FEE-HELP

From 1 January 2020, the Australian Government introduced the combined HELP loan limit which is a cap on what you can borrow to cover the costs of your tuition fees for your Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees.

• Any previous FEE-HELP debt will be included in the combined HELP loan limit.
• Any HECS-HELP debt prior to 1 January 2020 will not be included in the combined HELP loan limit.

For more information about the combined HELP loan limit, please visit the Study Assist 2020 Loan Limit Changes webpage in the Related Website section on this page.

From 1 January 2021, new higher education students will need a Unique Student Identifier (USI) in order to be eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) or Commonwealth financial assistance HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP and OS-HELP.

From 1 January 2023, all higher education students, including those who commenced prior to 2021, must have a USI in order to graduate and receive their award.

Australian citizens, permanent humanitarian visa holders and some New Zealand Citizens who are enrolled in an award program are eligible to use FEE-HELP providing they complete a Request for FEE-HELP assistance on or before the census date of their first course in their current semester/trimester/session, and have not exceeded their FEE-HELP limit.  New Zealand citizens can check this website to see whether they meet the eligibility requirements.

Students enrolled in a non-award program are not eligible to use FEE-HELP for that course.

Permanent residents, some New Zealand Citizens and temporary residents are not eligible to use FEE-HELP.

No. Your income and assets do not affect your eligibility for FEE-HELP. Your income may result in you being required to start to repay your FEE-HELP debt.

An eligible course of study is a subject which is part of a program leading to a higher education award (eg Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma or Masters by coursework).

From 1 January 2020, the Australian Government will introduce the combined HELP loan limit which is a cap on what you can borrow to cover the costs of your tuition fees for your Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees.

• Any previous FEE-HELP debt will be included in the combined HELP loan limit.
• Any HECS-HELP debt prior to 1 January 2020 will not be included in the combined HELP loan limit.

Eligible students may borrow up to the HELP limit to pay tuition fees over their lifetime.

For 2024, the HELP loan limits are:

• $121,844 for most students.
• $174,998 for students studying: Medicine, dentistry or veterinary science courses leading to initial registration. Eligible aviation courses.

As a person uses HELP to pay tuition fees, the amount they may borrow in the future is reduced. Once a person has borrowed an amount equal to the HELP limit (the indexed amount at that time), they will not be able to receive HELP to pay tuition fees.

Students who wish to pay some of their domestic tuition fees (DTF), and defer the rest to FEE-HELP, may do so by first applying for FEE-HELP, then paying the desired partial payment amount using one of the normal payment methods. Any outstanding balance at the relevant census date will then automatically be deferred to FEE-HELP.

ANU will set the tuition fee for the courses you study and the date by which payment of your fee is required. If you decide not to pay the full tuition fee up-front to ANU, and you are eligible for FEE-HELP, you may:

• Pay some of the tuition fee up-front and request a FEE-HELP loan for the remainder of the tuition fee; or
• Request a FEE-HELP loan for the full tuition fee

If you are entitled to FEE-HELP, the Australian Government will lend to you the amount of any tuition fee for your course of study which has not been paid by the the census date for the course. You must apply for a FEE-HELP loan before a FEE-HELP loan will be given to you. This must be done on or before the census date of your first course.

The Australian Government will pay the outstanding amount of your tuition fee direct to ANU on your behalf.

FEE-HELP provides a loan for tuition fees only. FEE-HELP does not cover accommodation, textbooks, general living expenses etc.

Your 'HELP balance' is the amount of HELP you are still able to borrow.

If you enrol in a course of study and the tuition fee exceeds your HELP balance, you will receive HELP assistance only for an amount equal to your HELP balance.

You will need to pay the remainder of your tuition fee direct to ANU. If you do not do this, ANU may cancel your enrolment as some of your tuition fee will remain unpaid.

It is your responsibility to be aware of your HELP balance and to advise the ANU if you do not have sufficient HELP balance to cover your tuition fees.

If you are eligible for FEE-HELP assistance and would like to obtain a FEE-HELP loan, you should complete a Request for FEE-HELP assistance form. All FEE-HELP forms are completed through ISIS by selecting 'Account details' from the menu list and then selecting 'eCAF'. If there is no form available on ISIS and you believe your are eligible to use FEE-HELP, you should contact Student Central immediately.

You must complete and submit the request for FEE-HELP assistance form through ISIS on or before the census date for the first course for which you wish to obtain FEE-HELP assistance. If you have not submitted a completed request for FEE-HELP assistance form on or before the census date for the course, you will not be entitled to FEE-HELP assistance for that course and the Australian Government will not pay your tuition fee for that course.

When you sign your Request for FEE-HELP assistance form, you are:

• confirming that you have read the Study Assist FEE-HELP information booklet and the form and are aware of your obligations under FEE-HELP
• requesting the Australian Government to lend you the amount of the tuition fee outstanding at the census date for each course of study covered by the form and to use this amount to pay the outstanding amount of your tuition fee to ANU on your behalf
• agreeing to begin repaying the loan to the Australian Government, through the taxation system, when your income for an income year is above the minimum repayment threshold for compulsory repayment.

You may choose to pay the tuition fee for some or all of the courses covered by your form. If you request your FEE-HELP loan to be stopped indefinitely, and at a later date you wish for your FEE-HELP loan to be reinstated, it is your responsibility to ensure that this request is put in writing to Student Central on or before the census date of the course for which you wish to use FEE-HELP. 

An invoice will be issued to you even though you have chosen to use FEE HELP. This allows you to make a payment before the census date of your course/s but if you do not make a payment by the course/s census date the debt will then be deferred through FEE HELP.

