FEE-HELP

A FEE-HELP loan allows students to borrow from the Commonwealth, up to the combined HELP loan limit, to cover some or all of their tuition fees.

Students who receive a FEE-HELP loan will have part or their entire tuition fees paid to the University by the Commonwealth and a FEE-HELP debt recorded for them with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Eligibility

To be eligible for FEE-HELP, you must be either;

  • be an Australian citizen residing in Australia for at least one course of study contributing to your program; OR 
  • an eligible New Zealand Special Category Visa holder residing in Australia for at least one course of study contributing to your program; OR 
  • a permanent visa holder who held a NZ special category visa immediately prior to your permanent visa and you previously met the long-term residency requirements; OR
  • a permanent humanitarian visa holder or eligible former permanent humanitarian visa holder residing in Australia for the duration of your course of study; OR 
  • be a permanent visa holder who is undertaking bridging study for overseas-trained professionals, residing in Australia for the duration of your course of study; OR
  • a pacific engagement visa holder (this visa becomes eligible from 1 February 2024).

You must also:

  • have submitted a valid Request for FEE-HELP Assistance eCAF for each program you are enrolled in by the census date
  • provide your Tax File Number (TFN) or a Certificate of application for a tax file number before the census date
  • have enough available HELP balance
  • provide your Unique Student Identifier (USI) before enrolling
  • maintain a reasonable study load of no more than 2 years' worth of higher education study in the last 12 months, unless your provider has assessed you as capable of taking on a higher study load.

If you do not meet the above citizenship and eligibility criteria, you are not eligible for FEE-HELP, and must pay your tuition fees to the University by the invoice due date.

FEE-HELP eligible students may pay their tuition fees in one of the following ways:

  • pay the full tuition fees to the University by the invoice due date
  • receive a FEE-HELP loan for the full tuition fee
  • pay some of the tuition fees to the University by the invoice due date and receive a FEE-HELP loan for the remainder of the tuition fees.

Undergraduate students who receive FEE-HELP will also incur a 20% loan fee when their debt is created e.g. a loan for tuition fees of $10,000, will attract a loan fee of $2,500, making the total debt $12,500.

Postgraduate students do not have a loan fee applied to their FEE-HELP loan.

Applying

The Request for FEE-HELP Assistance form is available as part of the University's online enrolment process or through the following path in Access Adelaide*:

  1. Select the 'My Finances' Menu
  2. Select 'Payment Category'
  3. Select the 'Apply for FEE-HELP' button
  4. Follow the prompts, enter your TFN where required, and answer all questions on the form
  5. Select 'Submit Form'

*Eligible New Zealand Special Category Visa holders will need to provide evidence of their eligibility in person at Ask Adelaide, Hub Central, by the census date of the relevant study period, otherwise their application will not be valid.

Within 28 days of the census date the University will send you a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) showing the amount of tuition fees deferred to a FEE-HELP loan.

If you are a cross-institutional student and wish to access FEE-HELP at both institutions, you must complete a Request for FEE-HELP form for each institution in which you are enrolled.

Combined HELP loan limit & balance

The combined HELP loan limit includes HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, VET FEE-HELP and Vet Student Loans. For 2023, the HELP loan limit is $113,028 for most students.  The limit for students studying medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses leading to initial registration will be $162,336.

The HELP loan limit in 2024 is $121,844 for most students. The limit for students studying medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses leading to initial registration is $174,998.

It is your responsibility to keep track of your HELP balance and to notify the University if there is insufficient HELP balance remaining to cover your tuition fee amount. You can check your HELP balance on the Commonwealth Government’s myHELPbalance website.

Repayment

Repayment of a FEE-HELP debt is compulsory when your taxable income is above the minimum repayment threshold set by the Australian Government - refer to Repayment of HELP debt.

Any repayments you make on your HELP debt will credit your available HELP balance, up to your applicable HELP loan limit.

Tax File Number (TFN)

If you wish to access FEE-HELP but don't yet have a tax file number, it is important that you apply for one early via the (ATO).