Student, education provider and third party obligations
Obligations
Students, education providers and other third parties all have important obligations, both to provide information, and to respond to requests for information.
Student obligations
Application and subsequent advice
A student must provide complete and accurate information when completing an application and when advising of a change in circumstances.
A student must advise of any change in circumstances that would affect their entitlement to a Student Loan.
Written request to a student
At any time, by written notice to any student, MSD can require the student to provide any papers, documents, records, information or other things that are in the student's possession or under the student's control that are required to determine a student's entitlement to a Student Loan.
The authority also allows MSD to make copies of any such papers, documents or records, in case MSD needs to retain the documents for any future assessments that may occur.
Investigation of entitlement
At any time MSD may investigate a student's circumstances in order to determine whether or not a student is or was entitled to receive any component of the Student Loan.
A student, who is asked questions during this investigation, must answer those questions.
Education provider obligations
Education providers are obliged to provide MSD with information and details that MSD reasonably requires in order to determine a student's entitlement to a Student Loan.
The mechanism for requesting this information is the Verification of Study (VoS) process and the procedures that surround it.
The Verification of Study (VOS) process may include follow up questions.
Private training establishment
Private training establishments are also required to:
- keep accurate enrolment and academic records for each student enrolled in a programme or training scheme and
- ensure that the enrolment records are readily available, upon request, to MSD, among others
This provision is specific to private training establishments as they are not public institutions and therefore are not subject to the provisions of the Public Records Act 2005.
Third party obligations
At any time MSD may investigate a student's circumstances in order to determine whether or not a student is or was entitled to receive any component of a Student Loan.
In the course of this investigation, MSD may ask a third party questions. The third party must answer these questions.
MSD can ask the third party for documents supporting the answers to these questions, but they are not required to provide any documents.
Suspension or refusal to grant entitlement
When MSD are satisfied that a student or third party has, without reasonable cause, failed or refused to comply with a request to supply information, or documents, or answer questions, MSD may suspend or refuse to grant entitlement.
A student must be warned of the consequence of failure or refusal to comply with a request, and given the opportunity to either explain their refusal or comply.
When a third party fails to comply with a request for information or documents or answer questions, MSD must, before taking action to suspend or refuse to grant entitlement, provide the student with the opportunity to provide the information.
Legislation
- Disclosure of enrolment information by institutions Schedule 9, clause 8 Education and Training Act 2020
- Disclosure of enrolment information by private training establishments Schedule 9, clause 9 Education and Training Act 2020
- Duties of private training establishments to maintain student records section 361 Education and Training Act 2020
- Disclosure of enrolment information by secondary schools Schedule 9, clause 2 Education and Training Act 2020
- Recipients of allowances or student loans, and other persons, may be required to provide information Schedule 9, clause 3 Education and Training Act 2020
- Suspension or refusal for not providing information Schedule 9, clause 4 Education and Training Act 2020
