Terms

This page sets out some key terms which apply to your relationship with RMIT, whether as a student or simply as a visitor to our websites or an attendee at an RMIT event. It also includes links to other terms and policies about how RMIT operates, including on things like privacy and intellectual property.

1. Studying with us

RMIT offers a range of different courses and programs, including short courses, single courses, micro credentials, and undergraduate (certificates, diplomas and bachelor degrees) and post graduate (bachelor honours, graduate diplomas and certificates, masters and doctorates) award qualifications (Courses).  

The range of our Courses means that different terms and conditions may apply, depending on features such as:

  • how the Course is taught and how you study, as well as whether third parties or other industry bodies are involved in providing the Course; 
  • whether you are an Australian or International student; 
  • what kind of qualification it is, and whether it is an award or accredited Course (eg leading to a degree); and 
  • how the Course is paid for (including if you receive government funding, such as HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP or VET Student Loans). 

These terms here set out some of the conditions applying to your relationship with RMIT, however, depending on the Course and your status as a domestic or overseas student, specific terms will apply in relation to fees, cancellations, leave of absence, transfers or deferrals and other important matters. 

In addition to these terms, a number of policies apply to you when studying with RMIT. These Policies are here. Our Policies may be updated from time to time, and we may develop new policies. We will publish new policies and any updates on this website.  Where appropriate, we will notify you of important changes to policies, either by email, with a notice on our site, or as an item in our news section.  We recommend you check our site regularly for any updates, as they will apply to you from the time they are updated. 

2. Fees

All Course fees are published as indicative estimates, and should only be used as a guide. Our fees typically increase each year and may change without notice.

The total amount you will pay for a Course will vary, depending on:

  • the subjects you choose to study (as some subjects have higher fees than others);
  • whether you receive any government funding or assistance (such as HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP or VET Student Loans);
  • whether you’re required to pay for other fees and expenses related to your Course, such as field trips, equipment and textbooks;
  • your study load and the time it takes you to complete the Course; and
  • whether you receive any approved credit for prior learning.

3. Third party and industry involvement

In delivering our Courses, we may partner with different organisations to enhance our students’ learning experience. To do so, it may be a requirement of undertaking a Course that students agree to provide their personal information to one of our partner organisations, or to comply with additional terms and conditions. 

For some of these Courses, you may not be able to enrol in or complete it without agreeing to the third party terms. Where it is required, when you enrol in a Course supported by a third party, you are taken to agree to those party’s terms and conditions, as well as their privacy policies.  Otherwise, you will be taken to agree to those party’s terms and conditions when you use the particular service or function (eg chat subject forums, or calendar booking functions). 

These third parties may be based overseas in countries like the USA or Canada, as well as countries in Asia (eg China, India, Singapore) and Europe (eg UK, Spain).  Some of our current third party partners and providers include: 

  • Slack provides a chat forum/channel for student/tutor subject discussions.  See Slack’s terms and privacy policy.  
  • Calendly provides a function to book appointments to speak with tutors and Course facilitators.  See Calendly’s terms and privacy policy
  • ZOOM cloud meetings to enable class participation. See ZOOM’s terms and privacy policy
  • Open Universities Australia (OUA) provides a platform through which certain RMIT online Courses are provided.  See OUA’s privacy policy
  • Udacity provides Course content for certain specialist online Courses. See Udacity’s terms and privacy policy
  • Credly provides a badge or digital credential in respect of a Course you have completed, which you can post on your professional networking profile.  See Credly’s terms and privacy policy
  • The University uses the Microsoft Office 365 suite of applications for student email accounts (Outlook), and online meetings, as well as other collaboration tools (eg Teams).

Further, some product-specific Courses which, for example, teach you how to use a particular software program or other tool, will involve you obtaining a trial or limited access licence to that software or tool. This will also be subject to the relevant company’s terms of use and privacy policy which will be available on their website. 

