• Be 18 years of age or over; AND
• Latest proof of English proficiency (if applicable)

VET Course

• Be 18 years of age or over; AND
• Latest proof of English proficiency (if applicable)

ATTENDANCE / ACADEMIC PROGRESS

Academic Progress

Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress at all times. All courses are schedule 20 hours per week (face-to face classroom based). Students are expected to attend classes regularly to maintain satisfactory course progress each term.

Attendance Monitoring

Regular attendance of a minimum for 20 hours per week is a requirement for all students. All ELICOS students must attend a minimum of 80% at all times during their study periods. Students must also maintain satisfactory academic progress at all time.

OVERSEAS STUDENT HEALTH COVER (OSHC)

All International Students are required to pay Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) and maintain cover for the full length of their visa. It is also the student’s responsibility to check the conditions of this health cover.

FEES

A non-refundable Enrolment/Application fee of $200 (exclusive of Tuition fees and material fees) are required at the time of enrolment and this guarantees your place in the course. Students who fall behind in the payment of their fees or fail to pay their tuition fee on the due date, may be charged a late payment fee of $120 per instalment or may be refused training and assessment services and any requests until such times as the fees are paid and up-to-date. Please note that students will be required to maintain academic course progress and/or attendance requirements. Should fees remain overdue for more than one day after the due date the Institute will inform the student of their intention to report them for non- payment of fees to the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Education via PRISMS.

TRANSFER OF FEES BETWEEN THE COURSE(S)

In the case where you enrolled in an ELICOS course at our Institute and you have the permission to transfer your enrolment into our VET courses, an unused fee will be transferred to pay for your VET course(s). No fees will be transferred to other providers, institutions, or persons

Other non-tuition fees the student may incur;

Homestay accommodation

The homestay accommodation placement fee is available upon request and non-refundable. All homestay accommodation fees must be paid to the agent unless otherwise advised by the agent. Requests for refunds of homestay accommodation fees must be made to the agent. Collins Institute of Australia does not guarantee or refund any homestay accommodation fees.

Education agents

If you use an education agent and that agent charges their own fees to students (in addition to Collins Institute of Australia’s tuition and non-tuition fees), those fees remain the responsibility of the agent. Collins Institute of Australia is not responsible for the agent’s own fees and does not protect or refund those fees under any circumstances.

Students who wish to seek a refund or have the amount they owe on their fees reduced must apply to Collins Institute of Australia using the Refund Application Form. If your refund is approved, you can have it paid to you or you can nominate another trusted person to receive the money if you prefer. You are asked to specify the recipient (yourself or someone else) and provide the recipient’s contact and bank details on the Refund Application Form.

Collins Institute of Australia will:

• Assess your request fairly and in accordance with the Fees and Refunds Policy and Procedures.
• Issue you with the decision in writing, using the Notice of Refund Decision letter within 10 working days of receipt of the Refund Application Form
• If the refund was approved, detail how the refund was calculated and issue the refund within 10 working days of providing the outcome to the students.
• If the refund was not approved, explain the reason for the decision and your right to lodge an appeal of the decision within 20 working days of the date of the Notice of Refund Decision letter, in accordance with Collins Institute of Australia’s Complaints and Appeals Policy and Procedures.
• Require you to accept the decision in writing and give you a copy of the decision for your records.
• Maintain our records of the decision, the acceptance and any refunds paid to you for at least 2 years after you ceases to be an accepted student.

Refund prior to course commencement

• 100% refund where student is refused a visa
• 100% refund where Collins Institute of Australia cancels the course prior to commencement
• 80% refund where a student withdraws 29 days or more before course commencement
• 0% refund where a student withdraws less than 28 days before the course commencement
• For students who are granted a course deferment and later request a refund, refund amounts will be calculated based on the original course commencement date and apply to tuition fees only. All non‑tuition fees are non‑refundable.

Refund after course commencement

• A full refund will be paid in the event of Collins Institute of Australia default.
• If a student is refused a visa but has already commenced their course, non-tuition fees will not be refunded. However,
  • For ELICOS course, tuition fees will be refunded from the day of the student default as per Section 7 of the ESOS Act (Calculation of Refund) Specification 2014. The student
    will be refunded the weekly tuition fees multiplied by the number of weeks the student is in default.
  • For VET course, fees will not be refunded.

