Veteran Tertiary Support Program

Request your Defence Service Record

To apply, you will need to submit a copy of your Defence Service Record. If you don’t have it already, contact Defence via 1800 333 362 or customer.service@defence.gov.au.

Be sure you have at hand at least three identifying details in your email: full name, date of birth, PMKeys/service number, place of birth, or former name (if applicable).

Apply now start your direct entry application to study with us.

Register for the Veteran Tertiary Support Program

If you are a former or current defence force member or defence force family member, the application form asks:

‘Are you applying for the Veteran Tertiary Support Program?’ Please select ‘Yes’ from the drop-down list.

Once you have accepted your offer to study with us, our UC staff will reach out to connect you to the personalised support available through the Program.

Automatically get a selection rank based on your Defence service. 

We assess your Defence service automatically and convert it into a university selection rank, similar to an ATAR. 

Credit

Credit can shorten the time it takes you to complete your degree and make it more cost-effective. The courses you completed while serving in Defence are considered credentialled learning by us and so you are eligible for automatic credit in some courses.

Credit is usually granted in three credit point blocks – the equivalent of one unit in a course. The more credit you receive the fewer units you need to study to complete the course, reducing the time to completion and the overall cost of the course. 

Initial Employment Training (IET)

This assessment includes assessing your Initial Employment Training (IET) and promotion courses you completed in Defence. The amount of credit you can be granted will depend on:

• IET duration
• achieved rank during service
• limits on the amount of credit we will grant in a course as described in the Credit Procedures.

Automatic credit for some units may be applicable to your selected course

Some of our courses have been assessed for automatic credit for current and former Defence personnel based on rank and IET.

In a course, some units are required units and some units may be elective units and is automatically available to former defence force personnel if you register for the Veteran Tertiary Support Program when you apply via direct entry. Most units are worth 3 credit points.

You may also be eligible for additional credit through our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process.

For more information about Credit and the RPL process please review the Credit Procedures.

Want to discover more? Visit our credit assessed courses page.

We recognise that the training and other activities you undertook during your Defence service may be able to be recognised and provide additional credit if that training or the other activities correspond to learning outcomes in units in your chosen course. In addition to automatic credit, you may be eligible to apply for credit through the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process. 

RPL is a formal process where you submit an application describing your previous study or work experience in relation to a particular unit or course.

The relevant Faculty will review your RPL application and make a decision about whether your previous study and work experience demonstrate the learning outcomes in any of the units in your course. If the prior learning aligns with the learning outcomes of one or more units in your selected/chosen course, you may be eligible for credit.

If you feel that your individual variations in your Defence service records would be eligible for RPL, then you can apply for RPL at the time of applying for your course. 

For more information about Credit and the RPL process please review the Credit Procedures.

The Veteran Tertiary Support Program provides tailored support and benefits to you as a current or former Defence member. This tailored support is designed to support your transition to study at the University of Canberra.