These mutual rights and obligations can be about paying for your studies, the learning environment, or your overall student experience.

Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF)

To apply for a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) and/or a Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loan, you must submit an electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) on or before the census date.

It is important you understand that by signing and submitting an eCAF, you are agreeing to a HELP loan from the government that must be repaid and is likely to grow over time due to indexation.

It is important you understand the terms and conditions of the HELP loan. By signing your eCAF, you are declaring that you have read the form and the HELP information booklet.

It is also important to consider your own financial circumstances, as having a HELP debt can be considered when trying to access personal loans, like a house or car loan.

HELP publications

The HELP information booklets and factsheets have important information about the terms and conditions of the HELP loan you are applying for, including eligibility criteria, indexation and your repayment obligations.

Census date and withdrawing

A census date is the last day you can make an upfront payment, apply for a HELP loan, accept an offer in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) or formally withdraw from your study without incurring a HELP debt or losing an upfront payment.

A census date is required by law, but each higher education provider is responsible for setting their own census dates, so they vary across different courses and providers.

If you do not submit your HELP loan form on or before the census date:

• you will not be eligible to access a HELP loan for that study period
• your enrolment and subsidy (if enrolled in a CSP) will be cancelled.

If you have already submitted your eCAF, the census date is the last day you can withdraw from your course. 

If you change your mind about a course and withdraw before the census date, you won’t be charged. If you withdraw after the census date, you will still get a HELP debt.

It is important you check the census date with your provider.

Support for Students Policy

Higher education providers are required by legislation to have a Support for Students Policy which outlines the resources available to help their students succeed in their studies.

A provider must have a Support for Students Policy that explains the support available to students to assist them to successfully complete the units of study in which they are enrolled.

The provider’s Support for Students Policy must include information on:

• the provider’s processes for identifying students that are at risk of failing their units of study, and
• the support available from the provider to assist students to successfully complete the units of study in which they are enrolled.

The policy needs to be easily available to students and publicly available on your provider’s website.

If you can’t find your provider’s Support for Students Policy, check with your provider’s student administration area.

Grievances and complaints

If you are unhappy with your student experience at your higher education provider, you should immediately raise it with your provider to resolve the issue quickly and informally. 

If this does not resolve the issue, providers must have a formal complaints policy and procedure to provide students with an appropriate avenue to have their concerns addressed. 

You may need to submit a complaint which follows a formal process for resolution. This might be appropriate where:

• the issue cannot or has not been resolved informally
• you believe you did not get an appropriate response
• you feel your issue was not adequately addressed by your provider
• you are unhappy with a decision your provider has made.

You must receive a written response to a formal complaint from your provider, including instructions on how to request a review if you are not happy with the decision.

All providers are required to have procedures in place to resolve issues that outline how they will review, assess and respond to academic and non-academic complaints.

These must be made publicly available such as on a website, student portal or in a student handbook. You should look at these in relation to your circumstances. If you are unsure, you can also contact your provider directly and ask them about their process.

Remission of debt through special circumstances

If you were unable to continue your study because of something beyond your control, you may be able to have your HELP debt remitted or reversed due to ‘special circumstances’.

To meet the special circumstances criteria, you need to show that what affected you:

• was beyond your control;
• did not make the full impact on you until on or after the census date(s) of the unit(s); and
• made it not practicable for you to complete the unit(s).

Raising a concern with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA)

All Australian higher education providers must offer students quality higher education and access to information related to their experience. They must be registered with the national regulator, TEQSA and meet legislated threshold standards.

If you think the issues you have raised are relevant to your provider’s compliance with the threshold standards, you may raise a concern with TEQSA. It is important to note that TEQSA is not a complaint handling body, and it does not usually investigate one-off complaints. Find out more about how to raise a concern.