HELP Loans for New Zealand Citizens

The Australian Government has passed legislation, effective from 1st January 2016, to provide Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) loans to New Zealand citizens who are Special Category Visa (SCV) holders and meet the eligibility criteria.

Note: being a New Zealand citizen, or holding a Special Category Visa, won't automatically entitle you to a HELP loan - The Australian National University will assess whether you meet all of the eligibility criteria based on the documentation you provide.

The documentation you provide (and subsequent assessment) is linked to your current program. If you transfer your degree at any stage in the future, you will need to re-apply for HELP eligibility with new documentation by the relevant census date.

Important Information

  • Students who do not meet the requirements under the legislation must be prepared to pay their tuition fees upfront in full by the date shown on their invoice. No extensions will be granted on fee deadlines on the basis of insufficient or non-provided documentation, regardless of whether you may or may not meet the criteria.
  • Submission of documents does not mean you are automatically entitled to HELP. If approved for HELP, you will need to ensure that you submit the relevant electronic Commonwealth Assistance Forms (eCAF) in ISIS by the census date as well as provide a valid Australian Taxation File Number (TFN), More information is available on the linked web pages to the right.
  • If you are a New Zealand student using HELP, you are responsible for ensuring you have adequate HELP balance left for your enrolment(s) in subsequent semesters. Information on how to check your HELP balance is available on the HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP web pages.

 

What are the eligibility criteria?

In order to be deemed eligible to access to HELP Loans (FEE-HELP, HECS-HELP and/or SA-HELP) a New Zealand SCV holder must meet all the long-term residency requirements.

The long-term residency requirements are that you:

  • first began to be usually resident in Australia at least 10 years ago; and
  • were a child aged under 18 with no spouse or de facto partner when you first began to be usually resident in Australia at least 10 years ago; and
  • have resided in Australia for at least:
    • a total of eight out of the past 10 years (from when you apply for the loan); and
    • a total of 18 months out of the last two years (from when you apply for the loan).

You must also meet all other eligibility for FEE-HELP, HECS-HELP and/or SA-HELP as outlined on the relevant pages.

Proof of Eligibility

To qualify for HELP for a course, sufficient documentation must be provided to ANU before the census date of your first course in your current session/semester.

If you believe you meet all of the above eligibility criteria you must present the following items to ANU Student Central:

  • your New Zealand passport; and
  • proof of long-term residency.

Proof of long-term residency could take the form of:

  • an International Movement Record from the Department of Home Affairs (formerly the Department of Immigration and Border Protection); or
  • school records showing consistent enrolment at an Australian school/s between 2014 and 2024.

It is our recommendation that of the two above options you request and supply an official Movement Record instead of school records as this is the easiest way to verify your residency in Australia in full, as school records can often be inconsistent or insufficient evidence.

Certification of Documents

Any documentation you provide as evidence of eligibility (i.e. New Zealand Passport or school records) must be certified before it can be accepted. 

A certified copy of a document is an unaltered copy of an original document that has been certified by an authorised person as being a true copy.

There are two ways to certify your documentation for ANU purposes:

  1. Bring the original documentation (i.e. your physical New Zealand Passport) to Student Central on the ground level of the Di Riddell Student Centre; or
  2. Email a certified copy of a document to student@anu.edu.au from your ANU email account. You can find a full list of who can certify documentation  on the Document Certification and Translation webpage.

Please note that if you are providing a copy of your International Movement Records (as provided by the Department of Home Affairs) this document does not need to be certified.

 

 

Principal dates

31
Mar
2025

Semester 1 census date

31
Aug
2025

Semester 2 Census Date

Advisory information

Policies

Related websites

Contact