Will I be eligible for a CSP?

If you have already studied an undergraduate degree at a public university, you may have been enrolled in a government subsidised Commonwealth supported place (CSP) and applied for a HECS-HELP (also known as HECS) loan.

Limited postgraduate courses such as graduate diplomas or masters degrees are offered as a CSP. Instead, you may be offered a full fee-paying place and need to pay the full cost of your studies.

It is best to check with your higher education provider whether your chosen course is offered as a CSP. If not, you may be eligible for a FEE-HELP loan to defer and pay the fees later instead of paying upfront. The 20% loan fee that usually applies to FEE-HELP loans does not apply to postgraduate study.

Check you have enough HELP loan limit and Student Learning Entitlement

There is a limit to the amount you can borrow through a HELP loan. If you have studied before, you may have already used some of this limit.

Before you enrol, check you have enough available HELP balance to complete your study. If you don’t, you may have to pay your tuition fees upfront part way through your study. 

You also need to check your Student Learning Entitlement (SLE). The total SLE limit is the total amount of study a student can take in a CSP. If you don’t have enough SLE to complete your course, you will not be able to access a CSP for your course. 

You can check your available HELP loan balance and available SLE by logging into myHELPbalance.