Referrals to Course Assessment and Liaison Officers (CALOs) 010-20100142

Investigate the approval of a course and/or education provider for student payments by accessing the National Course Approvals sub-site before:

• making a decision, or
• advising customers about approved courses and education providers

Note: do not send CALO referrals for Master courses. The Master courses spreadsheet is updated regularly and without delay. If the course is not on the approved Masters courses spreadsheet, the course is not approved.

There is a provider page within the National Course Approvals sub-site if there is an assessment for a private provider. If there is no page for a private provider, create a CALO referral. See the Process page for details.

The absence of a provider page for a private provider is not an indication the education provider or their courses are unapproved. Where a course delivered by a private provider has been assessed, details are found on the Assessed Courses tab of the provider's page.

If a course at an assessed private provider is not listed:

• go to the Institution Information tab
• select the Education authority link and review the Scope tab

If the course is:

• listed under the Scope tab:
• create a CALO Referral
• not listed under the Scope tab:
• contact the customer to clarify their enrolment circumstance and request Proof of Enrolment before creating a CALO Referral

Diploma level or higher courses can only be approved if both the education provider and the course are Vet Student Loan (VSL) approved. If a customer advises they are studying a Diploma or higher level course, check the Assessed courses tab.

If message No Diploma or Higher level courses starting from 1/1/2018 are approved with this provider displays, do not to send a CALO Referral, even if the course is listed under the Scope tab. This does not apply to ABSTUDY courses approved as Indigenous Special Courses (ISC) or Tertiary Access Payment (TAP). Diploma level or higher courses do not need to be VSL approved to be approved for ABSTUDY Indigenous Special Courses (ISC) or Tertiary Access Payment (TAP).

If the course has not been assessed as an ISC but would meet the criteria of an ISC send a CALO referral.

Note: if a current ABSTUDY customer is undertaking an approved course that becomes non approved for ABSTUDY purposes, the customer can continue to receive their payment until they finish the course, provided there is no break in entitlement.

Private providers may deliver or outsource delivery of courses to other education providers under a partnering agreement. Known partnering agreements are found on the relevant provider page. Service Officers must make sure partnering arrangements are considered when assessing qualification.

All TAFEs have a provider page within the National Course Approvals sub-site.

A spreadsheet detailing approved and non-approved courses is on the Assessed Courses tab of each TAFE's provider page. Refer to the following sub-headings:

• List of Vocational Education and Training (VET) Courses
• Approved Undergraduate and Postgraduate (Higher Education) courses, and
• Approved Courses with Structure Explanation

All Universities have a provider page within the National Course Approvals sub-site.

Australian Universities are self-accrediting education providers, apart from those listed as Unapproved Courses on the relevant university page of the National Course Approvals sub-site:

• for ABSTUDY, all university courses are considered approved, including Masters and Doctorates with the exception of ABSTUDY excluded courses which are assessed on a case by case basis
• for YA, Austudy and PES customers:
• Doctorate level courses are not approved
• Approved Masters are located on the Approved Masters Courses list
• all other courses are considered approved

Combined courses or those with anomalies are under Assessed Courses on the university's provider page in, Approved Higher Education (HED) courses with structure explanations section.

Create a CALO Referral in Process Direct after completing relevant checks, to determine if a course can be approved if:

• an education provider does not have its own provider page, or
• there is no assessment for a course that is available on an education provider's Scope tab

The CALO will:

• assess the referral
• request course details and/or other information from the education provider
• annotate the Notes section of the CALO Referral in Process Direct, and
• finalise the referral

Diploma level or higher courses can only be approved if both the education provider and the course are VET Student Loan (VSL) approved. If a customer advises they are studying a Diploma or higher level course, check the Assessed courses tab. If the message No Diploma or Higher level courses starting from 1/1/2018 are approved with this provider displays, do not send a CALO Referral even if the course is listed under the Scope tab.

CALO Referrals in Process Direct can be initiated from within certain New Claim and Change of Circumstance transactions. These are known as Linked Transactions as the referral is linked to the originating transaction and will change the work item's status to:

• On HOLD, when the CALO Referral is created, and
• In Process, when the CALO Referral is finalised

Only transactions that are processed in Process Direct can be a Linked Transaction. See the Resources page for a list of Linked Transactions.

To create a referral from a Linked Transaction, the work item status must be open. For example, In Process, In Progress or For Manual Action.

Create a standalone CALO referral to:

• answer a customer enquiry
• process an update that is not processed in Process Direct, or
• process an update that is not associated with a Linked Transaction

See the Resources page for a list of Linked Transactions.

If the customer meets the definition of at risk flag the CALO Referral as urgent. The referral will be prioritised for assessment. See the Process page for details.

Completed CALO Referrals can be found under the Transactions tab in Process Direct by selecting ALL Transactions. Select the CALO Referral and select Next to step through the completed referral to view details of the referral. CALO notes for completed referrals can be viewed in the Notes section of Process Direct by selecting the CALO Referral and selecting the Display/Note icon.