FEE-HELP is a loan from the Australian Government to pay all or part of your fees when you study a higher education course at an approved higher education provider.
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FEE-HELP publications
FEE-HELP booklet and fact sheet are available on the HELP publications page.
Eligibility for FEE-HELP loan
To receive a FEE-HELP loan you must meet the eligibility criteria.
You must:
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be enrolled in a full fee-paying place at a provider that offers FEE-HELP loans
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meet the citizenship and residency requirements
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submit the request for Commonwealth assistance form to your provider by the census date
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have available HELP balance
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be assessed as a genuine student and as academically suitable for your unit(s) of study
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not undertake more than two years' worth of higher education study in 12 months unless approved by your provider.
Citizenship and residency requirements
To meet the citizenship and residency requirements you must be one of the following:
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an Australian citizen who will study at least one unit of your course of study in Australia
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a New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holder, or eligible former New Zealand SCV holder who meets the long-term residency requirements and who studies the entire course while living in Australia
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a permanent humanitarian visa holder or an eligible former permanent humanitarian visa holder who studies the entire course while living in Australia
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a Pacific engagement visa (PEV) holder who will be a resident in Australia for the duration of your unit(s)
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an Australian permanent resident who has been approved for bridging studies
Additional requirements
You will also need your tax file number (TFN) and unique student identifier (USI) to be eligible.
Useful links and resources
Find more information about your tax file number.
Learn more about your USI and CHESSN.
Further information is available in the eligibility FAQs.
How to apply for a FEE-HELP loan
To apply for FEE-HELP loan you must submit an electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) by the census date. A separate eCAF must be submitted for each type of loan you are applying for.
For example
If you are applying for a FEE-HELP loan to pay for your tuition fees and you also intend to apply for a SA-HELP loan to pay your provider’s student services and amenities fee, you will need to submit two forms.
Useful links and resources
eCAFs are only available from your higher education provider. Further information on the application process and eCAF is available at how to apply for a loan.
Full fee-paying course cost
As higher education providers set their own fees, the cost of a full fee-paying place can vary across courses and providers. There is no guarantee that the cost of a course will be under the HELP loan limit.
It is your responsibility to check the cost of a course on your provider’s website or by asking them directly.
FEE-HELP loan fee
When enrolled in a full fee-paying place, there is a 20% FEE-HELP loan fee applied to some undergraduate study.
The loan fee does not count towards the HELP loan limit.
The loan fee is applied to each unit of study.
For example
If you are studying a unit that costs $3,000, the loan fee for that unit will be $600. Therefore, your total FEE-HELP debt for that unit will be $3,600.
The loan fee does NOT apply to:
- undergraduate study (with a census date on or after 1 January 2019) if you are enrolled at a Table B provider
- postgraduate study or enabling courses
- undergraduate study through Open Universities Australia
- bridging study for overseas-trained professionals.
Expiration of the FEE-HELP loan fee exemption
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a FEE-HELP loan fee exemption applied for units of study with census dates between 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2022.
Pass rate requirements
There are pass rate requirements for students undertaking units of study (that do not form part of a course) through Open Universities Australia (OUA).
This means students will not be eligible for FEE-HELP assistance if they have undertaken 8 or more units and failed more than 50% of those units.
Indexation of FEE-HELP loans
Similar to interest, your HELP debt will grow. We call this ‘indexation’. Indexation is applied on 1 June every year to the portion of your HELP debt that is older than 11 months.
Indexation is added to your HELP debt to reflect the changes in the cost of living. This is done to ensure education maintains its value over time, like other goods and services.
The rate of indexation that is applied to your debt changes each year.
It is important you understand how indexation will impact your FEE-HELP debt. Further information about indexation is available at loan increases and indexation.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for applying indexation and managing HELP debt repayments. Current and past indexation rates are available on the ATO website.
Repayment of FEE-HELP loans
Your FEE-HELP loan amount will be added to your accumulated HELP debt and is repaid through the Australian tax system to the ATO.
You must make a compulsory repayment against your HELP debt when you start earning above the compulsory repayment threshold. You can also make voluntary repayments to the ATO at any time to reduce the balance of your HELP debt.
Further information regarding repayment of your HELP loan is available at loan repayments.
Repayment options
Further information regarding repayment options is also available on the ATO website. You can discuss your HELP debt and repayment options by calling the ATO directly on 13 28 61 or visiting ATO online services linked to your myGov account.