Division of Registrar & Student Services
Student Administration Services
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Division of Registrar & Student Services
Student Administration Services
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FEE-HELP
Terminology
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| DEEWR | ANU |
| Course | Program |
| Unit | Course |
| Credit Point | Unit |
FEE-HELP is a loan scheme that assists eligible fee paying students to pay their tuition fees. FEE-HELP can cover all or part of a student’s tuition fees. Over their lifetime, a student may borrow through FEE-HELP an amount up to the FEE-HELP limit to pay their tuition fees.
There is no loan fee for FEE-HELP loans for graduate courses or bridging study for overseas-trained professionals.
The Australian Government pays the amount of the loan direct to ANU. Students repay their loans through the Australian taxation system once their repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold for compulsory repayment. Voluntary repayments may be made at any time regardless of income.
Please refer to Section 9.2 of the FEE-HELP information booklet.
Australian citizens and permanent humanitarian visa holders who are enrolled in an award program are eligible to use FEE-HELP providing they complete a Request for FEE-HELP assistance on or before the census date of their first course in their current session/semester, and have not exceeded their FEE-HELP limit.
Students enrolled at ANU on a cross-institutional basis may use FEE-HELP as long as they provide written advice from their home institution confirming that the course will be going towards their program of study at the home institution.
Students enrolled in a non-award course that is not being studied on a cross-institutional basis are not eligible to use FEE-HELP for that course.
Permanent residents, NZ Citizens and temporary residents are not eligible to use FEE-HELP.
No. Your income and assets do not affect your eligibility for FEE-HELP. Your income may result in you being required to start to repay your FEE-HELP debt.
See Section 9.2 of the FEE-HELP information booklet for the repayment thresholds and repayment rates.
An eligible course of study is a subject which is part of a program leading to a higher education award (e.g. Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, Master of Applied Statistics).
Eligible students may borrow up to the FEE-HELP limit to pay tuition fees over their lifetime.
The FEE-HELP limit is indexed on 1 January each year.
As a person uses FEE-HELP to pay tuition fees, the amount they may borrow in the future is reduced. Once a person has borrowed an amount equal to the FEE-HELP limit (the indexed amount at that time), they will not be able to receive FEE-HELP to pay tuition fees. This applies even if a person has partially or fully repaid their FEE-HELP loan.
The ANU will set the tuition fee for your course of study and the date by which payment of your fee is required. If you decide not to pay the full tuition fee up front to ANU and you are eligible for FEE-HELP, you may:
If you are entitled to FEE-HELP, the Australian Government will lend to you the amount of any tuition fee for your course of study which has not been paid at the end of the census date for the course. You must apply for a FEE-HELP loan before a FEE-HELP loan will be given to you. This must be done on or before the census date of your first course.
The Australian Government will pay the outstanding amount of your tuition fee direct to ANU on your behalf.
FEE-HELP provides a loan for tuition fees only. FEE-HELP does not cover accommodation and general living expenses.
Your ‘FEE-HELP balance’ is the amount of FEE-HELP you are still able to borrow.
For example, if you commenced an graduate law program as a fee paying student and borrowed $12,600 through FEE-HELP to pay the tuition fees in 2008, your FEE-HELP balance will be $70,713 at the beginning of 2009. Once you reach the FEE-HELP limit, your FEE-HELP balance is nil.
If you enrol in a course of study and the tuition fee exceeds your FEE-HELP balance, you will receive FEE-HELP assistance only for an amount equal to your FEE-HELP balance.
You will need to pay the remainder of your tuition fee direct to the ANU. If you do not do this the ANU may cancel your enrolment as some of your tuition fee will remain unpaid.
IMPORTANT! It is your responsibility to be aware of your FEE-HELP balance and to advise the ANU if you do not have sufficient FEE-HELP balance to cover your tuition fee. |
If you are eligible for FEE-HELP assistance and would like to obtain a FEE-HELP loan, you should complete a Request for FEE-HELP assistance form. All FEE-HELP forms are completed through ISIS by selecting ‘Account details’ from the menu list and then selecting ‘eCAF’. If there is no form available on ISIS and you believe your are eligible to use FEE-HELP, you should contact the Student Fees Office on (02) 6125 8124 or fees.officer@anu.edu.au immediately.