You will be asked to provide your tax file number (TFN) when completing and submitting the Request for FEE-HELP assistance form.

If you choose not to provide your TFN, you will not be entitled to FEE-HELP. If you cannot quote your TFN when you enrol, you should either obtain a TFN, or a Certificate of application for a tax file number (TFN) from the Australian Taxation Office stating that you have applied for one and then provide that certificate to Student Central on or before the census date.

ANU will use your TFN to provide advice to the Department of Education & Training regarding the amount of your loan.

You must submit your Request for FEE-HELP assistance form online through ISIS on or before census date for the first course of study for which you wish to obtain FEE-HELP assistance.

If you have not submitted a completed Request for FEE-HELP assistance form on or before the census date, you will not be entitled to FEE-HELP for that course. The Australian Government will not pay your tuition fee for that course. Census date deadlines cannot be extended.

You will need to submit a new Request for FEE-HELP assistance form if you transfer from one program to another.

You incur a FEE-HELP debt immediately after the census date for each course of study for which you have received FEE-HELP assistance.

After the census date for the relevant course or courses, ANU will provide you with an electronic Commonwealth Assistance Notice (eCAN) for that course. Your eCAN will be available on ISIS by selecting 'account details' from the menu and then selecting 'eCAN'. This is your electronic eCommonwealth Assistance Notice which provides you with information on your FEE-HELP debt for that course. The notice may cover more than one course.

Your notice will enable you to check if the calculation of your FEE-HELP debt for the courses covered by the notice is correct.

If you believe the eCAN is incorrect, you should submit a written request to Student Central within 14 days of the date of your eCAN asking for the eCAN to be corrected. You should identify the matters in the eCAN that you believe are not correct and specify why you believe they are incorrect.

Students are able to access the myHELPbalance link for a summary of their personal details regarding HELP assistance. This can be accessed through the Study Assist website or going directly to the myHELPbalance webpage. Using their Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN) and other personal identifying data, students can view their HELP usage as reported to the Department of Education & Training by ANU and other institutions. However this may not show your most recent courses taken so please check your eCAN.

You must advise ANU if your HELP balance is less than the tuition fees you are required to pay. If you enrol in a course of study and the tuition fee exceeds your HELP balance, you will receive HELP assistance only for an amount equal to your HELP balance.

You will need to pay the remainder of your tuition fee direct to ANU. If you do not do this the ANU may cancel your enrolment as some of your tuition fee will remain unpaid.  

The information shown in myHELPbalace is based on the information that has been reported to the department by ANU and the ATO at the time of your login. Your enrolment and repayment information is not recorded against your HELP balance until the department has been notified by ANU or the ATO.

If you have not paid your tuition fees, and you have requested FEE-HELP assistance, and you withdraw after the census date, you will have a debt to the Australian government that you are legally required to pay.

If, after the census date, you become seriously ill, or other special circumstances occur and you are unable to continue your studies, you can apply to ANU to have your FEE-HELP balance re-credited and your FEE-HELP debt removed for that course(s). You should note that there are time limits for applying.

If you withdraw your enrolment in a course after the census date, or have not completed the requirements for a course, as a result of special circumstances, you may apply to have your FEE-HELP balance re-credited. Your FEE-HELP debt can only be re-credited in special circumstances.

If your FEE-HELP balance for a course is re-credited, any FEE-HELP debt you have incurred for that course will automatically be removed.

If you have successfully completed a course, you are not eligible to apply to have your FEE-HELP balance re-credited or your debt removed for that course.

To apply for a remission of FEE-HELP debt in special circumstances, you must apply for a late withdrawal.

You must make your application for late withdrawal to ANU within twelve months after your withdrawal date.

If you fail a course, you still have to pay the debt for that course. It does not matter whether or not you attended any classes.

The renewable HELP balance is your available borrowing capacity for HECS-HELP, FEE HELP, VET FEE HELP and VET Student Loans. It will be your available HELP balance. Any repayments you make on your HELP debt will credit your available HELP balance, up to your applicable HELP loan limit.

Any voluntary repayments you make will credit your HELP balance when the ATO tells the department about your repayments.

Any compulsory repayments will credit your HELP balance once:

• you have completed your tax return,
• have been issued a notice of assessment, and
• the ATO notifies the department of any repayments you made on your HELP debt.

Your fortnightly PAYG repayments will not credit your HELP balance until you complete your tax return and it is processed by the ATO.

When the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) checks your tax return and issues you with a notice of assessment, they will inform the department of any repayments you made on your HELP debt. These repayments will credit your HELP balance (therefore increasing it).

You start repaying your accumulated HELP debt when your repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold for compulsory repayment. The repayment thresholds are adjusted each year to reflect any changes in average weekly earnings.

The minimum repayment threshold for the 2023-24 income year is $51,550.

For further information regarding your repayment income, contact the Australian Taxation Office.

When your repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold for any particular year, the Australian Taxation Office will calculate your compulsory repayment for that year and include it on your income tax notice of assessment. The repayment thresholds are adjusted each year to reflect any change in average weekly earnings.

Your compulsory repayment increases as your repayment income increases. The more you earn the higher your repayment. Your compulsory repayment is based on your income alone, not the income of your parents or spouse.

You must start repaying your debt when your repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold, even if you are still studying.

No. You are not charged interest on your debt. Your accumulated HELP debt is indexed annually on 1 June each year to maintain its real value by adjusting it in line with changes in the cost of living (as measured by the CPI). The indexation figure is calculated each year after the March CPI is released.