(1) If the Secretary approves a VET student loan for a student for a course, the Secretary must use the loan to pay tuition fees for the student for the course.
(2) The Secretary may pay loan amounts to the course provider.
(3) The Secretary may pay loan amounts:
(a) before or after the student begins the course; or
(b) after the student has completed the course; or
(c) by instalments.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not limit the way in which the Secretary may use the loan to pay tuition fees.
Note 1: If the Secretary uses a loan amount to pay tuition fees for a student, the student incurs a VETSL debt under section 23BA.
Note 2: If the Secretary used a loan amount to pay tuition fees for a student before 1 July 2019, the student will have incurred a debt under section 137 - 19 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 as then in force. Those debts are managed under that Act as HELP debts.