Withdrawal Form: https://www.tsa.edu.au/withdraw/
Withdrawal from Courses and Cancellation of Enrolment Policy & Procedure
| Date first approved: | 30 April 2022 |
| Date of effect: | 30 April 2022 |
| Date last amended: | 20 March 2025 |
| Date of next review: | 20 March 2026 |
| Approved by: | Surinder Randhawa |
| Related Legislation: | |
| Audience: | Internal |
1 Purpose
In accordance with the VET Student Loans Act 2016 and the associated VET guidelines, as an approved course provider, the following policy and procedural document has been drafted to provide clarity around the processes and procedures for a student to withdraw from an approved course and the processes and procedures for cancellation of enrolment (Subdivision E—Withdrawal from courses and cancellation of enrolment, Subsection 86 and Subsection 87, VET Student Loan Rules 2016).
Subsection 86 (Processes and procedures for student to withdraw from approved course) states:
- An approved course provider’s processes and procedures must include:
- procedures for a student to withdraw from an approved course, or a part of an approved course; and
- a procedure for a student to enrol in a part of an approved course with the provider in circumstances where the student had earlier withdrawn from a part of the course undertaken with the provider.
- The procedures for a student to withdraw from an approved course, or a part of an approved course, before a census day for the course, or the part of the course, must not involve financial, administrative or other barriers to the withdrawal.
- If a student withdraws from an approved course, or a part of an approved course, the course provider must not, after the withdrawal, enrol the student in an approved course or a part of an approved course without the written permission of the student (which must be given after the withdrawal).
Subsection 87 (Processes and procedures for cancellation of enrolment) states:
- An approved course provider’s processes and procedures must include processes and procedures for the provider to cancel a student’s enrolment in an approved course, or a part of an approved course, after the census day for the course.
- The processes and procedures for cancelling a student’s enrolment must:
- require the provider to inform the student concerned of a proposed cancellation; and
- provide the student with at least 28 days to initiate grievance procedures before the cancellation takes final effect; and
- provide for the cancellation to take final effect only after any grievance procedures initiated by the student have been completed; and
- set out the circumstances in which fees for the course, or the part of the course, concerned will, or will not be, refunded.
2 Scope
This policy applies to all students at TrainSmart Australia.
3 Provision
TrainSmart Australia will ensure that a student is not victimised or discriminated against during this process.
4 Responsibility
The TrainSmart Australia Administration Team will be responsible for the implementation of this policy, and to ensure that staff and students are aware of its application and procedures.
5 Definitions
| Terms | Definition |
| withdraw request | Written notification from a Student to TSA indicating that the student wants to withdraw from their course at TSA |
| withdrawal request date | The date the withdraw request is received by TSA |
| acknowledgment of a withdrawal request | Written acknowledgment from TSA to a student that the student has requested a withdrawal |
6 Withdrawal from course
6.1 Students wanting to withdraw from a course or part of a course must indicate their intent to withdraw via a written withdraw request using an:
- Email to Student Support, or
- The online Withdrawal Form
Note: If a student emails a trainer indicating their intent to withdraw, this must be forwarded to Student Support immediately.
6.2 The withdrawal request date is the date TSA receives the intent to withdraw in writing from the student.
6.3 For VSL students, the student’s census gateway is cancelled from the date the withdrawal request is made. This action is logged in the student’s Learner Logbook by Student Support on Wisenet.
6.4 For JSWA (LFLS) students, the charging of fees and charges are stopped from the date the withdrawal request is made. This action is logged in the student’s Learner Logbook by Student Support on Wisenet.
6.5 Acknowledgement of a withdrawal request will be given by email by Student Support, or automated systems, within 1 business day of the withdrawal request date.
6.6 Within 3 business days of the withdrawal request date, student support will contact the student who made the withdrawal request to:
- discuss the reasons for the request and discuss the student’s options around managing or ceasing their studies.
- for JSWA (LFLS) students wanting to complete outstanding units, set a completion date.
6.7 If a student no longer wants to withdraw, they have 5 business days from the request date to inform Student Support via email.
6.8 Student Support will send a confirmation of withdrawal to the student within 7 days of the request date. This will include:
- Date and time of the student’s withdrawal.
- Unit of study and its relevant census date.
- Amount of debt incurred.
6.9 A Statement of Attainment (SOA) will not be issued until a student has been marked competent for the unit by the approved completion date.
6.10 Refer to Refund Policy VET Student Loan Assistance Scheme for information on the financial impacts of withdrawal from units or a course.
7 Special Circumstances
7.1 Refer to Refund Policy VET Student Loan Assistance Scheme for information on the special circumstance’s requirements if applicable to the student’s circumstances.
8 Cancellation of Enrolment
8.1 TrainSmart Australia reserves the right to cancel a student’s enrolment in an approved course, or part of an approved course, after the census day/s for the course, upon expiration of course enrolment (i.e. when the nominal end date for the enrolled course has lapsed).
8.2 Cancellation of Enrolment Process is outlined below:
Step 1
Where it has been determined that an enrolment cancellation is to be processed, TrainSmart Australia will issue a proposed cancellation notice to the student concerned. This notification will be issued via email, however, if this notification is undeliverable, a formal letter will be mailed to the student’s nominated postal address.
Step 2
Students will be given 28 days to initiate grievance procedures before the cancellation takes final effect and the cancellation will only take effect after any grievance procedures initiated by the student have been completed.
NOTE: If grievance procedures result in a student’s enrolment being extended, the cancellation of enrolment process will cease.
If students do not lodge a grievance within 28 days of the original cancellation notification, the cancellation of enrolment will be processed as per Step 3.
Step 3
Once all grievance procedures have been completed, and the 28 days given to lodge such grievances has passed, the cancellation of enrolment will be processed accordingly on or after the 29th day from the original cancellation notification. A confirmation of cancellation notification will be issued via email, however, if this notification is undeliverable, a formal letter will be mailed to the student’s nominated postal address. No refund will apply.
8.3 Refer to Refund Policy VET Student Loan Assistance Scheme for information on the financial impacts of a cancelled course.
Policy Version: 3.5
Policy Reviewed and Updated by National Training and Compliance Officer: March 2025
Version Control
| Version | Date | Reviewed by | Amendments |
| 1 | Jan 2012 | – | Policy written |
| 2 | May 2019 | Matthew Darch | Major Policy Update |
| 3 | Dec 2021 | Marlon Schoep | Policy Update |
| 3.1 | March 2021 | Marlon Schoep | Format Update & Withdrawal Policy Update |
| 3.2 | May 2022 | Andrew Baker | Policy update |
| 3.3 | May 2022 | Marlon Schoep | Policy update |
