Refunds for commencing or newly enrolled international students

Refunds for commencing or newly enrolled international students

Information on this page is for commencing international students who wish to apply for a refund.

Information on this page is for commencing international students who wish to apply for a refund.

Information on this page is for commencing international students who wish to apply for a refund.

Who can apply using this form?

This form is for a commencing international student who

  • holds or intends to apply for a student visa,
  • holds a bridging visa* or temporary visa* and does not intend to apply for a student visa, AND
  • is yet to enrol, or
  • enrols and cancels their enrolment in the first semester of their program while studying onshore or online after that have been issued a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE)

If you are not listed above and you are one of the following, please submit your refund form via How to apply for a refund as a domestic or continuing international student.

  • an international student (including a holder of a student visa, bridging visa or temporary visa) who has successfully studied in the first semester of their current program and their results have been officially released, or
  • an international student who has been granted a Leave of Absence.
  • an international student who is enrolled and is applying for a refund of an overpayment.

Important information

  1. Where a refund application contains untrue or inaccurate information the applicant may be asked to re-apply for the refund or the application may be denied
  2. If the applicant is unable to provide any required documented evidence the applicant may only be eligible for a partial refund or the application may be denied.
  3. A student who has enrolled and intends to withdraw from all study, must cancel program enrolment before the census date to be eligible for a refund. Please refer to Change or cancel your enrolment - RMIT University
  4.  Students who enrol in a flexible term and cancel the enrolment after the flexible term census date will be charged 50% of the initial tuition fee deposit that was paid to accept the offer.
  5.  A student who defers their offer will have their previous acceptance deposit used to accept the new offer. If the new offer shows a $0 deposit, the refund will be assessed against the previous acceptance deposit.
  6. Application for refunds submitted after 12 months of program commencement will not be eligible for a refund. This includes students who accepted their offer and are yet to enrol in an RMIT program.
  7.  Application for refunds where a student provides fraudulent documentation either as part of their application to study at RMIT or as part of their application for a refund will not be eligible for a refund.
  8. Correct and complete applications for a refund will be processed within 28 business days. The exception is a provider default (where RMIT is unable to provide the program) in which case the refund must be processed within 14 days.
  9. The application for refund submission date will be recorded as the date of enrolment cancellation or the date of an application for release and used for refund calculations. When a student has not yet enrolled, the submission date of the application for refund will be recorded as the date the refund application is submitted.
  10. The same refund rules apply for deposits paid for students who are eligible for the international tuition fee bursary or Foundation Studies tuition fee bursary.

 

Frequently asked questions

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  • If you have not yet enrolled but are considering studying at a later time, find out how to defer your offer. 
  • If you have deferred your offer, please make sure you have completed the deferral process by accepting your new offer before applying for a refund.
  • If you have enrolled in any classes (subjects), please ensure you cancel your entire program enrolment before the census date prior to submitting a refund application to avoid financial penalties.
  • Due to enrolment system restrictions, please do not attempt to drop individual classes (subjects) as this may negative impact the refund amount you can receive. Find out how to cancel your program enrolment.

Please note that you cannot defer your offer and apply for a refund at the same time. 

  • You may be eligible for a refund if special circumstances cause you to miss the cancellation deadline.

  • If you reduce your study load in the first semester of study, you will not be eligible for a refund of the difference between the tuition fees you paid for that semester and the tuition fees charged. Instead, the difference will appear as a credit in your student account.

  • To find out whether you require a release, please refer to Transfer to another education provider
  • If you are intending to change study plans and study elsewhere within Australia, you should stay enrolled at RMIT until the outcome of your application for release is finalised.
  • If you have applied for a release, please wait for the application to be finalised before applying for a refund.
  • If you have any questions about transferring to another education provider or wish to follow up on your release application, please contact isvisa@rmit.edu.au
  • If you decide to transfer provider without being granted release, you will not be eligible for a refund. This rule applies to students who require release. 

  • All refund applications are assessed based on the applicable Schedule of Fees and Charges (see refund guidelines).
  • Any refund amount can only be determined after a refund application has been submitted and assessed.
  • If your application for a refund is successful any outstanding charges and administrative fees will be deducted from the refundable amount.

  • If you paid your fees via credit card, the approved refund amount will be processed back to the same credit card in line with banking compliance rules and regulations.
  • If you paid using another payment method other than credit card, the approved refund amount will be paid to your nominated bank account.

Note: Some international bank policies may require the refund to go back to the payer's bank account. If you provide a different bank account, it may cause lengthy delays.

