2024 Postgraduate Domestic Full Fee – Teach Out Courses and Grandfathered Cohorts

New Zealand Citizens who hold a Special Category Visa may be eligible to defer their unit fees to the ATO through or their Student Services and Amenities Fee through HELP, if they also meet ALL of the following criteria:

• you first began to be generally residing in Australia as a child under 18 years of age and at that time did not have a spouse or de facto partner;
• you first started to be generally living and resident in Australia at least 10 years before your first application for HELP for your current course;
• you have been resident in Australia for at least:
  • a total of 8 out of the 10 years immediately before your first application for HELP for your current course; and
  • a total of 18 months out of the two years immediately before the test day; and
• you will be living in Australia while you study
• If you believe that you meet these criteria, please supply a recent copy of your Movement Record from the Department of Immigration to Student Accounts via AskUNE

The above also applies if you were eligible for HELP under the above criteria but have now gained Permanent Residency.

For more information on this eligibility criteria change please visit Study Assist.

On 14th August, 2018, the Higher Education Support Legislation Amendment (Student Loan Sustainability) Bill 2018 was passed by Parliament. This legislation impacts the amount you can borrow for HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP.

From 2020 the Government introduced a combined HELP loan limit on the total amount of tertiary education assistance you can access for tuition fees. The HELP limit applies to HECS-HELP loans, FEE-HELP loans, VET FEE-HELP loans and VET Student Loans.

HECS-HELP loans incurred from 1 January 2020 will be counted towards this limit. However, any pre-existing FEE-HELP, VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loans taken out prior to 2020 will count towards your combined HELP balance.

From 1 January 2020, you can also now top up your HELP loan balance by making repayments on your debt. Repayments starting from the 2019-20 income year will top up your HELP balance. Any compulsory or voluntary repayments then can be re-borrowed in the future, up to the current HELP loan limit.

For more information on how this might impact you please visit the Study Assist Website

As there is now a lifetime HELP loan limit for students the Department of Education has introduced the myHELP balance portal. This portal is designed to help you monitor how much Commonwealth assistance you have used (i.e. how much you have borrowed under the HELP scheme), how much you have repaid through voluntary and compulsory repayments to the Australian Taxation Office and how much HELP balance you have remaining.

Please be aware however, that this information will NOT become available until 6 months after the first period you were enrolled in with UNE. It will also not provide you with your total accumulated HELP debt where indexation or interest has been applied to the account by the Australian Taxation Office as indexation does not affect your HELP loan limit. To find out your current accumulated HELP debt, including indexation, you should contact the Australian Taxation Office on 13 28 61 or through myGov.

Your Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN) or Unique Student Identifier (USI) will be required to access your information on the secure MyHELPbalance site.

You can find your CHESSN or USI on the front of your Commonwealth Assistance Notice which is available on your myUNE Enrolment Portal. To access your information on the MyHELPbalance website, you will need to:

• Go to MyHELPbalance.gov.au
• Follow the steps to sign in and view your HELP balance

On the 19th of October, 2020, the Job Ready Graduates Package was passed by the Parliament. This legislation means that from January 1st, 2022 all students in a Commonwealth Supported Place are granted a Student Learning Entitlement equivalent to 7 years full time study in a Commonwealth Supported Place. This Student Learning Entitlement applies to all study carried out at any Higher Education Institution and the balance is not renewed when making a payment of your HELP debt to the Australian Taxation Office.

When a student has expended their Student Learning Entitlement their Commonwealth Supported Place will be cancelled and they will be transferred to a Full Fee Tuition place for the remainder of their study.

You can monitor your Student Learning Entitlement balance from MyHELPbalance.gov.au

All students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place and those students who complete a FEE-HELP or SA-HELP form will be issued with a Commonwealth Assistance Notice within 28 days of the census date.

The information on the Commonwealth Assistance Notice is about your HELP liability to the Australian Tax Office. Students should refer to the relevant HELP booklets which are available from Study Assist for the details about the Commonwealth Assistance Notice.

If you do not agree with the details of the Commonwealth Assistance Notice, you have 14 days from the date of issue on this notice to advise the University of New England. Please contact Student Accounts via AskUNE (Please use ' Request for CAN Correction ' in the subject line). Students who withdraw from units after census date will be liable for and HELP debt incurred and the fees for those units will still be referred to the Australian Tax Office.

When you apply for a HELP loan, you must read the relevant booklet for your loan. When you submit a request for Commonwealth assistance form, you are declaring that you have read and understood the booklet and your obligations before you access the loan.

2024 Booklets

• 2024 CSP and HECS-HELP Booklet
• 2024 FEE-HELP Booklet
• 2024 Services and Amenities Fee SA-HELP Booklet

Other publications helpful for students can be found on the Study Assist Website: https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-publications