Goodwin and Secretary, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

The applicant, Goodwin, sought review of a decision by the delegate of the Secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to refuse to re-credit the applicant's VET FEE-HELP balance. The matter came before Deputy President I Hanger of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criteria under clause 46AA(1) of the *Higher Education Support Act 2003* (Cth) for the re-crediting of their VET FEE-HELP balance. This clause pertains to circumstances where a student may be entitled to have their VET FEE-HELP debt adjusted or removed.

The Tribunal found in favour of the applicant, determining that the applicant did satisfy the requirements of clause 46AA(1). Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the delegate's original decision and substituted it with a new decision that re-credited the applicant's VET FEE-HELP balance.