Important information/after arrival

Where to get advice on your student visa?

You can get advice about your student visa from:

• the Department of Home Affairs, or
• an Education Agent, Migration Agent, or Lawyer.

Conditions of a student visa

For students on a student visa, breaching any of the conditions may result in your visa being cancelled. This includes the restrictions on the number of hours you can work while engaging in any enrolment activities.

Please visit the Department of Home Affairs for conditions on your visa.

Visa not granted in-time

You are required to notify Acknowledge Education as soon as possible if your student visa is not granted in-time for enrolment.

Visa expiring, but course is incomplete

You will need to renew your student visa. Acknowledge Education’s staff can only provide generic information on student visas, and not specific information on individual visa conditions. You are required to contact a registered migration agent, or the Department of Home Affairs. However, below are some simple steps to follow to begin with:

1. Obtain your latest COE from the Student Support Officer (if you do not have a copy, or are unsure if the COE is valid). If your COE has expired, you are required to formally lodge for a COE extension
2. Submit your visa application online via the Department of Home Affairs. Information about visa renewals can found on the website.

COE is no longer valid / has expired

Please check with Student Support Officer to confirm if you have a valid COE for visa extension.

Gap between courses

As a student visa holder, you can have a maximum of 8 weeks break between courses. If you complete your pathway course and have more than 8 weeks gap, you may need to consider leaving Australia or enrol into an alternative course during the interim.

A Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) is an official document that is issued by Acknowledge Education (AE) and used by the Australian Government. It records all details regarding your course enrolment, i.e.: course name, estimated course start date and end date, and estimated total course fees.

As part of your student visa condition, you MUST have a valid COE.

Maintaining active COE during studies at Acknowledge Education

Acknowledge Education is obligated to update your COE, or report/notify the Department of Home Affairs if you:

• Failed to commence your enrolment by the commencement date,
• Commenced studies but notified Acknowledge Education of your decision to cease enrolment prior to completion.
• Approved for deferment during your studies.
• Failed to re-enrol and return to your course within a compulsory study period.
• Completed your studies and graduated prior to the estimated course end date.
• Changed your study plans in a way which may affect your course duration.
• Reported by Acknowledge Education due to:
  • non-payment of fees​
  • unsatisfactory academic progress
  • academic or general misconduct​.

WHEN WILL AE REPORT MY COE FOR COMPLETION OF STUDIES?

Student Support Officers provide reports of students who complete their studies at Acknowledge Education to the Registrar (or delegate). Using the information provided, student’s enrolment/COE will be shortened/cancelled in PRISMS as early completion. An email will be sent to notify you of amendments on your enrolment/COE.

Should you have further questions about your student visa status, please contact the Department of Home Affairs.

WHEN WILL AE REPORT MY COE FOR DISCONTINUATION OF STUDIES?

Acknowledge Education generates reports on a weekly basis to monitor if a student is actively enrolled, or no longer studying in the course. By choosing not to re-enrol, it is an indication that you are indirectly ‘withdrawing’ from your course.  AE will cancel your enrolment and report changes to your COE in PRISMS accordingly.

WHEN WILL AE REPORT MY COE IF MY ENROLMENT IS TERMINATED FOR UNSATISFACTORY COURSE PROGRESS?

As per Acknowledge Education’s Course Progress policy, you will be issued with an Intention to Report for Course Progress, and will be provided with 20 working days to appeal. If you choose not to appeal, your enrolment/COE will be cancelled for unsatisfactory course progress as soon as the appeal period has exhausted, or after your 2^nd stage appeal has been rejected. You will be notified of the cancellation via email.

WHEN WILL AE REPORT MY COE IF I DON’T COMMENCE STUDIES AT AE?

Acknowledge Education monitors students’ course commencement via the Orientation session. A report is generated on Monday of Week 3 of each trimester/term to determine if a student has commenced studies. If you fail to commence your course on the agreed start date, Acknowledge Education will cancel your enrolment/COE, and you will be reported to the Department of Home Affairs by Week 3.

WHEN WILL AE REPORT MY COE IF I DON’T PAY MY FEES BY THE DUE DATE?

Throughout the trimester/term, should you have fees outstanding, you will be issued with Fees Warning emails, and will be given sufficient time to rectify on the payments. However, if this is ignored, Acknowledge Education will issue you with the Intention to Report email, and you will be provided with 20 working days to appeal. If you choose not to appeal, your enrolment/COE will be cancelled for non-payment of tuition fees as soon as the appeal period has been exhausted, or after your 2^nd stage appeal has been rejected. You will be notified of the cancellation via email.

Completing your course on time

It is important that an international student attempts and completes their studies within the completion date set in the Confirmation of Enrolment (COE). This means:

• For higher-education students, under normal circumstances, you are required to complete at least 9 units per academic year.
• For vocational students, you are required to enrol and complete the units as listed in your course structure for each term.

If you are participating in interventions, or, have compassionate/compelling circumstances which affect your studies, you may request to enrol in a less than full-time study load. However, this is subject to approval by your Course Coordinator (or delegate).

Acknowledge Education reserves the rights not to extend your COE if it is found that you deliberately under-enrol OR fail to complete the units as per your course structure. For more information, please refer to the AE’s Course Progress policy.

Maintaining satisfactory course progress

Acknowledge Education follows a strict academic progress policy, that is, all students must maintain satisfactory course progress by passing a minimum of 50% of the units enrolled in each trimester/term. Failure to do so may result in your enrolment/COE being cancelled for unsatisfactory academic progress.

Please refer to AE’s Course Progress policy for more information.

Change of visa status

As an international student, it is your responsibility to notify Acknowledge Education of any changes made to your visa status as soon as possible. This is to ensure that we have the most up-to-date records in our system for Government reporting purpose.

Your Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) will be cancelled if you no longer hold a student visa. You will be required to check the Department of Home Affairs website for your latest visa conditions.

Updating Contact Details

Under the National Code 2018, it is very important for you to always maintain and update your contact details. This can be done directly via your RTOManager student portal, under “PROFILE” section. If you fail to do so, you may be in breach of the mandatory visa condition.

Acknowledge Education will only grant a deferment of studies for compassionate or compelling circumstances. These include but are not limited to:

1. illness, where a medical certificate states that the student was unable to attend classes
2. bereavement involving close family members such as parents or grandparents (where possible, a death certificate should be provided)
3. major political upheaval or natural disaster in the home country requiring emergency travel that has impacted on studies
4.  a traumatic experience which has impacted on the student (these cases should be, where possible, supported by police or psychologists’ reports)

When a deferment is approved, the period of the break will either be for a whole trimester/term (up to a maximum of 2 consecutive trimesters/terms) or, if the deferment is applied after the trimester/term begins, for the remainder of the current trimester/term.

You can remain in Australia while on deferment. You are also permitted to work while on deferment (unless specified otherwise under your visa conditions).

To apply for deferment, please complete the online Course Deferral Form, and provide any supporting documents you may have. If your application is submitted successfully, your outcome should be provided within 10 working days.

For more information, please refer to Acknowledge Education’s Deferment/Suspension Policy.

Settle into Australian Lifestyle

• Open a Bank Account. There are several banks which would allow International students to open a bank account. You will need to provide information including Student ID, Passport, Visa copy and any other documents that may be requested.
• You will need to apply for Tax File Number (TFN). This is required when seeking to work, as employers will need to deduct tax and pay against your TFN.
• Ensure you inform your OSHC provider the date of your arrival so the insurance cover starts the day of arrival or Acknowledge Education will inform the OSHC provider, if we arrange a cover for you.
• You will have more information in Orientation on your first day at Acknowledge Education.