HECS-HELP

You must meet the following requirements to be eligible for a HECS-HELP loan:

• You are studying in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP).
• 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.
• You are enrolled in each unit of study by the census date.
• You have a valid Tax File Number.
• You have a Unique Student Identifier (USI).
• You maintain a reasonable study load of no more than 2.0 Equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL) per year unless approved by your provider or providers to study a higher load.
• You submit the Request for Commonwealth support and HECS-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 the course of study.

For more information, download the HECS-HELP information booklet.

There is a cap on what you can borrow from the Australian Government to pay your tuition fees. This cap is called the HELP loan limit.  This includes all HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, VET FEE-HELP, and VET Student Loans amounts you have borrowed. 

Once you begin using your HELP loan limit, the amount of HELP you have left to borrow is known as your available 'HELP balance'.

For more information and to see the HELP loan limit for the current year, visit the Study Assist website. 

There are no application or loan fees, and no interest charged on a HECS-HELP debt, however it is subject to indexation. The ATO will apply indexation to any unpaid debt that is older than 11 months on 1 June each year. This means the amount you repay in total will be more than the original amount of the loan.

For more information about indexation, visit the Study Assist website.  

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.

For more information about managing and repaying your loan, visit the Study Assist website.

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

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 HECS-HELP application.