Procedure: Student tuition fee refunds

Purpose

This procedure covers the process for administering refunds of student tuition fees.

Procedure

Refund Application

1. Requests for a refund of tuition fees or a tuition fee deposit are submitted on the relevant refund application form.
2. Refund requests are accepted from the time when an action taken by a student or the university results in a financial credit on the student’s account. Where a refund request is lodged prior to this, the student will be notified of their ineligibility and will be required to re-submit a refund request once they are eligible for refund.
3. A complete refund application consists of a completed refund application form, identification document and a document on bank letter head verifying the account details provided in the refund application.
4. Refund requests are processed within 4 weeks (28 calendar days) of a complete refund application being received, unless one of the following applies:

• Delays in a program withdrawal or leave being approved; or
• An appeals process is not yet finalised; or
• Non-engagement from students with the identification verification process.

5. Refund requests will be closed where the student does not respond to a documentation request or engage with the identification verification process within 2 weeks (14 calendar days) of the University’s request. The Enrolments and Fees Office will notify the student of the closure of refund requests.
6. Refund requests are approved by the University Registrar (or delegate).
7. The Enrolments and Fees Office notifies the student of the outcome of their refund request once determined.
8. The University is not liable for any financial loss incurred by students where:

• payments are refunded in the same currency in which they were originally made;
• the student provides incorrect bank account details to the University; and/or

• the student’s nominated bank does not accept the foreign currency specified by the student.

International Students: New Students

9. New international students are:

1. overseas students as defined in the Higher Education Support Act 2003; and
2. enrolled at the ANU for the first time in a given career; and
3. who are in their first semester or session of a program.

10. New international students who pay all or part of their tuition fee are eligible for a refund of all, or part of that fee based on the category they fall into below.
    1. A full refund will be paid:
       1. Where an offer of a place is withdrawn by the University, or the University is unable to provide the program. The exception to this is where an offer is withdrawn on the basis of incomplete, incorrect, misleading or fraudulent information provided by the student); or
       2. Where a student's visa application or request to transfer from another institution to ANU is refused and students provide evidence of the refusal to the University; or
       3. Where a student fails to meet any of the conditions stated in their offer letter and is not permitted to enrol.
    2. In the following circumstances, an administrative fee is retained by the University. The amount of the administrative fee is reviewed annually and published at http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/costs-fees/fee-refunds:
       1. A student who withdraws their acceptance of a place, or postpones the commencement of their program in writing at least four weeks before the program commences, is refunded the program fees paid, less the administrative fee amount; or
       2. A student who cancels their place in a program, withdraws the acceptance of their place, or postpones the commencement of their program in writing less than four weeks before the program commences, up until the first census date, will be refunded the program fees paid, less the administrative fee amount.
11. New international students who request to postpone the commencement of their program but do not request a refund of the program fees paid will not be charged an administrative fee. The full payment amount will be securely held in their student account for the future intake.
12. Where the University withdraws an offer of a place on the basis of incomplete, incorrect, misleading or fraudulent information provided by the student, the student is refunded the program fees paid less the administrative fee amount.

International Students: Continuing Students

13. Continuing international students are:

1. Students who are defined as overseas students in the Higher Education Support Act 2003, and
2. have been enrolled in a previous session at ANU; and
3. are continuing this session in either the same program or a new program in the same career.

14. Continuing international students who withdraw from a course(s) on or before the relevant course census date(s), are eligible for a full refund of the tuition fees paid for the course(s).
15. Continuing international students who withdraw from a course(s) after the relevant course census date(s) are not eligible for a refund unless a late withdrawal application is approved, in accordance with the Late withdrawal due to special circumstances policy and procedure.

International students who obtain Permanent Resident status in Australia

16. Students granted permanent resident status in Australia pay either the student contribution amount in accordance with Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA), subject to eligibility and availability, or full domestic tuition fees (DTF).
17. Permanent resident status is recognised from the date proof of permanent resident status is provided to the University, not the date on which the application for permanent residency is made or the permanent residency is granted. Students who do not notify the University of their residency change on or prior to the relevant census date will not be eligible to request retrospectively adjustments to their tuition fees.
18. Students who have paid the tuition fees applicable to international students for the semester, will be eligible to receive a refund of these fees where students have obtained permanent residence and provided evidence to the University by the census date for that semester; and either:

1. have satisfied all the requirements outlined in section 36 of HESA 2003, including having made full upfront payment of their student contribution amount to the University; or
2. have made full upfront payment of the fees applying to domestic students (DTF) to the University.

19. Students who obtain permanent residence status after the census date in a semester are liable to pay the tuition fees applicable to international students for that semester. From the following semester, the student will be classified as a permanent resident and is liable to pay either the student contribution amount in accordance with HESA 2003 or full fees applying to domestic students (DTF).

International Students: Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)

20. On-shore international students contact Allianz Global Assistance directly to request a refund. Students eligible for a refund provide Allianz Global Assistance with student visa and flight details before leaving Australia at the end of a program of study.
21. Off-shore international students who are no longer attending the University request a refund of OSHC from the Enrolments and Fees Office.
22. Sponsored international students who do not have OSHC paid by their sponsor contact Allianz Global Assistance directly to request for a refund.
23. Sponsored international students who have OSHC paid by their sponsor do not request a refund as Allianz Global Assistance liaises with the University to refund the premium to the sponsor.

Domestic Students

24. Domestic students who withdraw from a course(s) on or before the relevant course census date(s), are eligible for a full refund of the tuition fees paid for the course(s).
25. Domestic students who withdraw from a course(s) after the relevant course census date(s) are not eligible for a refund unless a late withdrawal application is approved, in accordance with the Late withdrawal due to special circumstances policy and procedure.

Student Services & Amenities Fee (SA-Fee)

26. Students who, on or before the census date of their course(s), voluntarily withdraw from their program, take program leave from a session of study or withdraw from all their courses in a session of study, are not liable for the SA-Fee for that session of study. Where the SA-Fee was paid upfront to the University, the student is eligible for a refund of the amount paid for that session; or if the student opted to obtain a SA-HELP loan, the relevant debt amount will be remitted.
27. Students who, on or before the census date of their course(s), voluntarily withdraw from some (but not all) of their courses in a session or semester, may receive a reduction in their SA-Fee liability. Where the SA-Fee was paid upfront to the University, the student is eligible for a refund of the difference in SA-Fee liability that resulted from the reduction. If the student opted to obtain a SA-HELP loan, the debt amount will be amended to reflect the reduction in liability.
28. Students who, after the census date of their course(s), voluntarily withdraw from their program, or withdraw from all their courses in a session of study, remain liable for the SA-Fee in that session of study and are not eligible to be refunded their SA-Fee where paid upfront or remitted their SA-HELP debt where this has been deferred. Students remain liable for the SA-Fee whether or not they are approved for a late withdrawal(s) due to special circumstances and qualify for a refund or remission of some or all tuition fees.

Appeals

29. Students may lodge a written appeal against a refund decision, addressed to the University Registrar (or delegate), outlining the grounds for appeal and addressing the reason(s) for the decision not to provide a refund.

1. Appeals are submitted to appeals@anu.edu.au within 20 working days of the notification of the outcome of the original request.

30. The University Registrar (or delegate) considers the request and advises the student of the outcome in writing.
31. Students may lodge a written appeal against the decision of the University Registrar (or delegate) to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) (or delegate) on procedural grounds only.
32. Procedural appeals are submitted to appeals@anu.edu.au within 20 working days of the notification of the decision of the University Registrar (or delegate).
33. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) (or delegate) advises the student of the outcome of the procedural appeal in writing.