Other circumstances where no refund (0%) will be provided

• If a student is refused a visa and the reason for the refusal is:
  • Did not start the course at the location on the agreed starting day or;
  • Withdraws from the course at that location or;
  • Did not pay the tuition and non-tuition fees due
• Collins Institute of Australia terminates a student’s enrolment because of a failure to comply with Collins Institute of Australia’s policies, unsatisfactory academic progress or attendance
• If a student is in breach of their student visa conditions
• If a student has supplied incorrect, false or misleading information.

Collins Institute of Australia may consider written requests for refunds due to compassionate and compelling circumstances as indicated above and may increase the refund amount.

Outcomes of refund decisions

Within 10 working days of receipt of your completed Refund Application Form, Collins Institute of Australia will review the application and supporting documents, and issue you with a Notice of Refund Decision that will explain:

• Whether or not the refund was approved
• If it was approved, the amount of the refund and a detailed explanation of how the refund was calculated
• If it was not approved, the reasons for the refusal and your right to appeal the decision in accordance with Collins Institute of Australia’s Complaints and Appeals Policy and Procedures.

If the refund was approved, Collins Institute of Australia will Issue the refund or adjustment notice within 10 working days of providing the outcome to the students.

You are responsible for keeping a copy of the signed Enrolment Application Form and the Letter of Offer and Written Agreement, as well as receipts of any payments for tuition fees or non-tuition fees.

RTO DEFAULT

In the case of default by Collins Institute of Australia, the provisions of the ESOS Act 2000 and the ESOS Regulations 2001 apply. For further information about the ESOS Act please see https://internationaleducation.gov.au/regulatoryinformation/pages/regulatoryinformation.aspx

Under the Tuition Protection Services (TPS) framework, if Collins Institute of Australia is unable to fulfil its obligations to complete a course, the TPS framework will facilitate the placement of students in the first instance, and where this is not possible, provide a refund of unexpended tuition fees (i.e. tuition the student has paid for but has bot been delivered by the provider).

CHANGE OF ADDRESS AND CONTACT DETAILS

Upon arriving in Australia, you are required to advise us of your residential and email address, telephone number and of any subsequent changes to these contact details must notify the Institute within 7 days of the change. It is your responsibility to ensure that you always update your contact details at the Institute to ensure you receive important information about your course, fees receipts and any other important information at least every 6 months.

COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS POLICY

Complaints

Complaints should be made in writing using the Complaints and Appeals Form. The PEO will then review the complaint, record the details of the complaint on the Complaints Register, and commence process of investigation within 10 working days of receiving the completed Complaints and Appeals Form.

The investigation may include such processes as requesting additional information from the complainant, respondent or other involved parties. This may be in writing, over the phone, or face-to-face. Where the meeting is face- to-face, the complainant may be accompanied by a support person. If the matter is in relation to a third party delivering Services on behalf of the RTO, the third party should be involved in the resolution of the complaint.

The PEO will review the information and decide on an appropriate response. Where deemed necessary by the PEO, the matter may be reviewed by other members of the management team to arrive at an appropriate resolution.

The complaint must be completely resolved within 30 calendar days of receipt of the completed Complaints and Appeals Form. If the matter is particularly complex and it is going to take longer to resolve, the complainant is to be advised in writing, along with reasons for the extra time.

The complainant must then be provided with updates on progress on a weekly basis thereafter until the matter is resolved.

Within 10 working days of concluding the investigation and review, the PEO will provide a written response to the complainant using the Notice of Complaint Decision letter, including:

• The RTO’s understanding of the complaint
• The steps taken to investigate and resolve the complaint
• Decisions made about resolution, with reasons for the decisions made
• Areas that have been identified as possible causes of the complaint and improvements to be recommended
• The complainant’s right to access Collins Institute of Australia’s Complaints and Appeals process within 10 working days of the date of the letter if they are not satisfied with the outcome of the complaints process.

The PEO will then update the Complaints Register so it includes the outcome of the complaint and update the Continuous Improvement Register for any improvements to be made as an outcome, in accordance with the Quality Assurance Policy and Procedures CG3 (if applicable). The complaint and its outcome will be discussed at the next management meeting, and the PEO will document staff-related issues in the staff files (if applicable).

