REFUND POLICY

Withdrawals from Subjects or a Course of Study

1. Withdrawals on or BEFORE the Census Date

If a student withdraws from a subject/s, or from their course of study on or before the Census Date, tuition fees for that subject/s will be credited/refunded in full.

If the student has applied for FEE-HELP the student will not incur a FEE-HELP debt for the subject/s.

(# see the ACCS website www.ccs.edu.au (s Student Information Page) for further information and specific Census Dates for subjects offered in a current trimester. The census date is also included on the title page of each Subject Information Booklet.

2. Withdrawals AFTER the Census Date

No refunds or credit for fees applies for withdrawals after the Census Date except under the special circumstances outlined below. However, the student, with the approval of the Registrar, may change to another subject offered in the same semester.

a.Non FEE-HELP Students: After the Census Date, if a student withdraws from a subject/s, or withdraws from their course of study, the student remains liable for the fees for that subject/s and these must be paid. A credit or refund of tuition fees will only apply after the Census Date if the College has agreed to refund/re-credit a student’s tuition fees due to special circumstances (see Para. 3 below for Policies on Re-crediting of Fees for more detailed information).

b.FEE-HELP Students: After the Census Date, if a student who has completed a Request for FEE-HELP assistance withdraws from a subject/s, withdraws from their course of study, the student will incur a FEE-HELP debt for that subject/s.

A FEE-HELP debt is only removed after the census date if the College has agreed to re-credit a student’s FEE-HELP balance due to special circumstances (see Para 3. below for the Policy on Re-crediting of Fees for more detailed information).

3. Policy on Refunding or Re-crediting of Fees and Review Process

a.This policy applies only when all of the following conditions are satisfied:

1.the student is enrolled in a subject within an accredited course of the College;

2.the student has enrolled in the subject and FEE-HELP students have completed a Request for FEE-HELP Assistance for the subject;

3.the Census Date for the subject has passed;

4.the student has been unable to complete the requirements of the subject; and

5.the student believes that this inability to complete the subject was due to special circumstances.

b.Where all of the foregoing conditions are satisfied, a student may apply in writing for re-crediting of the applicant’s fees or FEE-HELP balance.

c.Applications for the re-crediting of fees or FEE-HELP balance must be made in writing to the Registrar of the College.

d.Applications for the re-crediting of fees or FEE-HELP balance must be accompanied by independent documentary evidence, provided by a competent person, which substantiates the claim that one of the following special circumstances exist or existed:

6.medical circumstances; or

7.family circumstances; or

8.personal circumstances; or

9.employment related circumstances; or

10.course related circumstances.

e.Applications for re-crediting of fees or FEE-HELP balance must be submitted within 12 months of the withdrawal date, or if the student has not withdrawn, within 12 months of the end of the trimester in which the subject was, or was to be, undertaken. If the College is satisfied that the application could not be submitted within this timeframe due to circumstances beyond the control of the student, the College may at its discretion waive this requirement.

f.The Registrar must consider each application for re-crediting of fees or FEE-HELP balance on its merit. In order to be approved, an application must indicate that special circumstances (see par. 3. d. above) applied or apply to the applicant that are or were:

11.beyond the applicant’s control;

12.did not make their full impact on the applicant until after the census date; and

13.made it impractical for the applicant to complete the requirements of the subject during the period in which the student undertook, or was to undertake, the subject.

g.The Registrar will be satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances were beyond the applicant’s control if:

14.a situation occurred which a reasonable person would consider is not due to the applicant’s action or inaction, either direct or indirect, and for which the applicant is not responsible; and

15.the situation was unusual, uncommon or abnormal.

h.The Registrar will be satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances did not make their full impact on the applicant until on or after the census date for the subject(s) of study concerned if the applicant’s circumstances occurred:

16.before the census date, but worsened after that day; or

17.before the census date, but the full effect or magnitude did not become apparent until on or

18.after that day; or

19.on or after the census date.

i.The Registrar is to give a written response to applications for re-crediting of fees or FEE-HELP balance within one month of receiving them in writing.

j.If the decision is against re-crediting of fees or FEE-HELP balance, the Registrar will also advise the applicant in writing of their right to apply to the Principal for a review of the decision within 30 days of receiving the decision. An extension of time may be granted if required at the discretion of the Registrar.

k.Requests for a review of a decision not to re-credit fees or FEE-HELP balance must be made in writing to the Principal and must state the reasons why the application for review is being made.

l.The Principal will acknowledge in writing receipt of an application for a review of a decision within 14 days of receipt of the application. A decision of the Principal shall supersede any decision made by the Registrar.

m.The Principal will review the consistency of decisions reached by the Registrar with the College’s published Review Procedures: Refund Policy and will consider information contained in the written reasons for the application for review in terms of this policy.

n.The Principal has available one of the following options:

20.confirm the decision; or

21.vary the decision; or

22.set aside the decision and substitute a new decision.

o.The Principal will inform the applicant in writing of the decision on the review of the decision and state the reasons for making this decision within 30 days of receipt of the request for review. The letter shall include advice that the applicant has the right of appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, their contact details and information concerning the cost of an appeal to the AAT.

4. Reconsideration by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)

A person may make an application to the AAT for a reconsideration of the College’s decision to refuse to re-credit a person’s Fees or FEE-HELP balance and may supply additional information to the AAT which they did not previously supply to the College (including the College’s reviewer).

The Secretary of the Department of Education (DET) or their delegate will be the respondent for cases which are before the AAT. Once DET has received notification from the AAT that the person has applied for the reconsideration, under section 37 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (AAT Act), the Secretary must lodge the following documents with the AAT within 28 days:

a.statement setting out the findings on material questions of fact, referring to the evidence or other material on which those findings were based and giving the reasons for the decision; and

b.every other document or part of a document that is in the reviewer’s possession or under the reviewer’s control and is considered by the reviewer to be relevant to the review of the decision by the Tribunal.

The Principal will act on the request for fees or FEE-HELP refund in accordance with the decision of the AAT.

The AAT may be contacted on tel: (02) 92023400, at http://www.aat.gov.au or at Level6/83 Clarence St, Sydney, NSW 2000.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Dean of Studies, Principal

ASSOCIATED POLICIES: FEE-HELP Policy