Frequently asked questions
Expiry date
How is the expiry date calculated?
The expiry date is 12 weeks after the date the enrolment data has been uploaded
What do I do if an enrolment expires but the student wants a loan?
If the enrolment record expires, you will need to submit a new one. You can use the eCAF website or an API to do this.
If I submit a new enrolment record because the old one expired, will the system reject it as a duplicate?
No. The duplicate checking mechanisms built into the Government eCAF system does not register records that have expired.
Revising an eCAF
If a student submits a revised eCAF after the census date, does the submission date change?
No. The original submitted date will remain. We cannot override the entitlement date, and the record must reflect that the eCAF was submitted prior to the census date, regardless of any revisions that may have been made.
If the student does not resubmit a revised eCAF, does the status stay as 'student submitted' with the original submitted date?
Regardless of whether a student has submitted a revised eCAF or not, the submission date will remain the same. If a student does not submit the revised eCAF within 2 weeks from when the revision email is sent to the student, any changes made as part of the revision will revert to the original information.
What fields cannot be revised in a submitted eCAF?
All fields can be revised indefinitely in the eCAF with the exception of:
- Date of Birth
- Course of study
- Enrolment date
- Census date
- Citizenship
If the student does not resubmit a revised eCAF, does the 'under revision' status return to normal?
Yes.
Deleted eCAF
A student has deleted their eCAF/enrolment record, what should they do?
If a student has deleted their eCAF or enrolment record, you will need to upload a new one. There is no way to reinstate a deleted record.
How will a student know why an eCAF has been deleted?
Providers now have the ability to provide a reason in a free-text field to inform the student the reason for the deletion. This reason will be included in the email that the student receives in relation to the deletion.
Census date
Why is the census date included?
The census date field has been included to allow us to govern legislative requirements in the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and VET Student Loans ACT 2016. It is not an optional field.
There are so many census dates, how do I know which one to use?
Providers should upload the nearest applicable future census date for their students. This means that the census date will not always be the first census date. For example, some students may elect not to take out a loan until several semesters into their course. In these circumstances, the student will advise the provider that they want to access a loan, and the provider will at that point upload the enrolment information into the eCAF system.
If a student doesn’t submit their eCAF, do I have to keep moving the census date or keep uploading enrolment information for each study period?
No. Some students may elect not to take out a loan until several semesters into their course and may let their initial eCAF invitation expire. In these circumstances, the student will advise the provider that they want to access a loan, and the provider will at that point upload the enrolment information into the eCAF system.
Enrolment date
What date should I put as the enrolment date?
The enrolment date is the day the student first enrolled with your organisation. It is different from the commencement date.
A student is getting an error stating “you must wait at least two days from the enrolment date before submitting”. What should they do?
The VET Student Loans scheme has a requirement that there be at least two business days between when the student enrols in a course and when they submit their eCAF for that course. For example, if a student enrols on a Monday, she will not be able to submit the eCAF until Thursday. If a student enrols on a Wednesday, she must wait until the following Monday. The eCAF system also takes into account public holidays.
Under 18 applicants
How does the system deal with under 18 applicants?
From 1 July 2017 a new process will be enforced requiring the provider to receive a completed parental consent form (template available at https://www.dewr.gov.au/vet-student-loans/resources/vet-student-loans-parental-consent-form) signed by a responsible parent or guardian from the student prior to uploading the enrolment data into the eCAF system.
VET Student Loans – Progressions
Why are students being required to confirm their enrolment and continued course engagement?
Part of the student protection measures in place for VET Student Loans is to ensure loans are provided only to genuine students. In determining whether a student is a genuine student the department may take into account a number of factors, including whether the student is reasonably engaged in the course, and when required to do so, the student has communicated his or her agreement for the Secretary to continue to use the VET student loan to pay tuition fees for the course. Completion of a progression form is the way students may satisfy the department they continue to be genuine students.
How is the progression form provided to the student?
