You must meet the following requirements to be eligible for FEE‑HELP:

• You are studying at an approved FEE‑HELP provider (TAFE Queensland is an approved provider).
• You meet the citizenship and residency requirements:
  • You are an Australian citizen who will complete at least one unit of your course of study in Australia; or
  • You are a New Zealand citizen who meets the long-term residency requirements, is resident in Australia for the duration of your study, and either:
    a) holds a special category visa (SCV); or
    b) is a permanent visa holder who, immediately before becoming a permanent visa holder, held a special category visa and previously met the long-term residency requirements; or
  • You are a permanent humanitarian visa holder or eligible former permanent humanitarian visa holder (currently subclass 155 or 157 visa holder) who is resident in Australia for the duration of your study; or
  • You are a pacific engagement visa holder who is resident in Australia for the duration of your study; or
  • You are a permanent visa holder who is undertaking bridging study for overseas-trained professionals and who is resident in Australia for the duration of your study.
• You are enrolled in an eligible course of study by the census date.
• You have a valid Tax File Number.
• You have a Unique Student Identifier (USI).
• You submit the Request for FEE-HELP eCAF by the census date.
• You have not have already borrowed up to your HELP loan limit.
• You are a genuine student and academically suited to your course of study.

For more information download the FEE-HELP Information booklet.

Eligible students can borrow up to the combined HELP limit to pay your tuition fees. This includes all FEE-HELP, VET FEE-HELP, VET Student Loans amounts you have borrowed.  It will also include any HECS-HELP loans incurred from 1 January 2020.

Once you begin using your HELP loan limit, the amount of HELP you have left to borrow is known as your available 'HELP balance'. The HELP loan limit is published annually on the Study Assist FEE-HELP website. 

For information on the new combined HELP loan limit, please visit the Study Assist website.

There is no interest charged on FEE-HELP debts, however it is subject to indexation, which means the loan maintains its real value by adjusting in line with changes in the cost of living. There is also a loan fee of 20 per cent for FEE‑HELP loans for undergraduate courses. The loan fee does not count towards your FEE‑HELP limit.

Special loan fee exemption for pandemic relief: On 12 April 2020 the Australian Government announced a six-month exemption of the loan fee for students accessing FEE-HELP. This exemption applied to FEE-HELP loan amounts incurred on census days between 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2022.  FEE-HELP loan amounts incurred on census days between those dates did not incur a loan fee. 

You repay your HELP debt through the tax system once you earn above the compulsory repayment threshold.  The compulsory repayment threshold is different each year.

You can also make a voluntary repayment to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) at any time.

Academic suitability

The basis for assessment of a student’s academic suitability is as follows (eCAF definition, 2017):

• The student has met TAFE Queensland’s entry requirements for the approved course; and
• The student's academic suitability was based on an assessment of one or more of the following:
• Australian Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (Year 12 Certificate) or ATAR  score awarded by an agency or authority
• Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate IV or higher qualification
• Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)
• Professional/paraprofessional qualifications or employment experience
• Audition/Portfolio/Interview
• Other

Minimum pass rate

If you began your current enrolment with TAFE Queensland on or after 1 January 2018 and apply for FEE-HELP, the 50 per cent pass rate will apply.

This means that once you have undertaken 4 or more units in a sub-bachelor level course, or 8 or more units in bachelor and above level courses, you must have passed at least 50 per cent of your total attempted units in order to remain eligible for a CSP, HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP. Refer to https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans/fee-help for more information.

You need to ensure that you pass at least 50% of your total attempted units across your course of study. Otherwise you will have to pay the tuition fees upfront until you improve your pass rate.

Genuine Student

For the purposes of subsection 104-1(1A) of the HESA 2003 (The Act), in determining whether a student is a genuine student in relation to a unit of study being undertaken as part of a course of study, regard may be had to the following matters:

(a) whether the student is reasonably engaged in the course;

(b) whether the student has been provided with information pertaining to the course requirements for the course, and the cost and duration of the course;

(c) whether the student has satisfied course requirements for the course or participated in assessment activities for the course;

(d) if the course is an online course—the number of occasions on which the student has logged in to the course is not insignificant;

(e) whether the student has provided up-to-date contact details that enable the Department to contact the student to verify the student’s enrolment in the course;

(f) if the student is enrolled in another course—the number of the enrolments and associated course loads would not make successful completion of a course by the student impossible or highly improbable.

Our customer service team is ready to support you through the application process. You can contact us if you have any questions, or need any help with your FEE-HELP application.