IMPORTANT! You must complete and submit the form through ISIS on or before the census date for the first course for which you wish to obtain FEE-HELP assistance. If you have not submitted a completed Request for FEE-HELP assistance form on or before the census date for the course, you will not be entitled to FEE-HELP assistance for that course and the Australian Government will not pay your tuition fee for that course. |
When you sign your Request for FEE-HELP assistance form, you are:
You may choose to pay the tuition fee for some or all of the courses covered by your form. Once FEE-HELP has been approved, you must email the fees.officer@anu.edu.au to advise if you wish to pay some or all of your tuition fees. You must advise if your payment is a once off payment or if you wish your FEE-HELP loan to be stopped indefinitely. If you request that your FEE-HELP loan be stopped indefinitely, and at a later date you wish for your FEE-HELP loan to be reinstated, it is your responsibility to ensure that this request is put in writing to the fees.officer@anu.edu.au on or before the census date of the course you wish to use FEE-HELP for.
You will be asked to provide your tax file number (TFN) when completing and submitting the Request for FEE-HELP assistance form.
If you choose not to provide your TFN, you will not be entitled to FEE-HELP. If you cannot quote your TFN when you enrol, you should either obtain a TFN, or a Certificate of application for a tax file number (TFN) from the Tax Office stating that you have applied for one, and then provide that certificate to the Student Fees Office on or before census date.
The ANU will use your TFN to provide advice to the Tax Office of the amount of your loan.
IMPORTANT! |
You must submit your Request for FEE-HELP assistance form online through ISIS on or before census date for the first course of study for which you wish to obtain FEE-HELP assistance.
IMPORTANT! |
You will need to submit a new Request for FEE-HELP assistance form if you transfer from one program of study to another.
You incur a FEE-HELP debt immediately after the census date for each course of study for which you have received FEE-HELP assistance.
After the census date for your course of study, ANU will provide you with a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) for that course. Your CAN will be available on ISIS by selecting ‘account details’ from the menu and then selecting ‘eCAN’. This notice will provide you with information on your FEE-HELP debt for that course. The notice may cover more that one course.
Your notice will enable you to check if the calculation of your FEE-HELP debt for the courses covered by the notice is correct.
If you believe the CAN is incorrect, you should give ANU a written request asking for the CAN to be corrected. You should identify the matters in the CAN that you believe are not correct and specify why you believe they are incorrect. You should give your request to the Manager of Enrolments within 14 days of the date of your CAN.
You should keep a record of all CANs that are made available to you. You need to be aware of the total amount of tuition fees that have been paid on your behalf using FEE-HELP. It is your responsibility to be aware of your FEE-HELP balance.
You must advise ANU if your FEE-HELP balance is less than the tuition fees you are required to pay. If you enrol in a course of study and the tuition fee exceeds your FEE-HELP balance, you will receive FEE-HELP assistance only for an amount equal to your FEE-HELP balance.
You will need to pay the remainder of your tuition fee direct to ANU. If you do not do this the ANU may cancel your enrolment as some of your tuition fee will remain unpaid.
Students are able to access the myUniAssist link for a summary of their personal details regarding Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) assistance through www.goingtouni.gov.au. Using their CHESSN and other personal identifying data, students can view their FEE-HELP usage as reported to DEEWR by ANU and other institutions. However this may not show your most recent courses taken so please check your CAN.
For further information go to www.goingtouni.gov.au or contact the Student Enquiry Line on 1800 020 108.
The Going to Uni website is maintained by DEEWR.
If, after the census date, you become seriously ill, or other special circumstances occur and you are unable to continue your studies, you can apply to ANU to have your FEE-HELP balance re-credited and your FEE-HELP debt removed for that course(s). You should note that there are time limits for applying.
