A deadline set by your provider, which is earlier than the census date, for submitting forms or making upfront payments. Your provider must still allow you to submit your HELP application form on or before the census date. Your provider cannot set an administrative date in relation to withdrawing from a unit or course. 

Not all providers have an administrative date, and some may refer to this deadline as a payment due date, an invoice due date or a fees payment date.

A university or registered higher education provider that has been approved by the Australian Government to offer Commonwealth supported places (CSPs) and Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loans to eligible students.

An ATAR is a ranking that indicates a student's position relative to other students. Universities use the ATAR to select students for their courses and admissions.

The national policy for regulated qualifications in Australian education and training. The AQF provides the standards for Australian qualifications and is structured by knowledge and skills criteria for each level of qualification. Read more on the AQF website.

A student’s remaining borrowing capacity for HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP and VET Student Loans. Your available HELP balance is the amount you can still borrow up to the HELP loan limit. View your available HELP balance at www.myHELPbalance.gov.au.

Bridging study is for professionals who became qualified overseas. Bridging study will help you get your qualifications recognised so you can work in Australia.

This date is set by providers and it is the legal deadline for various requirements, like making an upfront payment of your student contributions, applying for a HECS-HELP loan or formally withdrawing your enrolment so you are not charged tuition fees or incurring a HELP debt.

A notice from your provider given after the census date that gives you information about the Commonwealth assistance you have used for the study period. You will receive your CAN within 28 days of your census date. If you think there are errors on your CAN, you have 14 days from the date after your CAN was issued to contact your provider and ask for a revised one.

This is a 10-digit number provided by the Australian Government, to all students who are in receipt of a CSP or HELP loan. If you have accessed Commonwealth assistance between 2005 and 2020 you will have been assigned a CHESSN. From 2021 the CHESSN was replaced with the Unique Student Identifier (USI) for new students.

Financial support available (from July 2025) for eligible nursing, teaching and social work students while they’re undertaking mandatory placements related to their course.

An enrolment type at a higher education provider that is subsidised by the government. If you are enrolled in a CSP, the government pays part of your fees while the remaining portion you have to pay is the ‘student contribution’ amount’. You can pay this by making an upfront payment to you higher education provider or applying for a HECS-HELP loan, if you are eligible. 

A repayment towards your HELP debt, to the ATO, that must be made when your income exceeds the compulsory repayment threshold.

The amount you must earn before you have to make a compulsory HELP debt repayment to the ATO. If you earn over the compulsory threshold you must make a compulsory repayment. If you earn below the compulsory threshold you do not need to make a repayment. For the 2024-25 income year it is $54,435.

A measure of inflation linked to the change in the prices paid by households for goods and services.

Tuition fees for the units of study you enrol in for each study period.

A course leading to a higher education award, like a bachelor degree.

The form you must submit to your provider to request a HELP loan and/or accept an offer of a CSP.

A person who is: 

• not a current permanent humanitarian visa holder; and
• was previously a permanent humanitarian visa holder; and
• the current holder of a subclass 155 or subclass 157 Resident Return visa.

This is how your study ‘load’ (or amount of study) is measured. For one year, a full-time student is normally enrolled in one EFTSL of study.

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 university or approved higher education provider in a full fee-paying place. 

When enrolled in a full fee-paying place, there is a 20% FEE-HELP loan fee applied to some undergraduate study. The loan fee is applied to each unit of study but does not count towards your HELP loan limit.

A place in a course which is not a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) (i.e. not subsidised by the Australian Government). You can pay the full fees by making an upfront payment to you higher education provider or applying for a FEE-HELP loan, if you are eligible.

Grandfathering applies where a CSP enrolled student:

• commenced a course of study with a higher education provider before 1 January 2021 but did not complete the course immediately before that day; or
• completed a course of study with a higher education provider before 1 January 2021 and, on or after that day, commences an honours course that relates to the earlier course and that is leading to a higher education award that is an honours degree; and

is undertaking units of study where the student contribution has increased, they will continue paying the same amount (i.e the lower grandfathered amounts).

HECS-HELP (also known as HECS) is a loan from the Australian Government for students enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) to pay their student contribution amount. 

This is how much you owe and must repay to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). This includes the total of any HELP loans or VET Student Loans you have incurred. It will also include any applicable loan fees and any indexation that has been applied to your HELP debt.

This is a cap on what you can borrow from the Commonwealth to cover the cost of your tertiary studies. All FEE-HELP, VET Student Loans, VET FEE-HELP [closed]) and HECS-HELP from 1 January 2020, count towards the HELP loan limit. If you wish to undertake further study with a HELP loan, you need to have enough HELP balance available.

A postgraduate degree which primarily involves a supervised research project on a subject. Higher degrees by research include a doctor of philosophy (PhD or doctorate).

The Commonwealth legislation that outlines the requirements for getting a CSP, HECS-HELP loan and other Australian Government assistance.

A qualification covered by level 5-10 of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). These include associate degree, bachelor degree, graduate certificate, graduate diploma, masters degree or doctoral degree.

Australian Government loans to help you pay your student contributions (HECS-HELP), tuition fees (FEE-HELP or VET Student Loans/
VET FEE HELP [closed], overseas study expenses (OS-HELP), the student services and amenities fee (SA-HELP) or accelerator program course fees (STARTUP-HELP). HELP loans are repaid through the Australian tax system once you earn above the compulsory repayment threshold.

A broad term to describe a university or other type of provider (like an institute or college) that is registered with TEQSA and delivers higher education awards.

