When you attend university or an approved higher education provider, you can get a FEE-HELP loan to pay all or part of your tuition fees.
A FEE-HELP loan does not cover costs like accommodation, laptops or text books.
Eligibility
Your provider will assess your eligibility for a HELP loan against the criteria below. If you have any questions, please contact your provider.
To get a FEE-HELP loan, you must:
- be an Australian citizen and meet the residency requirements (you must study at least part of your course in Australia).
- be a New Zealand Special Category visa (SCV) holder or permanent humanitarian visa holder and meet the residency requirements.
- permanent residents can only get FEE-HELP for approved bridging studies.
- be enrolled in a fee-paying place at a provider that offers FEE-HELP loans.
- submit the Request for FEE-HELP form to your provider by the census date.
- not have already borrowed up to your FEE-HELP limit.
How much can I borrow?
You can borrow up to the FEE-HELP limit to pay your tuition fees.
For 2019, the FEE-HELP limit is $104,440. If you plan to study medicine, dentistry or veterinary science, the FEE-HELP limit is $150,000.
This does not mean you get that amount each year. The FEE-HELP limit is currently a lifetime limit.
However, from the 2019-20 financial year this will change so that any repayments you make on your debt will 'top up' your HELP loan balance.
Once you begin using FEE-HELP, the amount of FEE-HELP you have left is known as your 'FEE-HELP balance'. You can check your FEE-HELP balance on myUniAssist.
Loan fee
If you get a FEE-HELP loan to pay for your undergraduate course, you will have to pay a 25% loan fee*
The loan fee does NOT apply to you if:
- you study at Bond University, the University of Notre Dame Australia, Torrens University or the University of Divinity and your unit of study has a census date after 1 January 2019,
- your course is postgraduate study (including higher degrees by research) or is an enabling course,
- you are enrolled in units of study through Open Universities Australia, or
- you are getting a FEE-HELP loan to pay for approved bridging studies.
*The loan fee does not count towards your FEE-HELP limit.
Applying
To get a FEE-HELP loan, you will need a tax file number (TFN) and a Request for FEE-HELP assistance form, which your provider will give you.
Your form must be filled in and submitted to your provider before the census date (or administrative date).