  • Correct and complete applications for refund will be processed within 28 business days. Please note that transfers to overseas bank accounts will take up to 6 weeks.
  • RMIT is not responsible for any currency variations in foreign exchange rates. 

  • It is highly recommended that your application for refund is submitted as soon as possible. Any delays in submitting the application, may impact the refund amount. 

How to apply for a refund

Before you submit your online application form:

  • Check refund guidelines below to identify whether you are entitled to a full refund/partial refund or no refund.
  • Compile any required supporting documents.
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The refund amount is determined by an assessment of your reason for refund, supporting documentation and when you apply for a refund, relative to your Program commencement date.

Please refer to RMIT University’s important dates for program commencement and census date 

Table B1: Full refund assessment tool

Refund reason  Refund amount  Evidence required  Refund submission date

Visa not granted in time to enrol

Full refund

Visa application with visible date of submission

 

Note: Student must be offshore to be eligible for a full refund

Application for refund must be submitted within 12 months of program commencement date.  

 

**Enrolled students must cancel their enrolment by the census date 

Student is transferring to an RMIT international partner or RMIT Vietnam 

Full refund 

Evidence of enrolment from RMIT

international partner or RMIT Vietnam

Compassionate or compelling reason   

Full refund 

Supporting documentation for specific circumstance 
Provider default – RMIT is unable to provide the program Full refund  Email notification from RMIT
Permanent Residency granted before the census date of accepted program where change of citizenship is not submitted Full refund  Evidence of Permanent Residency grant

Visa application has been refused  

Full refund  

Department of Home Affairs Visa Refusal Letter  

 **Enrolled students must cancel their enrolment before the official result release date for your current semester 

Overpayment of fees 

Full refund  

Proof of payment 

 Application for refund must be submitted within 12 months of program commencement date.  

Student did not meet program conditions 

*Academic or English condition not met  

Full refund  

Official academic transcript or statement of results if not from RMIT or  

English language proficiency test result 

Student cannot provide release letter from current education provider  

Full refund 

Evidence of refusal of release  

Table B2: Partial or no refund assessment tool

  1. Personal reasons:
    • job offer
    • homesickness
    • change of mind
    • change of study plans
    • personal decision to withdraw
    • student visa application
    • failure to enrol by RMIT deadlines
    • Financial difficulties
    • Decision to accept a Scholarship offer from an Australian or overseas education provider
    • any other reason for refund that is not specified under Table B1 Full refund
  2. Voluntary discontinuation of Program
  3. Student re-applies to RMIT, for a Commonwealth Supported Place in their program, after being granted permanent residency (see section 2.13)
 4 weeks or more before program commencement date 90% of tuition fee deposit No evidence required
Within 4 weeks of the program commencement date, up until and including census date

50% of tuition fee deposit

(Higher Education flexi term enrolment see Section 11.8.4)

 No evidence required
After census date No refund No evidence required

Table B3: No refund rules

Refund request scenario Refund Outcome
Application for refund submitted 12 months after program commencement, including students who accepted their RMIT offer and are yet to enrol in an RMIT program. No refund
Fraudulent documentation submitted (whether submitted directly to RMIT or via a third party) either as part of an application to study at RMIT or as part of a refund application. No refund
Students who withdraw from RMIT during the transfer provider restricted period of their student visa to take up a place at another Australian education provider without approved release from RMIT. This includes students who accepted their RMIT offer and are yet to enrol in an RMIT program. No refund

Refund of Overseas Student Health Cover

Commencing international students:

  • A student who has not commenced any program with RMIT or enrolled but never arrived in Australia is eligible for a refund of Medibank OSHC premium paid at their time of program acceptance.
  • An onshore student will be directed to the Medibank OSHC Customer service team to apply for a refund of eligible OSHC fees. A student who has arranged OSHC directly with Medibank or any other OSHC provider must contact their OSHC provider to apply for a refund of eligible OSHC fees.
  • An exchange or study abroad student who arranged OSHC through RMIT may apply for a refund of any OSHC credit in their student account. A student may cancel their OSHC at any time and will be refunded the unused pro-rata portion of their OSHC premium.

Continuing International students:

Continuing International students must contact their OSHC provider to apply for a refund eligible OSHC fees.

If your refund application requires more information or supporting documents to proceed, please provide these within 10 working days. Your refund application will be closed if the required information is not received within this timeframe. If your refund application is closed, you will need to submit a new application if you wish to proceed. 

Please note that your application will be processed within 28 business days of receiving a new complete application.

Submit application form

Appeals

You can appeal the outcome of your refund outcome within 20 days of receiving the outcome notification. An appeal must include new information not included in the original application and new supporting documents. 

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

More information