Where it is not a requirement of enrolling in or completing a Course, we will let you know about the third party partners involved in a Course, and provide you with an opportunity to decide whether you want to provide them your personal information. 

4. Student intellectual property

RMIT’s policy regarding intellectual property (IP) is available from our policy library. For audit and record keeping purposes, and in compliance with our obligations regarding document retention, RMIT will keep copies of works in which students own the IP, which were created in the Course of their studies with us.  This may include written essays, exams and other assessment pieces, as well as photos, artworks, garments, audio-visual recordings and designs.  By retaining a record of student work, RMIT does not obtain any ownership or exclusivity rights in relation to it - simply a licence to retain a copy for a period of 7 years after its assessment. Students still own their work in accordance with the IP Policy.  

RMIT will seek students’ permission to use copies or records of students and their work for: 

  • further educational purposes, including teaching and learning in other Courses;
  • promotional or publicity purposes; or 
  • specific archiving purposes, such as creating a retrospective of RMIT student work, for a period longer than 7 years. 

5. Our websites

We operate a number of websites as part of our Courses and services (sites). By accessing one of our sites, you agree to these terms.

Content

The content on our sites includes things like text, code, software, video, music, sound, graphics, photographs, illustrations, artwork, names, logos, trade marks, service marks and other material which is protected by intellectual property laws (eg copyright, patents, and registered trade marks and designs), as well as other legal rights and actions. The sites include content which we own or control, as well as content which is owned or controlled by other parties, which we licence. 

Links

If our sites contain links to other third party websites, your access to those sites will be covered by terms between you and the other operator of those pages. We don’t control what’s on those pages or in any third party content online. We are not responsible for any of their content, including links or other functionality like e-commerce. If our site contains a link to a third party web page, it’s not necessarily an endorsement by us of that third party, their page or their products or services. If you have questions or concerns about those third party pages or content, you should contact the relevant owner or operator of that page. 

You can link to our sites in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it. You cannot link, frame, refer to, or post your own material to, or otherwise use the site, or our services, in a way which incorrectly suggests any form of association, approval or endorsement by us, or in a way which would be misleading or deceptive, or likely to mislead or deceive.

Posting your material to our sites

Some parts of our site may be interactive, or allow you to post comments, or your own content such as images, text or videos. This also includes our social media sites. Certain parts of our site and our social channels (including the interactive parts) may be operated by a third party or using third party technology, which also have separate terms and conditions applying to your use of or access to them. 

By submitting your material to the site you warrant you are its sole author; the material is not false or misleading; and, it does not infringe any person’s intellectual property rights, or any other applicable laws. 

When you submit your own material to one of our sites you grant us (and our affiliates) a royalty-free, world-wide, sub-licensable, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable licence to use, copy, reproduce, modify, edit, alter, create derivative works from, commercialise, publish, and perform the material. 

If your posted material depicts another person, you need to have their permission before you submit it, and you confirm they agree to have it dealt with in accordance with these terms and our Privacy Statement

We don’t monitor the sites continuously: if you see behaviour or content which is not acceptable or which doesn’t comply with these terms or our polices, please tell us via our website form, or the relevant direct message function if it’s a social media site. We may remove or edit any content or material you post (material) from the site in our discretion. 

You must not use the site, or an activity to publish or send malicious content (such as phishing, viruses, harmful code or Trojans), with the intent to compromise our or a user’s account, security, identity, IT environment or to breach confidentiality. You must not use the site to publish or send spam (unsolicited commercial electronic messages), or any other commercial communications. You may not use the site for any unlawful purposes, fraud, or to conduct or promote illegal activities. You must not infringe our or another person’s intellectual property.

The content on our sites includes things like text, code, software, video, music, sound, graphics, photographs, illustrations, artwork, names, logos, trade marks, service marks and other material which is protected by intellectual property laws (eg copyright, patents, and registered trade marks and designs), as well as other legal rights and actions. The sites include content which we own or control, as well as content which is owned or controlled by other parties, which we licence. 