In the case of complaints made by students, Collins Institute of Australia will maintain records of the complaint and all related documents on the student’s file for at least 6 months after the person ceases to be an accepted student.

Appeals

Appeals should be made in writing using the Complaints and Appeals Form. The PEO will then review the appeal, record the details of the appeal on the Appeals Register, and commence the process of investigation within 10 working days of receiving the completed Complaints and Appeals Form.

For all types of appeals:

• Within 10 working days of concluding the investigation and review, the PEO will provide a written response to the appellant using the Notice of Appeal Decision, including:
• The RTO’s understanding of the reasons for the appeal
• The steps taken to investigate and resolve the appeal
• Decisions made about resolution and reasons for the decisions
• If relevant, areas that have been identified as possible causes of the appeal and improvements to be recommended
• Their right to the external appeals process and where to find more information on it
• For international students, any impact on their enrolment status and/ or student visa (if applicable)
• The appeal must be resolved within 30 calendar days of receipt of the completed Complaints and Appeals Form. If the matter is particularly complex and it is going to take longer to resolve, the appellant must be advised in writing along with reasons for the extra time. They must be provided with progress updates on a weekly basis thereafter until the matter is resolved.
• The Department of Education and Training will be notified through PRISMS of any impact on the student’s enrolment status (if applicable). Note that any provider-initiated suspension or cancellation of an overseas student must abide by the following special conditions:
• Collins Institute of Australia may suspend or cancel a student’s enrolment including, but not limited to, on the basis of:
• misbehaviour by the student
• the student’s failure to pay an amount the student was required to pay Collins Institute of Australia to undertake or continue the course as stated in the written agreement
  a breach of course progress or attendance requirements by the overseas student which mustoccur in accordance with Standard 8 (Overseas student visa requirements) of the National Code 2018.
• The suspension or cancellation of the overseas student’s enrolment in these circumstances cannot take effect until the internal appeals process is completed, unless the overseas student’s health or wellbeing, or the wellbeing of others, is likely to be at risk• Further to this, Collins Institute of Australia only reports unsatisfactory course progress or unsatisfactory course attendance in PRISMS in accordance with section 19(2) of the ESOS Act if:
• the internal and external complaints processes are completed, and the decision or recommendation supports Collins Institute of Australia, or
• the overseas student chooses not to access the internal complaints and appeals process within the 20 working days period, or
• the overseas student chooses not to access the external complaints and appeals process, or
• the overseas student withdraws from the internal or external appeals processes by notifying Collins Institute of Australia in writing.

DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION/PRIVACY POLICY

In accordance with the Privacy Act 1988, information is collected during your enrolment processing to meet Collins Institute of Australia’s obligations under the ESOS Act 2000 and The National Code 2018 to ensure student compliance with visa conditions and student obligations under Australia’s immigration laws generally. Information concerning students, including personal information submitted on Collins Institute of Australia’s Enrolment Application Form, may be shared among Collins Institute of Australia, the Commonwealth, and the Australian Government and designated authorities and, if relevant, the Tuition Protection Service (TPS) and the ESOS Assurance Fund Manager. This information includes personal and contact details, course enrolment details and changes, and the circumstances of any suspected breach by the student of a student visa condition.

The provision of this information is necessary for both enrolment and re- enrolment. Information provided will be held securely and disposed of securely when no longer needed. You may access your personal information by contacting Collins Institute of Australia during business hours.

Please also note that you are obliged to notify Collins Institute of Australia of any change to your contact information (e.g., home address, e-mail address, mobile phone number) within seven (7) days while enrolled in our course. You can use the Change of Details Form to update your information.

We will not disclose your personal information to another person or organisation unless:

• We have made you aware that information of that kind is usually passed to that person or organisation;
• You have given written consent;
• We believe that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your life or health or that of another person;
• The disclosure is required or authorised by or under law, such as the ESOS Act 2000 or the National Code 2018; or
• The disclosure is reasonably necessary for the enforcement of the criminal law or of a lawimposing a pecuniary penalty, or for the protection of the public revenue.