For Students - Overview

For Students - Overview

The Australian Government provides assistance for domestic students enrolled in higher education through funding Commonwealth supported places and by providing access to the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP).

The HELP program includes FEE-HELP loan for fee paying students to pay their tuition fees, HECS-HELP for Commonwealth supported students to pay their student contribution amount, OS-HELP loans for undergraduate Commonwealth supported students who wish to do some of their degree overseas, and VET FEE-HELP for students to pay their vocational education training tuition fees.

Public universities cannot offer fee paying places to domestic students commencing an undergraduate course of study on or after 1 January 2009 except where a student:

  • accepted a fee paying place in a course of study prior to 1 January 2009 and deferred enrolment to 2009 or a later year; 
  • transfers from one course of study that the student commenced prior to 1 January 2009 as a fee paying student to another course of study at the same level at the same provider without completing the original course of study;
  • undertakes a unit on a cross-institutional basis and the unit is not a compulsory part of the student’s course of study;
  • commences a course of study as an overseas student and becomes a domestic student;
  • has advised the appropriate officer of the provider in writing that he/she does not wish to be Commonwealth supported; and
  • is not eligible for a Commonwealth supported place, including:
    • enrolling in a full fee summer or winter school;
    • enrolling in an employer reserved place; and
    • enrolling in a bridging course for overseas trained professionals.

A student who commenced an undergraduate course of study as a fee paying student prior to 1 January 2009 may continue to be enrolled in that course of study as a fee paying student. This does not preclude a university from transferring a student to a Commonwealth supported place based on its policies and the availability of places.

Private higher education providers offer fee paying places only when the Government has allocated them Commonwealth supported places in the priority areas of nursing and teaching.

FEE-HELP information publication

You can find detailed information on FEE-HELP in the current ‘FEE-HELP information' booklet available at the Going to Uni Website.