When you attend university or an approved higher education provider, you can get a HECS-HELP loan to pay for your studies. You can only get a HECS-HELP loan if you are enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP).
A HECS-HELP loan does not cover costs like accommodation, laptops or text books. A HECS-HELP loan is used to pay your 'Student Contribution Amount'.
You can view a fact sheet on CSPs and HECS-HELP here.
Eligibility
Your provider will assess your eligibility for a HECS-HELP loan against the criteria below. If you have any questions, please contact your provider.
To get a HECS-HELP loan, you must:
- be studying in a Commonwealth supported place
- be an Australian citizen and meet the residency requirements (you must study at least some of your course in Australia)
- be a New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holder or permanent humanitarian visa holder and meet the residency requirements
- submit the Request for Commonwealth support and HECS-HELP form to your provider by the census date
- be enrolled in each unit/subject at your provider by the census date
- have available HELP balance
- have a Unique Student Identifier (USI) prior to the first census date (for new enrolments from 1 January 2021)
- have sufficient Student Learning Entitlement available (for new enrolments from 1 January 2022)
- meet the completion rate requirements (for new enrolments from 1 January 2022)
- not undertake more than 2 years' worth of higher education study in 12 months, unless your provider has assessed you as capable of taking on a higher study load.
Applying for a HECS-HELP loan
To apply for a HECS-HELP loan, you will need:
- your tax file number (TFN), or a Certificate of application for a TFN.
- a USI prior to the first census date.
- a Request for Commonwealth support and HECS-HELP form, which your university or higher education will give you.
You only need to apply for HECS-HELP once for the duration of your course.
Your form must be filled in and submitted to your provider before the census date.