This is legislated under the Act and is applied on 1 June each year to the portion of a HELP debt that is 11 months or older.

The rate of indexation changes each year and until recently was based solely on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Legislation was passed in November 2024 to change the way HELP indexation is calculated to use the lower of the CPI or Wage Price Index (WPI). This change has been backdated to 1 June 2023.

Only applies to study undertaken at Open Universities Australia (OUA). If you are studying a course through OUA, you must meet minimum unit pass rates to avoid being withdrawn from your course. 

Your enrolment may be cancelled if you have failed more than 50 per cent of the units of study you have attempted.

If you arrived in Australia using a New Zealand passport, in the absence of another valid Australian visa, you will have automatically received a Special Category Visa (SCV) provided you met certain security, character and health requirements. It is a temporary visa that expires as soon as you leave Australia, but it remains in place for as long as you remain in Australia.

From 29 June 2023, New Zealand citizens who formerly held a Special Category Visa and have transitioned to a permanent resident visa on the pathway to Australian citizenship will retain access to the Higher Education Loan Program, if they meet the residency requirements.

OS-HELP is a loan from the Australian Government for students enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) to pay for overseas study expenses, where part of the course is studied overseas.

The official name of the form you must submit to your provider to apply for an OS-HELP loan. This is usually done online, as an eCAF.

Legal guidelines made under the Act that specifically relate to the administration of OS-HELP loans and applicable OS-HELP limits. 

A person who holds a Subclass 192 (Pacific Engagement) visa under the Migration Regulations 1994. This is a permanent resident visa for eligible individuals from participating countries across the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

Under the PAYG withholding system, your employer may withhold regular amounts from your wage to cover the compulsory repayments for your HELP debt.

Postgraduate study is undertaken after you have completed your undergraduate degree and builds on a student’s knowledge. It includes graduate certificates, graduate diplomas and masters degrees.

Universities based in Australia that are not government funded to offer CSPs and receive the majority of their funding from full fee-paying places.

Universities based in Australia that are in receipt of Commonwealth Grant Scheme Funding (CGS) and are funded to offer CSPs.

You can apply to your provider to have your previous study or employment skills recognised by your higher education provider to gain entry into a course or apply for credit to exempt you from completing a unit of study in your course.

A higher education provider registered by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA)

Remitting is when a a higher education provider may reverse a HELP loan (or refund an upfront payment) for a unit of study, where a person withdraws after the census date, or does not pass the subject due to special circumstances.

The form you must submit to your provider via an electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) to access a HELP loan and/or CSP.

SA-HELP is a loan from the Australian Government that students can use to pay their student services and amenities fee (SSAF).

Specific requirements that a student must meet for their HELP balance to be re-credited, HECS-HELP debt to be remitted, or upfront payment refunded. A higher education provider must assess a student’s application against the legal criteria.

A Startup Year course is an accelerator program designed to develop a person’s skills, capabilities and connections for the purposes of startup businesses.

STARTUP-HELP is a loan from the Australian Government that eligible students can use to pay their accelerator program course fees for Startup Year courses.

Services available at your provider to help students understand academic and administrative processes. These services are independent of the provider’s staff and may assist students navigate policies and procedures e.g. appeals and complaints.

The amount of fees you will pay as a Commonwealth supported student enrolled in a CSP.

The SLE is the amount of study you can undertake in a CSP in your lifetime. All students will start with 7 equivalent fulltime study load (EFTSL) of Commonwealth supported study. Your SLE balance will reduce by the EFTSL value of the units you undertake in a CSP with a census date after 1 January 2022.

Providers can charge students a fee for non-academic services and facilities such as sporting and recreational activities, employment and career advice, financial advice and food services. 

Depending on how your higher education course is structured, this could be a semester, trimester, term or other session.

A provider's policy that explains the support available to students to assist them to successfully complete their units of study. The policy must include information on processes for identifying students at risk of failing their units of study and the support available to assist students to successfully complete them.

Your unique identification number from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for everything tax-related. You must have a TFN to obtain a HELP loan and make HELP debt repayments to the ATO. The fastest way to apply for a TFN is online using myGovID

A one-off payment to help students with the cost of moving from a regional or remote area for higher education. Read more at Tertiary Access Payment - Services Australia.

Tertiary Admission Centres (TACs) are state and territory based and manage the applications and offers process on behalf of universities.

Fees for each unit of study in your course.

Bachelor degrees are the most common undergraduate qualification and provide students with broad knowledge and skills for performing work or undertaking further learning. Undergraduate degrees are usually studied at university but can also be studied at private higher education providers and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) providers.

Your USI is a unique 10-digit alpha-numeric identifier assigned to you by the Student Identifiers Registrar under the Student Identifiers Act 2014. Your USI is used to connect your student loan information to your personal details. If you are starting a higher education course, you will need to have a USI by the census date and report it to your provider to get a HELP loan for your study. If you do not already have a USI, you can apply for one on the Unique Student Identifier website at www.usi.gov.au. 

Vocational Education and Training (VET) is specific industry and workplace education which usually takes place at Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) such as Tertiary and Further Education (TAFE) providers. Examples include certificates I-IV and diplomas.

A voluntary HELP debt repayment is an additional repayment, over and above your compulsory HELP debt repayment. 

Worldwide income is income earned outside Australia. If you move overseas, your HELP repayment obligations remain. You must submit your worldwide income information and make a payment, just as you would at tax time if you were in Australia.

Wage Price Index measures the change in wages and salaries over a period. Proposed changes to indexation suggest using the lower of the WPI or CPI.