When you enrol, you will need to pay the TAFE NSW fee, unless you qualify for a fee exemption or Concession fee. You will not be regarded as being enrolled without the payment of, or approved exemption from, the TAFE NSW fee, or payment of the Concession fee.

Until your enrolment is completed, you are not entitled to:

• attend class
• sit for examinations
• receive educational awards
• use amenities and services (including travel concessions and childcare places)
• receive an active TAFEcard (which provides access to library resources).

Note: All Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma courses are offered on a commercial basis for new enrolments. Contact your local campus for more information.

Fees for commercial courses (TAFE PLUS), and fee-for-service courses such as TAFE Delivered HSC Vocational Educational and Training (TVET), international students and temporary visa holders are different to the TAFE NSW fee.

Other costs

Other enrolment-related charges may apply including:

• course-related charges (purchase of protective clothing and materials charges)
• Student Association membership
• an OTEN Student Materials and Handling Charge
• licence fees
• car parking (semester or annual fee).

Protective clothing

Certain courses require students to wear a uniform and/or protective clothing. Clothing must be purchased by the student and entry to the class will be refused unless the specified protective clothing/uniform is worn. Information as to what protective clothing students need will be given at the time of enrolment.

Materials charges

Some courses will require the payment of a materials charge. Details of this charge will be provided at enrolment time.

Payment methods

If you enrol at a campus, you can pay the TAFE NSW fee, Concession fee or any other enrolment-related charges by EFTPOS, Visa Card, MasterCard, cheque or money order payable to 'TAFE NSW'. TAFE NSW is committed to maintaining a safe environment for both students and staff, and has a policy of cashless enrolment at all times.

If you are enrolling in a course which required an application, you may have the option of paying the TAFE NSW fee (and other enrolment-related charges) via the internet.

Students who are re-enrolling are encouraged to make their payments via the internet or by one of the remote payment options offered.

Payment of the TAFE NSW fee in instalments

If your course runs for more than one semester you may have the option to pay your TAFE NSW fee in two equal instalments. The first payment is due when you enrol. The second payment of the fee is required by 31 May 2008. Please note that the Concession fee ($50) is not payable by instalments.

Fee exemptions

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students are exempt from paying the TAFE NSW fee.

Students in receipt of a Disability Support Pension and students with a disability (clients of a Teacher/Consultant) are entitled to one full fee exemption for one TAFE NSW course per year, and are eligible for the $50 Concession fee for subsequent enrolments in that year.

Concessions

Students who receive a Commonwealth benefit or allowance (see list below) are eligible to pay a Concession fee of $50 per course enrolment per year rather than the full TAFE NSW fee.

• Age Pension
• Austudy (including Veterans' Children Education Scheme)
• Carer Payment
• Disability Support Pension (2nd or subsequent enrolment in year)
• Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payment
• Family Tax Benefit Part A (Maximum Rate)
• Farm Help Income Support
• Mature Age Allowance
• Newstart Allowance
• Parenting Payment (Single)
• Sickness Allowance
• Special Benefit
• Veterans' Affairs Payments
• Widow Allowance
• Widow Pension (including Widow 'B' Pension)
• Wife Pension  
• Youth Allowance

Note: A student who is recognised as a dependant child, spouse or partner of a recipient of an eligible benefit or allowance may also be eligible for the Concession fee.

To find out if you are eligible for a full-fee exemption or Concession fee, contact your campus before enrolling. Your campus can also advise you about what documentation you will need to bring with you to enrol.

If you are applying for a fee exemption or Concession fee, you need to complete an Exemption or Concession Application Form and return it with appropriate documentation to your campus of enrolment.

The TAFE NSW fee is applied differently for...

Apprentices – Apprentices eligible for the Commonwealth rebate (Apprenticeship Training (Fee) Voucher) pay a capped fee of $480 per year for their Apprenticeship course. Apprentices not eligible for this Commonwealth rebate, including those in year 3 of their Apprenticeship, pay a capped fee of $394 per year for their Apprenticeship course.

Apprenticeship Training (Fee) Vouchers valued at up to $500 are available to eligible apprentices undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship in skills shortage areas as defined by the National Skills Needs List.

New Entrant Trainees – in 2008, New Entrant Trainees pay a capped fee of $394 for their Traineeship course. To be eligible for the capped fee you must provide proof of your Traineeship (contact your local campus for details).

School-based Apprentices, School-based Trainees and Existing Worker Trainees – are covered by other funding arrangements so the TAFE NSW fee does not apply.

Special Access Courses

If you enrol in a Special Access Course you pay no TAFE NSW fee. These courses teach skills in:

• career opportunities
• community training
• employment skills
• literacy
• numeracy
• reading and writing
• school mentoring
• signed language
• volunteer tutoring and
• work readiness.

List of Special Access Courses ( 51KB PDF).

For more information please contact your local campus.

The GST

Most TAFE NSW courses are nationally accredited and are therefore GST-free.

Courses that are not nationally accredited, but are likely to add to your employment skills, will be GST-free.

