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Data Protection and Privacy Procedure

AIMS Institute of Training and Technology is committed to protect everyone’s personal information in accordance with the –
Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic).

AIMS Institute of Training and Technology charges a reasonable fee for the educational products and training and assessment services provided to students and clients. We clearly advertise our fees and charges, including whether GST applies, and refund policies on our website, as well as on our marketing materials to ensure prospective students and clients are aware and informed prior to enrolment or prior to the commitment to purchasing our products and/or services.

1.       General Fees and Refunds Principles

AIMS Institute of Training and Technology strives to:

• Be fair and competitive in setting our course fees and other charges;
• Be clear as to what our fees and charges are, including whether they are GST inclusive or exclusive;
• Offer a variety of options for students and clients to make payment;
• Be clear on our refund policy and process;
• Approach reasonably, flexibly, and act in the best interests of our students and clients when authorising refund approvals and processes; and
• Inform learners of their rights as a consumer, including but not limited to any statutory cooling-off periods.
   

2.       Responsibilities

The CEO is responsible for:

• Setting the applicable fees and charges; and
• Approving any refund applications made and for setting the refund policy.

The Student & Administration Support Manager will be responsible for:

• All administrative duties associated with publishing, collection and reporting of the fees and charges invoiced and collected; and
• Answering any student or prospective student’s enquiries regarding our fees and refund policy and process.

3.       Protection of Pre-paid Fees

In accordance with Clause 7.3 of the Standards for RTOs 2015, the AIMS Institute of Training and Technology ensures that we protect the pre-paid learner fees collected. To meet this responsibility, it is our practice to collect no more than $1,500 prior to the commencement of the course, with the balance invoiced prior to the commencement of the second semester of the training program. This requirement only applies when the payment of fees is made directly by a student, and not by an employer or a funding authority.

4.       Fees and Charges Information

It is important that prospective students and clients are aware of our fees and charges prior to their enrolment with the AIMS Institute of Training and Technology.

The following information must be included and maintained on our website to ensure its accuracy and currency:

• The applicable course fees, resource fees, and any other charges such as the re-issue of certificates or statement of results, and any photocopying or printing fees that may apply;
• Payment terms and options, including when the fees are to be paid by and what methods of payment we accept;
• Any non-refundable deposit or administration or enrolment fees that may apply;
• Guarantee provided by AIMS Institute of Training and Technology to honour our commitment in delivering the agreed-upon training and assessment services;
• Any discounts, fee reductions, or exemptions that may be available for certain groups of enrolments, such as those with a concession cardholder, those who are referred by a family or friend, etc; and
• Refund policy.
   

5.       Good and Services Tax

Under section 38-85 GSTR 2003/1 Goods and Services Tax, Goods and Services Tax (GST) is exempt from our nationally recognised training courses. We will only apply GST on administrative fees and charges such as the re-issue of certificates or the printing of learning materials, educational products, and courses which are not exempted under the aforementioned tax ruling. Further information can be found here.

6.       Our Guarantee

If AIMS Institute of Training and Technology is not able to fulfil our agreement with our learners, regardless of the reason, AIMS Institute of Training and Technology are to issue a full refund for any services not provided. This means that if we cancel a training program which has not yet commenced, we are to refund the full amount of the fees paid. Where we cancel a training program part way through the course, we are to refund the learners based on the units of competency not yet delivered to the learner and issue the learner with a Statement of Attainment based on the units the learner has already completed.

7.       Collection of Fees

The fees and charges are displayed clearly in the relevant marketing materials, as well as on our website.

For fee-for-service students undertaking nationally recognised training, it is AIMS Institute of Training and Technology’s practice to collect no more than $1,500 prior to the commencement of the course, with the balance invoiced prior to the commencement of the second semester of the training program. AIMS Institute of Training and Technology has a right to discontinue the delivery of training and assessment services if fees are not paid in accordance with the agreed-upon fee schedule.

For employer clients who are enrolling their employees into nationally recognised training, and students undertaking non-accredited courses, it is AIMS Institute of Training and Technology’s practice to collect the entire course fees prior to the commencement of the course.

8.       Statutory Cooling-Off Period

The Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015 require RTOs to inform individuals of their right to a statutory cooling-off period. The Australian Consumer Law defines cooling-off periods as a specified timeframe of 10 business days during which a consumer who has ‘cooled off’ on their decision to enter into a contract or agreement, where that contract or agreement was established through unsolicited marketing or sales tactics, to enable the consumer to legally withdraw from the contract with little or no penalty.

