Services and Amenities Fee

2012 Fact Sheet

2012 SA-HELP Information Booklet

Who is liable for the Services and Amenities Fee?

Information on how the SA Fee will be charged

SA Fee Refund Policy

Background

On 11 October 2011, the Australian Parliament passed legislation allowing universities and other higher education providers to charge a fee for student services and amenities of a non-academic nature.  The fee may be spent by higher education providers on items such as sporting and recreational activities, employment and career advice, child care, financial advice and food services from 2012.  Please check the government web site for further information.

http://www.deewr.gov.au/highereducation/programs/studentsupport/studentservicesandamenities/Pages/Home.aspx

What will the SA Fee be?

The ANU will charge the fee in 2012 to all domestic students as follows:

• $263.00 for full-time students (to be indexed each year)
• $131.50 for part-time students (to be indexed each year)
• There will be a new HELP loan introduced called SA HELP and this will be available to all Australian citizens and Humanitarian visa holders enrolled in an award program.
  

The maximum amount that can be charged in 2012 is capped at $263.00. For more information on how the SA Fee will be charged, please click here.

Due to limitations under ESOS (Education Services for Overseas Students Act) all International students will have this fee incorporated into their tuition fees from 2013 onwards.  A contribution by the University on behalf of international students will be made in 2012 towards the funding priorities determined in consultation with your student representatives.  

Scenario 1

If Mary was to enrol in 24 units in Semester One 2012 she will be required to pay $131.50.  If she then enrols in 24 units in Semester Two she will be required to pay another $131.50.

Scenario 2

If Mary was to enrol in 6 units in Summer session 2012 she would be required to pay $65.75 because she is part time.  If she then enrolled in 18 units in Semester One 2012 Mary would be required to pay another $65.75 making a total of $131.50 for summer session and semester one combined because she is now full time.

Scenario 3

If Mary was to enrol in 6 units in Summer session 2012 she would be required to pay $65.75.  If she then enrolled in 6 units in Semester One 2012 Mary would still be part time so she wouldn’t be required to pay anything further.  But if Mary was to then enrol in Autumn session in 6 units she would then be required to pay another $65.75 because she would now be considered to be full time.

Full-time (F/T) is equal to 18 units or greater in a half year period (International students on a student visa are required to be enrolled in 24 units per semester unless they have been granted permission to enrol in less)
Part-time (P/T) is equal to less than 18 units in a half year period

First half of the year includes Summer session, Semester One and Autumn session.
Second half of the year includes Winter session, Semester Two and Spring session.

When will the fee be introduced?

Students commencing and continuing in 2012 will be charged the Services and Amenities Fee (SA Fee) from 1 January 2012.

When do I have to pay?

If you intend to pay the fee upfront the due dates in 2012 will be;

Semester One                      9 March 2012
Semester Two                      10 August 2012

Non-standard sessions will be due 21 days from the date the invoice is issued.

Can I get help with my payment?

SA HELP will form part of the suite of HELP loans offered by the government.  All Australian citizens and Humanitarian visa holders enrolled in an award program will be eligible to defer the debt in the same fashion as HECS HELP and FEE HELP works. New Zealand Citizens, Permanent Residents and International students are not eligible for SA HELP.

Students may elect to pay up front as they do for their student contribution or they may defer the debt.
If a student chooses to defer the SA Fee they will be required to submit a request for  Commonwealth Assistance form for SA HELP by no later than the incurral date set by the university.  This date is different to the due date for payment.

The incurral dates for 2012 will be as follows:

The incurral date is the last day a student who would like to access SA HELP can submit their Request for Commonwealth Assistance form.  Forms received after this date can only be applied to later semesters or sessions.

SA Fee for cross-institutional students

Cross-institutional students will not be eligible to use SA-HELP.

A cross-institutional student is a student who undertakes courses at one institution (the host provider) while formally enrolled for an award at another institution as part of a program of another institution (the home provider), where there is an arrangement for recognition of study by both institutions.

What will the SA Fee income be used for?

Expenditure of the Services and Amenities Fee is limited to a number of services and items specified by the Commonwealth.  For further information on what this includes please visit the following website: http://www.deewr.gov.au/highereducation/programs/studentsupport/studentservicesandamenities/Pages/Home.aspx
The University has been working with student representatives on funding priorities for income collected from the SA Fee and has committed to keeping the student community up to date on proposed priorities as discussions progress and further information becomes available. 

The following have received funding ($ 000s):

*Note allocation to ANUSA/ PARSA shared services

If you would like to provide feedback on the proposed priories identified above or have other suggestions you would like to put forward please email the Pro Vice Chancellor (Learning, Teaching and Students) at pvc.lts@anu.edu.au

Student Extracurricular Enrichment Fund (SEEF)

The SEEF will support student groups and individual students to undertake projects or activities which enrich their experience at the ANU. Funding of up to $2,000 for individual students and $4,000 for student groups is available. There will be three rounds of funding in 2012, with applications for the first round closing on the 14th of May.
Selection panel will be comprised of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning, Teaching and Students), the Deputy Registrar (Student Services), the Dean of Students and representatives of ANUSA, PARSA, ANU Student Media, ANU Sport and the ANU Union.

The SEEF Guidelines containing full information are available here.

Timeline

SA Fee Refund Policy

Students who, prior to the census date of their course(s), voluntarily withdraw from their program, take program leave from a session of study or withdraw from all their courses in a session of study, will not be liable for the SA Fee for that session of study. If the SA Fee was paid upfront to the University you will be eligible for a refund of the amount paid for that session; or if you opted to obtain a SA-HELP loan, you will no longer be liable.

Students who, after the census date of their course(s), voluntarily withdraw from their program or withdraw from all their courses in a session of study, will remain liable for the SA Fee in that session of study and will not be refunded their SA Fee where paid upfront or remitted their SA-HELP debt if deferred.