Student Services and Amenities fee
What is the Student Services and Amenities fee?
As a result of new Commonwealth legislation, Australian universities, including UWS introduced a new Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) for students at the beginning of 2012.
Details on why the fee was introduced and who pays the fee are available below.
Payment for SSAF for the first half of 2013 is due 16 May 2013.
The payment date for SSAF 1 (UWS students) and SSAF T1 (UWSCollege students) for 2013 is Thursday, 16 May 2013.
If you are an Australian citizen or Humanitarian visa holder you can defer your fee to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) now using a Services Amenities Fee HELP (SA-HELP) loan. The SA-HELP form is in MyStudentRecords (MySR). See the step by step instructions on how to apply for SA-HELP below.
If you are not eligible to defer your SSAF fee via SA-HELP, you need to pay your fee upfront. To do this, download your SSAF electronic Statement of Account (eSOA) from MySR. Payment options are on the bottom of your eSOA and on the paying your fees page.
If you haven’t paid or deferred your SSAF by 16 May 2013, you will have to pay up front (even if you were eligible to defer) and will not be able to see your results until payment is received.
How much is the fee for 2013?
The maximum fee is $273.00 per year for full time students, which is charged as $136.50 each half year. Lower fees apply for students doing less than a full time load in the half year period.
The amount you are charged per half year will depend on your Equivalent Full Time Student Load (EFTSL) each session. Your EFTSL for each teaching session is displayed on your eSOA.
If your EFTSL for the half year is:
- above 0.374, you will be charged $136.50 for that half year period
- between 0.250 and 0.374, you will be charged $102.00 for that half year period
- less than 0.249, you will be charged $52.50 for that half year period
Please note, these fees will be indexed and increase each year.
For more information about your EFTSL, see the how can I work out my EFTSL webpage.
To find out how much you owe, access your SSAF eSOA in MySR.
How to pay or defer your SSAF
As above you can pay your SSAF upfront or, if you are an Australian citizen or Humanitarian visa holder, you can apply to defer the fee via a SA-HELP loan similar to HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP.
Step by step instructions on how to defer your SSAF
If you are eligible and want to apply for SA-HELP to defer your SSAF to the ATO you need to take the following steps:
- Log in to MySR through the MyUWS Student Portal
- Click 'Enrolment' on the left of the screen
- If you have more than one course showing, click on your current course
- Click 'Student Services and Amenities Fees HELP' in the middle of the screen
- Enter your Tax File Number, click the link to the SA-HELP booklet and submit the form
If you would like more information on SA-HELP, please see the SA-HELP webpage (opens in a new window) on the Study Assist website.
How to pay your SSAF
You will need to view your SSAF eSOA to check the amount you need to pay and for the payment methods. To access your SSAF eSOA:
- Log in to MySR through the MyUWS Student Portal
- Select 'Statement of Account’ under ‘Fees’ on the left of the screen
- Go to the drop down box and select 'Services and Amenities - SSAF 1 (UWS students) or SSAF T1 (UWSCollege students) 2013' and click the ‘Display SOA’ button
The easiest and quickest way to pay your SSAF is through iPay. Other payment methods are also listed on the paying your fees page.
Why was the fee introduced?
The fee was introduced for Australian universities as a result of the Higher Education Legislation Amendment (Student Services and Amenities) Bill 2010 that the Australian Parliament approved on 11 October 2011.
The fee enables universities to receive a contribution towards the extensive costs of providing student services and amenities. Previously some of these services and amenities were funded by a student union fee, but legislation introduced in 2006 meant that this fee was no longer allowed. From 2006 most universities, including UWS, used their core teaching and research budget to cover the costs of providing student services and amenities.
In 2011, for example, UWS spent $12 million covering the range of student amenities and services.
This fee will restore funding for essential campus services and facilities, and enable universities to retain funding for teaching and research.
Who pays the fee?
The fee applies to all students, including UWSCollege students and international students.
Only the following students are exempt from paying the fee:
- Students undertaking their entire course by distance education
- Students undertaking their entire course off-shore at an overseas non-UWS university campus.
If you are completing cross-institutional study, you are exempt from paying the fee at UWS for the units you are studying at another university. Please note, you may be required to pay the relevant fee for that unit at the other university.
What if I change my units?
Your SSAF is calculated on the units you have been studying for each teaching session. If you drop a unit before the census date of a teaching session it will not be included in calculating your SSAF.
If you are granted withdrawal without academic penalty for any units you drop after the census date of a teaching session, SSAF will not be recalculated or refunded.
What if I finish my course before the fee is due?
If you have studied any units in the first half of the year you still need to pay SSAF. For example if you did one unit in Quarter 1 2013 to finish your course, you will need to pay $52.50 SSAF.
What will the money go towards?
All of the income from the fee will be spent on student services and amenities related to sporting and recreational activities, employment and career advice, health and welfare, study skills programs, orientation, child care, financial advice, overseas student services and food services.
Please see SSAF funding priorities for more information.
Student consultation
UWS will be consulting with students and their representatives about what you see as the priorities for student services and amenities. Some of the fee income will need to be allocated directly to maintaining essential campus services and facilities, while some of it will allow the expansion of services or new services and facilities.
We are consulting with a range of student groups about priorities for student services and amenities, to ensure these funds are used for initiatives that give students the most benefit.
These groups include:
- Student Representative Council
- Student Campus Councils
- Clubs and Societies
- Governance Committees (Senate, Education Committees, School Academic Committees)
UWS will also be asking for input from all students on the priorities for student services and amenities. If you have ideas, comments or a proposal, then please contact us.
The SSAF deadline for the second half of 2012 has passed.
If you haven't paid your SSAF 2 for 2012 you will now:
- have to pay the whole fee upfront
- have an encumbrance (block) on your record, which means you won't be able to see
your results, access vUWS, access the Library and IT services or graduate
You must pay you SSAF in full to have this encumbrance lifted. Once you have paid you don't need to do anything. We will send an email to your MyMail account notifying you that your enumbrance has been lifted. This should take approximately two working days.
Please note, the quickest way for your payment to be received by the University is to pay through iPay. If you choose to pay using a different method, this process may take longer.
Contact us
For more information about paying your SSAF, call the Student Central Infoline on 1300 668 370, or email enrolments@uws.edu.au.
For information about how UWS will use the fee and the consultation process visit the SSAF funding priorities page.