It must be noted that AIMS Institute of Training and Technology does not engage in unsolicited marketing or sales tactics and therefore a statutory cooling-off period will not likely be applicable to our students and clients who have enrolled in a course with us.

9.       Fee Extension

If a learner is experiencing financial difficulties in paying the fees by the due date and require a reasonable extension, they are to inform the Student & Administration Support Manager as soon as possible. This information can be found in the Student Handbook and at the bottom of invoices issued.

Each extension request will be assessed on its merits and AIMS Institute of Training and Technology will do our best to provide reasonable extensions to the affected learner and outcomes of all requests are to be communicated to the learner within 10 business days.

10.    Refunds

AIMS Institute of Training and Technology will provide a full refund for any services not provided, where we fail to deliver a course or unable to fulfil our service agreement as part of our guarantee to our students and clients. Where AIMS Institute of Training and Technology is unable to deliver a course or fulfil our service agreement, we will calculate the refund based on the units of competency not yet delivered to the student or client.

Approved refunds will be actioned within 10 business days. If the student had paid for their fees via electronic funds transfer, they will be refunded via the same method using the authorised bank account nominated by the student and must be in the name of the student for security purposes. If the student paid via credit or debit card, the refund will be processed to the credit or debit card they had paid with.

Where a student has purchased texts, training workbooks, or materials, AIMS Institute of Training and Technology will not refund the monies for this expense.

Students who give the notice to cancel their enrolment 10 business days or more prior to the commencement of a program, will be entitled to a full refund of fees paid.

Students who give the notice to cancel their enrolment 9 business days or less prior to the commencement of a program will be entitled to a refund of up to 75% refund of the course fees paid. The amount retained by the AIMS Institute of Training and Technology is required to cover the costs of staff, materials, and resources which will have already been committed based on the student’s initial intention to undertake the training.

10.1 Students enrolled in the 12 month-program:

• Students who cancel their enrolment within 28 days of the course commencement will only be entitled to a refund of up to 25% of any course fees paid in advance. The amount retained by the AIMS Institute of Training and Technology is required to cover the costs of staff, materials, and resources which will have already been committed based on the student’s initial intention to undertake the training. An exception to this policy is where AIMS Institute of Training and Technology fails to fulfil its service agreement, the fees are refunded under our guarantee to clients.
   

• Students who cancel their enrolment after 28 days of the course commencement will not be entitled to a refund of fees. Discretion may be exercised by the CEO if there is extenuating or significant personal circumstance that led to their withdrawal.

10.2 Students enrolled in the intensive or fast-track delivery program (e.g., 10 week-program):

Students who cancel their enrolment after the course commencement will not be entitled to a refund of any course fees paid in advance. Discretion may be exercised by the CEO if there is extenuating or significant personal circumstance that led to their withdrawal.

10.3 Students enrolled in short courses (e.g., 1-day course in First Aid, White Card)

Students enrolled in short courses who cancel their enrolment 7 business days or more prior to the commencement of a training program, will be entitled to a full refund of the course fees paid. Students who give notice to cancel their enrolment 2 business days or more prior to the commencement of a training program, you will be entitled to a refund of up to 75% of the course fees paid. The amount retained by AIMS Institute of Training and Technology is required to cover the costs of staff, learning materials and resources which will have already been committed based on their initial intention to undertake the training. If you cancel your enrolment in less than 2 days of notice or after the course commencement, you will not be entitled to a refund of any course fees paid in advance.

11. Refunds Procedure

1. Review the Payment Refund Form and send out acknowledgement – ensure all of the fields are populated and send the student a letter acknowledging the receipt of their request. This must be done within 2 business days of receipt of the Payment Refund Form.
2. Seek CEO approval – the form should then be sent to the CEO for review and approval. The form should be reviewed within 5 business days of receipt of the Payment Refund Form and the outcome informed to the Student & Administration Support Manager.
3. If approved – send an e-mail to the Accounts department to action refund and send approval letter to student or client advising that the refund will be actioned within 10 business days.
4. If declined – send a decline letter to the student or client to explain the outcome and their grounds for an appeal within 2 business days of the CEO reviewing the request.
5. Record the information – the information in the Payment Refund Form is to be entered into Student Management System for record-keeping purposes and the physical form scanned into the student’s file. The form should then be shredded and disposed of securely. Ensure that the Accounts department issues the refund to the student within 10 business days.
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