Providers are required to initiate the sending of the progression form to their students, using the eCAF system. This is a quick and simple process and can be done at the individual student level within the eCAF system from the student’s eCAF, by spreadsheet upload, or from the provider’s student management software via the application programming interface (API).
When will providers need to generate a progression form?
Progression arrangements will be triggered by providers at the agreed times. There are three fixed progression points through the year, at four month intervals – with dates in February, June and October. They will be triggered at some point within the identified month (exact timing at the discretion of the provider). This allows providers to better manage progressions in line with their usual census date patterns. For some students, providers may trigger a progression when a student returns from a break in their studies (e.g. deferral for a period of time, or return after ceasing study). Milestones will be set up in the HELP IT System (HITS) to remind providers when the progression surveys are to be triggered for students.
Should students who have completed a course be sent a progression form?
Engagement and progression arrangements are primarily about continuing to provide the VET student loan.
The department would not typically expect a progression to be generated for a student who has completed a course and therefore has no subsequent planned census days contributing to the course.
If the period of study is short, under four months, then it would be feasible for a student never to need to complete a progression form.
How long does a student have to complete a progression form?
Students have 2 weeks from the receipt of the invitation email to complete and submit the progression form.
What happens if a student does not complete a progression form when they have been sent the invitation email?
If the form has not been completed and submitted by the expiry date, the provider can generate a new form, but is not required to do so. However, failure to complete the action and survey by the next progression point may impact on a student’s continued receipt of a VET student loan.
The point of this process is to allow the department to determine that a student is a genuine student. Specifically, one factor that may be taken into account is that, when required to do so, the student has communicated his or her agreement for the Secretary to continue to use the VET student loan to pay tuition fees for the course.
The department is undertaking a soft roll out, and payment arrangements are not, at this stage, directly linked to completion of the progression form.
However, where a student misses two consecutive progression points, the department will consider whether payments would be suspended pending a student response. Assuming a student response indicating ongoing engagement in due course, we would anticipate that payments (past and future) would proceed.
Can a student edit the form once it has been submitted?
Students can’t update their progression form once it has been submitted.
Which students should the progression invitation emails be sent to?
Students are required to indicate continuing engagement only after at least 4 months have elapsed since their eCAF application was submitted, or they last indicated engagement. A student doing a 12 month diploma, full time, would therefore be required to indicate progression twice.
For example, a student commencing a 12 month course in January will have 2 progression points, first in June and the second in October. For a student commencing a 12 month course in July and in observing the 4 month elapsed rule, the two progression points will occur in February and June the following year.
Will a provider be able to claim payment up to the point where a student defers or withdraws after a census day and does not complete a progression form?
If a student fails to complete a progression form as they have deferred or withdrawn from the course, the provider should still receive payment for the portion of fees covered by census days prior to the student’s deferral or withdrawal, subject to the complying with provisions of the VET Student Loans Act 2016 and Rules.
Where will providers see the survey outcomes?
Following IT development, aggregated survey outcomes should be available on the mySkills website (www.myskills.gov.au), subject to there being sufficient data to make the analysis reliable and assure anonymity for students. The status of a progression form and a student’s intentions about continuing are available to providers, however students’ responses to the satisfaction and survey questions are not able to be viewed at the individual student level by providers.
How can providers track outstanding progressions?
Providers can view this status on the eCAF Dashboard (Outstanding Progressions) or by going to the Progression tab, and selecting the ‘Outstanding’ radio button. Progressions that have been created, where the invitations have been sent and where the students have signed in the eCAF system but not completed the progression form will be counted as outstanding progressions.
What role do providers have in the process?
Progression points must be triggered by providers using the eCAF system.
Providers are not required, but the department recommends, they monitor completions and the intentions students advise about future study (particularly in relation to cessation and deferral).
The department asks that providers communicate to students about the arrangements, such as having to complete and submit the form within 2 weeks of receiving the invitation email, and encourage students to participate. It would of course however be inappropriate for providers to direct students about the responses to provide, or to put students in a position where they are otherwise compelled, or reasonably feel compelled, to answer in a particular way.
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