6. Our events and activities

When you’re attending one of our events or activities, you must follow our reasonable directions – including instructions about safety matters. You must not do anything which would cause us (or other users or attendees) to be in breach of a law or regulation. You must not cause any damage to property or systems; and you must not injure other people. You will take reasonable care of yourself and responsibility for your own health. You will also take reasonable care in interacting with other users, attendees, and participants, as well as the assets and resources provided at the event venue. 

We (or the venue) may refuse entry to an activity for any reason, including where a ticket hasn’t been acquired from an authorised channel. For paid ticketed events, we may not be able to refund or exchange tickets, except as required by law. The issuing of tickets to our events is also subject to the terms and conditions of the booking or ticketing platform we use. 

We always aim for events to run smoothly, however, sometimes things don’t go as planned. We reserve the right to add, withdraw, reschedule, vary or substitute prices, prizes, venues, offerings, speakers and audience capacity at activities. Your admission to an activity is also subject to any terms and conditions which the venue applies, including about things like smoking or consumption of alcohol, or access to certain areas of a premises.

Photos and recordings at events or activities

When you attend RMIT official events or activities you may be photographed or recorded. By attending, you consent to us taking those photos or recordings. If you don’t want us to take any photos or recordings, let our photographers know, and we will take reasonable steps not to include you in the photos or recordings. However, we can’t guarantee that we will be able to crop you out of everything, and you may still appear incidentally or in the background of recordings or photos we take. We may use the photos and recordings for our own purposes, including marketing purposes and on our sites. As part of this, we may edit them however we need. 

We may also provide the photos and recordings to our related industry partners or event partners for their use as well. Notwithstanding our Privacy Statement, we will own all rights in the photos and recordings we take at our activities, and you waive any rights you may have in them, and you consent to the use and publication and disclosure of the photos and recordings we take. By attending the activity, you agree to this, as it is a condition of entry or participation. 

Further, our properties (as well as the venues where we hold events) are fit out with security monitoring systems, which will capture footage as well as other potentially personally identifying information (eg CCTV, or on access cards or other systems). These systems are an important way through which we provide a safe environment for all students, staff, alumni and other members of the public.

7. General

Nothing in these terms affects any warranties or liabilities which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law. Your use of the site and participation in any activities are at your own risk. The site, its content, and any activities are provided by us on an “as is” basis, without any warranties, either express or implied. 

Neither us nor any one associated with RMIT makes any warranty or representation in relation to the completeness, security, reliability, quality, accuracy, or availability, of the site or our activities. In no event will we or any of our affiliates, licensors, service providers, employees, agents, officers or directors be liable for damages or any kind (including under contract, tort or negligence), arising out of or in connection with your use (or inability to use) the site, or any websites linked to it, any content on the site, or any activities or events, including any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages, which includes, but is not limited to personal injury, pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss or revenue or profits or business or anticipated savings, loss of use or goodwill, loss of data, even if such loss was foreseeable (loss). 

Neither us nor our partners involved in the site or activities will be liable for any loss you incur in connection with the site or activities. You agree you will take reasonable precautions in your use of the site and engagement in activities. 

Further, the site and content may not always operate uninterrupted, or be error- or defect-free. It may not be compatible with your device, internet access type or limits, or browser. 

We will do our best in light of technical constraints, but we can’t warrant that the site or content is free from viruses, worms, harmful code, Trojans, or similar, or that it will be free from hacks, denial of service attacks; and we are not liable for any damage or losses you might incur as a result of any of these. 

Given we do not continuously monitor all site activities, we are not responsible for content provided by third parties – including other students, staff, alumni or other visitors. 

These terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. If any of these terms are or become invalid, at our option, the relevant part is severed or to be read down; and doesn’t affect the validity of the remaining parts. Neither of us, nor you, is (or can you represent yourself to be) an employee, partner, agent or other authorised representative of the other. A waiver has to be in writing and signed. We don’t waive a right if we fail to exercise it or delay exercising it. 

aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.