Course materials that you must purchase from TAFE NSW to undertake your course are GST-free.

The GST status of a course can be confirmed by your local campus or the TAFE NSW Information Centre on 131 601.

Taxation

If you undertake a course to gain qualifications for use in carrying out a profession, business or trade in the course of employment, you may be entitled to claim a tax deduction. At the time you undertake your course there must be a direct connection between the nature of your course and current work activities. The course should either enable you to maintain or improve your skills or knowledge, or lead to increased income.

You will not be entitled to claim a tax deduction for your course fees where you undertake a course to gain new employment or to open up a new business or income earning activity within an occupation or field of employment in which you are not currently working. You cannot claim self-education expenses against income you receive from Youth Allowance, Austudy payments, ABSTUDY payments, Assistance for Isolated Children, Veteran's Children Education Scheme, or similar schemes.

If your employer pays for, or reimburses you, for your course fees, you cannot claim a tax deduction. This expense may lead to a fringe benefits tax liability for your employer and a reportable fringe benefit on your payment summary.

The entitlement to a tax deduction for the TAFE NSW fee will depend upon your individual circumstances. For further information contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or your tax agent.

Withdrawing from your course or applying for a refund

If you are withdrawing from your course or applying for a refund you need to complete a Withdrawal/Refund Application Form (Adobe PDF format – 47kB) and post it or return it to your campus of enrolment.

A refund of all or part of the TAFE NSW fee may be given in the following exceptional circumstances:

• You have overpaid the TAFE NSW fee.
• You enrolled in a course that has been cancelled by the campus or Institute.
• You have paid the full TAFE NSW fee but now receive Youth Allowance or Austudy commencing within two weeks of the date of enrolment or the date of first attendance at class (you will be eligible for a concession).
• You are offered and accept a place in a course at university or at the same/another TAFE NSW campus within the first three teaching weeks.
• You enrol in a course only to repeat a failed unit/module but are then granted a pass in that unit/module by an Assessment Review Committee.
• You formally advise the campus, before classes commence and with no attendance, that you are withdrawing from the course.
• You made full-year payment and withdrew with no attendance in Semester Two. You may be eligible for a refund of the Semester Two TAFE NSW fee.
• The campus delegate is of the opinion that you would be unreasonably disadvantaged if you were not granted a refund, for example, if you meet with a serious misadventure and you were unable to continue your enrolment.

Other appropriate circumstances, such as:

• extended hospitalisation or illness (two weeks minimum) supported by a medical certificate and resulting in extended absence from classes. In this case a refund of the TAFE NSW fee for the second semester may be given;
• pregnancy/childbirth (other than in cases of medical complication covered by the above). In this case a refund of the TAFE NSW fee for the second semester may be given.

Circumstances not usually regarded as grounds for a refund include:

• job change
• change in work hours
• inconvenience of travel to college
• moving interstate
• redundancy/retrenchment.

If you enrol in an approved Apprenticeship or Traineeship course without evidence of being an Apprentice or a Trainee, you will be asked to pay the full fee. If you subsequently provide evidence that you are an Apprentice or a Trainee you will be refunded the difference between the course fee and the capped Apprenticeship or Traineeship fee.

A small number of Apprenticeships are not eligible for the rebate from the Commonwealth. If you paid the capped Apprenticeship fee of $480 and you do not receive a rebate, you will be eligible for a refund of the difference between the fee of $480 and the lower capped fee of $394. You will need to provide evidence you were denied the rebate.

Higher School Certificate and Tertiary Preparation Certificate TAFE NSW fee refund

From 2008, TAFE NSW students who enrol in and complete the Higher School Certificate (Course 6500 Certificate III in HSC Studies) or the Tertiary Preparation Certificate (Course 6502 Certificate IV in Tertiary Preparation) at TAFE NSW will be eligible for a refund of the TAFE NSW fee.

If a student completes one or more of the following preparatory courses for the HSC or TPC first, the TAFE fee for these courses will also be refunded:

• Course 6501 – Statement of Attainment in HSC Preliminary Studies
• Course 6503 – Certificate III in Preparation for Vocational and Further Study
• Course 6504 – Statement of Attainment in Preparation for Vocational and Further Study
• Course 6505 – Statement of Attainment in HSC Studies
• Course 6509 – Statement of Attainment in Preparatory Mathematics and Science

To be eligible, students must provide proof of course completion (either a TAFE NSW Testamur or a TAFE NSW Course Completion Notice) and apply for the refund at their campus of enrolment.

Note: This refund applies only to TAFE NSW students who enrol or re-enrol in 2008 in one of the courses specified above. It does not apply to school students or students in other educational institutions. Students must complete the HSC or TPC in TAFE after 1 January 2008 to be eligible. Other materials charges are excluded from this refund. Refunds for the additional HSC and TPC preparatory courses listed above will only apply upon course completion of either the HSC or TPC. The refund applies to all eligible students regardless of the date they commenced their study.

Financial assistance

You may be entitled to financial assistance – check Financial Assistance.

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