IMPORTANT! If you have not paid your tuition fees, and you have requested FEE-HELP assistance, and you withdraw after the census date, you will have a debt to the Australian Government that you are legally required to pay. |
If you withdraw your enrolment in a course after the census date, or have not completed the requirements for a course, as a result of special circumstances, you may apply to have your FEE-HELP balance re-credited. Your FEE-HELP debt can only be re-credited in special circumstances.
If your FEE-HELP balance for a course is re-credited, any FEE-HELP debt you have incurred for that course will automatically be removed.
IMPORTANT! If you have successfully completed a course, you are not eligible to apply to have your FEE-HELP balance re-credited or your debt removed for that course. |
How to apply –
Your application for a remission of FEE-HELP debt because of special circumstances should be in writing and addressed to:
Manager
Enrolments
Student and Academic Services
Pauline Griffin Building (11)
ANU ACT 0200
Each application will be considered on its merits in conjunction with the supporting documentation you provide. Your supporting documentation should provide enough detail for Student Administration to make an informed decision regarding your case for remission. Students will be advised of the outcome of their request by letter within 4 weeks from the date ANU receive the request.
Special circumstances –
ANU will re-credit your FEE-HELP balance if we are satisfied that special circumstances applied to you that:
ANU will decide whether to re-credit your FEE-HELP balance in accordance with the requirements of HESA and guidelines made under the Act.
Time limits for applying –
You must make your application to ANU within twelve months after your withdrawal day.
Your withdrawal day is the day specified by ANU as the day your application for withdrawal of your enrolment takes effect. If you have not withdrawn your enrolment, your withdrawal is the last day of the period in which you undertook or were to undertake the course.
The ANU may waive the time limit for making your application to have your FEE-HELP debt removed if we are satisfied that it was not possible for you to apply within the time limit.
IMPORTANT! |
What if I am not satisfied with the decision? –
If you are not satisfied with the decision made on your application, you should apply to ANU for a review of that decision. The time limit for applying for a review of a decision is 28 days from the day on which you first received notice of the decision, or such longer period as ANU allows.
If you fail a course, you still have to pay the debt for that course. It does not matter whether or not you attended any classes.
You start repaying your accumulated HELP debt when your repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold for compulsory repayment. The repayment thresholds are adjusted each year to reflect any changes in average weekly earnings.
For further information regarding your repayment income, contact the Tax Office.
When your repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold for any particular year, the Tax Office will calculate your compulsory repayment for that year and include it on your income tax notice of assessment. The repayment thresholds are adjusted each year to reflect any change in average weekly earnings.
Your compulsory repayment increases as your repayment income increases. The more you earn the higher your repayment. Your compulsory repayment is based on your income alone, not the income of your parents or spouse. See Section 9.2 of the FEE-HELP information booklet for the repayment thresholds and repayment rates.
You must start repaying your debt when your repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold, even if you are still studying.
No. You are not charged interest on your debt. Your accumulated HELP debt is indexed annually on 1 June each year to maintain its real value by adjusting it in line with changes in the cost of living (as measured by the CPI). The indexation figure is calculated each year after the March CPI is released.
You can make a voluntary repayment to the Tax Office at any time and for any amount. Making a voluntary repayment reduces your debt immediately. However, you may still have to may a compulsory repayment, if after making a voluntary repayment,
Voluntary repayments are in addition to compulsory repayments. They are not refundable.
If you make a voluntary repayment of $500 or more, you will receive a bonus of 10%. This means your account will be credited with an additional 10% of your payment. The bonus is 10% of the payment you make, not 10% of the outstanding debt. You will not receive a bonus on repayment amounts that are more than the balance of your account.
To download a copy of the current FEE-HELP information book please visit www.goingtouni.gov.au
The Tax Office can explain what happens once you have a HELP debt, including how compulsory repayments are calculated and how indexation works.
If you have a tax file number, please have it ready before you call the Tax Office
Acronyms: |
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| CAN | Commonwealth Assistance Notice |
| CHESSN | Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number |
| DEEWR | Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations |
| HELP | Higher Education Loan Program |
| TFN | Tax file number |
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Page last updated: 30 October 2009 Please direct all enquiries to: Student Business Solutions Responsible Officer: Registrar |
| The Australian National University — CRICOS Provider Number 00120C |
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