HECS HELP
The Australian Government contributes to the study costs for students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported course. Students must then contribute the remainder through their student contribution.
If you are an Australian citizen or a holder of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa you have the following options:
- Request a HECS-HELP (opens in a new window) loan for your student contribution and repay the loan later, or
- Pay your student contribution up front and taking advantage of any applicable discounts
Am I eligible?
HECS-HELP (opens in a new window) is available to undergraduate students who are Australian Citizens or holders of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa. Some postgraduate students may also be eligible, depending on the course they are enrolled in.
New Zealand citizens and holders of an Australian permanent resident visa (other than an Australian permanent humanitarian visa) are not entitled to a discount or HECS-HELP assistance. The student contribution amount must be paid in full by the census date.
I want to request a HECS-HELP loan for my student contribution and repay the loan later
As part of your enrolment through MySR, you would have filled out an electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF). You need to ensure you have lodged your tax file number on this form and that you have submitted this form, complete with valid tax file number, by the census date of the teaching session you are enrolled in.
Please double check your eCAF, as failure to provide full and accurate information and not making a payment could result in your enrolment being cancelled.
I want to pay my student contribution up front and take advantage of applicable discounts
If you wish to make a full up-front payment or a partial payment you must do so by the census date of the teaching session you are enrolled in.
Upfront payment discount
If you are eligible for HECS-HELP (opens in a new window), then you are also entitled to receive a 10% discount on your student contribution if you pay the student contribution amount up-front in full. Full details on eligibility for the discount can be found at the Study Assist website (opens in a new window).
Example for calculating the discount on a full upfront payment
Jessica is enrolled in four units in her Bachelor of Arts (Languages) degree in Autumn session. All her units are in student contribution band 1, and each has a load value of 0.125 EFTSL/10 credit points each.
Jessica's student contribution per unit for Autumn is 0.125 EFTSL x $5,868 = $733 (with rounding). Therefore her contribution for the session is 4 (units) x $733 = $2,932.
Jessica is an Australian citizen, and is entitled to a 10% discount if she pays her full student contribution up-front: $2,932 x 10% = $293.20. Jessica is only required to pay $2,638.80 ($2,932 - $293.20).
Partial up-front payment
If you are eligible for HECS-HELP (opens in a new window) and you make a partial up-front payment of at least $500.00 you are entitled to a discount based on the amount you have paid.
Example for calculating discount on partial payment
Jessica makes a partial up-front payment of $800 before the census date, and obtains a loan for the rest through HECS-HELP. Jessica is only entitled to a discount on the amount that she pays. This means that her effective payment is $800/0.9 = $888.88. Jessica's HECS-HELP debt for this session would be $2,932 - $888.88 = $2,043.12. Jessica will be required to make repayments on this amount when her income is above the minimum threshold for compulsory repayment.
Australian permanent residents and New Zealand citizens
If you are an Australian permanent resident or New Zealand citizen and you become an Australian citizen before census date, you must present your original citizenship certificate to a Student Central or forward a certified copy of your citizenship certificate to Enrolments and Student Finance, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith NSW 2751. This must be done prior to the census date to be eligible for the discount or HECS-HELP.
Continuing students who are Australian permanent residents are eligible for a discount, if they were eligible for a discount under the pre-2005 eligibility rules.
