Higher Education Loan Program

The Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) is a range of loans introduced by the Commonwealth Government from 2005 to provide fee payment assistance to eligible students.

The type of HELP loan you may be eligible for depends on whether you are a Commonwealth-supported student or a fee paying student. To find out if you are eligible for a Commonwealth-supported place, visit the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Science and Training's "Going to Uni" website.

HECS-HELP is for eligible Commonwealth-supported students to pay their student contribution.

FEE-HELP is for eligible full fee paying students to pay their tuition fees.

OS-HELP is for eligible Commonwealth-supported students undertaking studies overseas.

Loans are for Australian citizens studying in Australia or overseas.  Permanent residents who hold a humanitarian visa are also eligible if studying in Australia.  Loans are not available to international students, New Zealand citizens or other permanent residents.

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HECS-HELP

Commonwealth-supported (CSP) course fees and HECS-HELP

The Australian Government contributes to the study costs for students enrolled in a CSP course; students must contribute the remainder through their student contribution.

Australian citizens and holders of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa may pay their student contribution up front, taking advantage of any applicable discounts, - or they may request a HECS-HELP (Higher Education Loan Programme) loan and repay the loan later. HECS-HELP may be available to both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

New Zealand citizens and holders of an Australian permanent resident visa (other than an Australian permanent humanitarian visa) do not have access to HECS-HELP loans and must pay 100% of their student contribution up front.

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FEE-HELP

Domestic fee-paying (DFEE) course fees and FEE-HELP

Students who are not enrolled in a CSP course can enrol in a DFEE course but must pay the full cost of their course without subsidy from the Australian Government.

Australian citizens and holders of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa can pay their tuition fees in three different ways:

• pay the full tuition fee up front
• receive a FEE-HELP (Higher Education Loan Programme) loan for the full tuition fee
• pay some of the tuition fee up front and receive a FEE-HELP loan for the balance of the tuition fee.

FEE-HELP may be available to both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

New Zealand citizens and holders of an Australian permanent resident visa (other than an Australian permanent resident humanitarian visa) do not have access to FEE-HELP loans and must pay the full tuition fee up front.

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OS-HELP

Eligible Commonwealth-supported students who wish to undertake part of their study overseas may be able to apply for OS-HELP. This loan program is not available to students undertaking their whole course outside Australia.

OS-HELP is designed to assist students with the cost of travel and living expenses whilst studying overseas. Official UWS exchange students and students undertaking an independent, tuition fee-paying Study Abroad program may apply for OS-HELP as a contribution towards tuition fees and/or living expenses. OS-HELP is not available to postgraduate students.

Eligibility for OS-HELP for UWS students

In addition to meeting standard eligibility criteria, UWS applicants should note:

• To be eligible to receive OS-HELP, you must be studying full-time while you are overseas. Study loads vary across institutions, and overseas study is only regarded as full-time if the level of academic engagement is comparable to that required by a student undertaking at least 0.75 EFTSL per year in an equivalent course in Australia.
• Overseas study must be accredited to a minimum of 30 credit points towards your UWS degree program although the norm is generally 40 credit points.
• You must provide evidence of your advanced standing arrangement for your overseas study. If you are travelling abroad as a UWS exchange student, you can obtain this confirmation from your course coordinator via the Exchange Transfer of Credits Application form. Independent Study Abroad students must obtain similar approval via a pre-approved Advanced Standing Application form.

Please note that OS-HELP loans will be preferentially awarded to official exchange candidates in the first instance, followed by students engaging in an Independent Study Abroad program, and then allocated on the basis of academic merit if there are more candidates applying than loans available.

Applying for OS-HELP

You must complete an OS-HELP Application form, attach the required documentation and submit the application to the International Office. Selection is based on academic merit for the UWS Exchange program, followed by academic merit for Independent Study Abroad programs.

Failure to undertake overseas study

If, for any reason, after applying for OS-HELP, you will no longer be undertaking your overseas study, and you have not received your OS-HELP assistance payment, then you can withdraw your application.

However, if you have already been paid your OS-HELP assistance amount, you must repay this debt through the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and will be subject to the 20% loan fee.

There are no grounds for application for remission of OS-HELP assistance amounts due to special circumstances.

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