Ban on fees for vocational drop-outs

Vocational students who drop out of courses early won't face stiff penalties for doing so any more.

The federal government has banned training providers from charging withdrawal fees after July 1 to students who pull out of courses before the education census date each semester.

The new rules, announced on Thursday, also ban providers from enrolling the student in any further units without written instructions and stop trainers from advertising courses that attract FEE-HELP loans as "free" or "government-funded".