NSW Smart & Skilled Funding

Undertake training or gain a qualification at a reduced cost

The NSW Department of Industry and State Training Services wants more people to undertake training in areas where skilled workers are needed. To help you do this, the government provides funding for part of your course through the NSW Smart and Skilled funding for eligible individuals.

Student Eligibility

To be eligible to undertake a course through Smart & Skilled funding you must meet the following criteria:

Are you:

15 years old or over?
No longer at school?
Living or working in NSW?
An Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, Australian permanent humanitarian visa holder or New Zealand citizen?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to all four questions, then you’re eligible to enrol in a government-subsidised course with an approved Smart and Skilled training provider.

Available Courses

The courses available under our Smart & Skilled funding are:

Funding	Qualification	Standard Fees 1st Qualification	Standard Fees 2nd Qualification	Traineeship Fees 2016
Traineeship (available state-wide)	Certificate III in Cleaning Operations (CPP30316)			$1,000
Traineeship (available state-wide)	Certificate III in Health Support Services (HLT33215)			$1,000
Funding for full Qualifications (available in Newcastle and Tweed Shire regions)	Certificate III in Cleaning Operations (CPP30316)	$1,580	$1,320
	Certificate III in Health Support Services (HLT33215)	$1,450	$1,750

Fees

Applicable Fees

Standard Student fees

Standard Student fees apply to students who are not doing an apprenticeship or traineeship or who do not qualify for a concession or exemption. This fee applies to student who do not hold a post school qualification from any tertiary sector.

Standard Student subsequent qualification fees

These fees apply to students who already hold a previous post-school qualification from any tertiary sector. This category includes vocational and higher education qualifications achieved in Australia or any overseas qualification recognised in Australia.

Traineeship fees

For a student enrolling or commencing training in 2016 the fees are capped at $1.000.

Payment of Fees

Course fees are payable by various payments plans that include 5 equal payments over 18 months or weekly payments via direct debit. All fees must be paid by the student prior to completing their qualification.

Recovery of Outstanding Fees

Students must pay all fees and charges by the due date. Failure to pay fees and charges may result in any or all of the following until the student pays the full amount:

Suspension from attending or participating in the course
Exclusion from assessment activities
Withholding of certification documentation
Termination of the enrolment
Exclusion from any future enrolments at Daniels Associates

Daniels Associates may refer fees and charges remaining unpaid after ninety (90) days from the due date to a debt collection agency.

Concession Fees

Concession fees are discounted fees for disadvantaged students. Concession fees are $240 for most qualifications.

A student who receives a specific commonwealth benefit or allowance is eligible for a concession fee for a qualification up to and including Certificate IV level. A concession fee is also available to a student who is the dependant of a person receiving a specified commonwealth benefits or allowance.

Proof of eligibility for concession fee includes letter from Centrelink confirming receipts of benefit – including Centrelink Reference Number (CRN); concession card that shows CRN; Centrelink income statement that shows CRN; any other evidence that shows CRN; documents from Department of Veterans Affairs stating their pension/benefits status; people applying for Austudy or Youth Allowance with letter confirming CRN and dates of their benefits is within 2 week of enrolment.

Fee Exemptions

Exemptions are applicable to the following students:

Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people
People with a disability and have appropriate evidence of their disability. This also includes dependants of people with disability
Recipients of free scholarships

Proof of eligibility for exemption fee includes:

Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students declare their status and be able to provide documentary evidence of community identification if required.
People with a disability require letter from Centrelink confirming receipts of Disability Support Pension; current disability concession card that shows CRN, current Centrelink statement that shows CRN.
Fee free scholarships – social housing – students who meet criteria of living in social housing or on waiting list for social housing in NSW are guaranteed a fee free scholarship. Students are required to make declaration of their social housing status and sign the declaration and have a Justice of the Peace authorise their declaration.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Where an eligible student is granted RPL for one or more units of competency, the qualification price and enrolment fee is adjusted, and a new fee determined.

Credit Transfer

Where an eligible student is granted Credit Transfer for one or more units of competency, the qualification price and enrolment fee is adjusted and a new fee determined.

Course Withdrawal

The student must advise us of their course withdrawal 5 days prior to avoiding any penalties. After this point the student will be charged 10% of their enrolment fee.

Fee refunds

Daniels Associates will refund all or part of a student’s course fees if:

Daniels Associates cancels a course for any reason
A student withdraws before the cut-off date for withdrawal without penalty
The RTO Manager determines that course delivery did not meet the reasonable expectations of the student
A student re-enrols only to repeat a unit or module with a not-yet-competent result and the student subsequently successfully appeals the original decision
Daniels Associates agrees that the student has medical, hardship or other extenuating circumstance preventing their attendance
A student has overpaid the course fee
Daniels Associates has granted Credit Transfer (CT) or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) after enrolment and the fee recalculation is lower than the fee the student has already paid.

Refunds for Smart and Skilled Enrolment Withdrawal

This section only applies to students accessing courses with Smart and Skilled subsidies.

Daniels Associates will determine a cut-off date without penalty, for each Smart and Skilled program it offers, by which a student can withdraw his/her enrolment and receive a refund of all fees.
Daniels Associates will advise the student of this date before the student enrols in the study program. If a student withdraws after the cut-off date, Daniels Associates will provide the student with a statement of fees that includes all fees applied and any applicable fee refund.
If a student withdraws from training, not of their own accord, Daniels Associates will refund any prepaid fees for units that the student has yet to complete. This situation may occur if Daniels Associates closes or no longer offers training under Smart and Skilled subsidies.
If a student withdraws from a qualification having completed all the requirements for a lower level qualification, the student will not be eligible for a fee refund of the difference between the applicable fees for each qualification.

Fee Assurance Statement

Daniels Associates is required to protect fees that a student pays in advance for nationally recognised training. The requirement protects individuals should Daniels Associates cease to operate and consequently not be able to complete or offer a course of study in which the student has a prepaid enrolment.

To meet this regulation, Daniels Associates will accept payment of not more than fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500) from a student prior to course commencement. Following course commencement, Daniels Associates may require payment of additional fees in advance from the student, but the total prepaid amount must not exceed fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500) at any time.

Consumer Protection Policy

For students enrolled in Smart and Skilled subsidised courses

Daniels Associates is committed to ensuring consumer protection as a requirement for NSW Government Smart and Skilled subsidised courses. Daniels Associates policy for Smart and Skilled Consumer Protection is embraced within our Complaints and Appeals Procedure found on our website under student information

On notification of any complaint by a student enrolled under Smart and Skilled, the complaint handling processes specified within this Policy will be actioned. Complaints will also be monitored for continuous improvement purposes.

More information on protections for students and how to lodge complaints about training can be found on the Smart & Skilled website.

NSW Smart & Skilled: Your Rights as a Student

Contacting the RTO Manager

If a student enrolled in Smart and Skilled training wishes to make a complaint or appeal, or is seeking further consumer protection information, they may contact Daniels Associates RTO Manager.

Telephone: (02) 4962 4425

Email: info@danielsassociates.com.au

External Appeals for NSW Government Subsidised Courses

(Including Smart and Skilled)

Students enrolled in a NSW Government subsidised course, including any Smart and Skilled subsidised course, who are not satisfied with how the College has attended to their complaint or appeal may refer their matter to NSW State Training Services. To make a complaint to NSW State Training Services students should contact:

NSW State Training Services Customer Support Centre (SGSCC)

Telephone: 1300 772 104

Level 1, 117 Bull Street, Newcastle West NSW 2302