Your rights as a learner
What you are entitled to, what happens with fees and refunds, and where to go when something goes wrong.
Your USI
A Unique Student Identifier is your free education number for life. You create it once. You need one to study nationally recognised VET or seek a VET student loan, and higher education students need one to seek Commonwealth assistance or to graduate. Without one, you may not be able to receive your qualification or statement of attainment.
You create it yourself on the USI site (official site) with one form of ID or a Digital ID, and a personal email address rather than a school or work one. Your details must match your ID exactly. It also gives you a government record of your VET achievements. If you are not sure whether you already have one, find your USI (official site).
Official sources, read on 7 November 2026: USI for students (official site), Create your USI (official site)
Fees and refunds
Before you enrol or pay, an RTO must give you a full and accurate schedule of fees, costs and charges, with payment terms and its refund policy. If the course details, cost or duration change later, it must tell you promptly.
Consumer guarantees. Under Australian Consumer Law, services must be provided with due care and skill, be fit for any purpose you were told about, and be supplied within a reasonable time if no time was agreed. A business cannot use a "no refunds" sign to take these rights away.
Cooling-off. There is no automatic right to change your mind just because you bought something online or in a store. The 10 business day cooling-off period applies to unsolicited sales. ASQA says providers must tell you their refund eligibility and cooling-off periods, so read those terms before you pay, and ask if they are not clear.
Paying in advance. When an RTO or a third party receives prepaid fees above $1,500 from or for one person for the same VET course, the RTO must have a prepaid fee policy and a protection measure in place. If it cannot deliver, you must be placed in an equivalent course at no extra cost, or refunded the prepaid fees above that threshold. Paying in smaller instalments does not avoid this, and money collected through third party loan or buy now, pay later providers is covered. Fees your employer pays for you are not covered.
Official sources, read on 7 November 2026: ASQA guide on student information (official site), ASQA, student rights and responsibilities (official site), ASQA guide on accountability (official site), ACCC, consumer rights and guarantees (official site), ACCC, telemarketing and door to door sales (official site)
While you study
Your VET provider must give you access to learning resources, language, literacy and numeracy support, assistive technology and IT help, and reasonable adjustments. Your side of the deal is to understand the payment terms and refund conditions, meet the course requirements, supply any materials you agreed to and manage any loan obligations.
Official source, read on 7 November 2026: ASQA, student rights and responsibilities (official site)
How to make a complaint
- Start with the provider. Use its complaints process, usually in the student handbook or on its website. Regulators and ombudsmen generally expect you to try this first, so keep your emails and notes.
- Get referred if you are stuck. For VET, the National Training Complaints Hotline (official site) on 13 38 73 sends your complaint to the most appropriate authority.
- Go to the body that deals with your issue. Use the table below.
| Your issue | Who can help |
|---|---|
| Refunds, fees or cancelling a course | The consumer protection agency in your state or territory can give information and may help negotiate. Find your agency (official site). A state or territory ombudsman may help with a government-run provider such as a TAFE. |
| A VET Student Loans or VET FEE-HELP debt you think is wrong | The VET Student Loans Ombudsman (official site). It can look at misleading information, inducements and incorrect loan amounts. It cannot help with teaching quality, grades or FEE-HELP debts. |
| Poor training quality or dishonest conduct by a VET provider | The regulator named on its training.gov.au record. ASQA (official site) takes reports, and you can report anonymously. It cannot resolve individual disputes or act as your advocate, does not investigate every report and usually does not tell you what it did. In Victoria or Western Australia the regulator may be the VRQA (official site) or the Training Accreditation Council (official site). |
| A higher education provider | The National Student Ombudsman (official site) is free and independent, and works to resolve student complaints. TEQSA (official site) takes concerns about whether a provider meets its standards. |
| You are an international student at a private provider | The Commonwealth Ombudsman investigates these complaints. See ASQA's list of organisations (official site). |
We cannot decide complaints about other organisations. To complain about Career Calling itself, see Complaints and Feedback.
Official sources, read on 7 November 2026: ASQA, concerns about training providers (official site), ASQA, how it can help (official site), ASQA, other organisations (official site), VRQA, make a complaint (official site), WA Training Accreditation Council (official site), TEQSA, raising a concern (official site)
If your provider closes
Warning signs include classes cancelled without notice and messages that go unanswered. You may be offered a transfer, but you can choose a different provider. The Tuition Protection Service can help students with a VET student loan and international students, and your state consumer agency may help with refunds.
Collect what you can now: testamurs, records of results and statements of attainment for credit transfer, and assessments and feedback for recognition of prior learning. ASQA can help find student records if a provider has closed.
Official sources, read on 7 November 2026: ASQA, when providers close (official site), ASQA, how it can help (official site)