit has information about Youth Allowance, ABSTUDY and other payments students can get for study.

This includes the Tertiary Access Payment worth up to $5,000 to eligible first year students moving from a regional or remote area for tertiary study.

Encourage your new students to claim a payment up to 13 weeks before their course starts.

More information is available at the Services Australia page Leaving secondary school .

Tertiary Access Payment stakeholder pack

Moving away from home to study can be challenging, especially for young people in regional and rural areas.

The Tertiary Access Payment (TAP) can help students to pay for rent, travel expenses, food, or study supplies.

The TAP is a means-tested payment of up to $5,000 to school-leavers from regional or remote areas who need to relocate for full-time, Certificate IV or above education at a provider located at least 90 minutes by public transport from their family home.

The Department of Education has developed a stakeholder pack to assist with the promotion of the TAP.

The TAP stakeholder pack includes:

• banner artwork and accompanying text for publishing in newsletters and on websites
• social media copy and tiles
• a flyer including information on TAP eligibility criteria and how students can apply for the payment.

We encourage you to review the kit and use the content in relevant communications with students.

Applications for the TAP for 2023 school leavers close on 31 December 2024.

Applications for 2024 school leavers open on 1 January 2025.

Visit Tertiary Access Payment - Services Australia for further information.

Subscribing to the VSL Provider Newsletter

The VSL Provider Newsletter is how we let you know about program updates and reminders about the program administrative requirements. Let your colleagues know they can subscribe to the newsletter at VET Student Loans – subscribe. You can access previous copies of the newsletter at VET Student Loans Provider Newsletter.