Financial advice and assistance

To be eligible to receive available support from ANU Community Connect Financial Support, you will need to provide us with:

• Consent for us to access your ANU Student Administration System (SAS) records and Accommodation systems information to confirm your eligibility.  (Note: If your eligibility cannot be confirmed, we will contact you for more information before proceeding.) 
• Alternatively, please provide us with documentation (examples listed below). Please note the form will only allow one document to be uploaded, please combine your documents into one PDF if you would like to provide multiple.

If you do not wish for your information currently held in the University systems records to be used to validate your eligibility, you can upload documentation to the form manually.

Examples of documentation to include:

• Low Income Health Care Card,
• evidence of Centrelink payments, and
• evidence of a financial hardship scholarship, grant or bursary.

If you are not sure what documentation to provide in lieu of University records data, please contact student.life@anu.edu.au.

These grants are designed to provide financial assistance to eligible enrolled students who are experiencing sudden or unexpected financial hardship that is adversely affecting their education. The main criteria for a grant are the demonstration of a genuine need and that continued study may be in jeopardy due to financial hardship. The maximum grant available is $750 per year.

To be eligible, you must be enrolled as an ANU Undergraduate or ANU College student and be able to demonstrate financial need. An ANUSA Emergency Grant may be used to cover:

• Unexpected medical bills
• Accommodation (such as a bond)
• Short-term living expenses (due to delayed income, etc.)
• Emergency travel costs or travel costs related to medical issues.

Find out more about ANUSA Emergency Grants.

There are emergency accommodation bursaries available for undergraduate and postgraduate students. See the Bursaries and accommodation scholarships page for more information.

Please note: if you live at a residential hall or college, there may be internal bursaries available. Contact your residence's reception for more information.

There are a number of scholarship opportunities available at ANU. Check out the Scholarships page for more information.

Through the generosity of our community and donors, the Student Urgent Relief Bursary (SURF) provides support to ANU students who are experiencing financial hardship and require immediate financial assistance.

Students may apply for more than one expense; however, the maximum total amount disbursed may not exceed $1,000 AUD. Successful applicants do not have to repay the money (i.e. it's not a loan). There is no deadline to apply and every effort will be taken to process applications in a timely manner, generally on a weekly basis. Funds are limited and the SURF will operate until current funds are fully spent.

Visit the Student Urgent Relief Bursary (SURF) webpage for more information.

• If you are in need of support or assistance in addressing rising home energy costs, you can apply for the ActewAGL $100 Energy Support Voucher via the application form linked, or via the 'reference documents' section of this webpage.

Anyone experiencing energy stress or hardship is welcome to complete an application and submit the completed form to education@carefcs.org to apply.

Care is a Canberra organisation that offers free financial counselling. They can assist with credit, debt, budgeting, gambling harm, consumer law issues, and even seeking a zero-interest loan for the purchase of essential goods and services. Call their Financial Counselling team (via the National Debt Helpline) on 1800 007 007, or see their website for more information.

Care also offers small, zero-interest loans for purchasing essential goods and services. or see here for more information.

Moneysmart is an Australian government initiative that provides information and resources aimed at supporting financial wellbeing. It contains detailed information on topics of interest for students, including bank accounts, saving, loans and credit, budgeting, and investing.

• See their useful budget planner and information tailored for students pages.
• If you need help quickly, see their Urgent help with money page for information and additional support options.

Call the free National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 for free and confidential advice from professional financial counsellors. The line is open from 9.00am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday. 

If you are affected by debt, see the debt page for more information.