If you’re thinking about doing further study after high school, you might want to put your fees on a loan.
If you do, then it’s really important to understand the different kinds of loans available through the Australian Government’s Higher Education Loan Program (HELP).
Study Assist is the best place to get up-to-date info about government loans, but here’s a quick overview of the five types of loans available.
Loans for your course fees
| Loan | Which courses are eligible? | Is there a loan fee? |
| HECS-HELP | >University-level courses (like associate degree, bachelor degree, master degree) >You must have a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) >Includes most bachelor degrees and some post-graduate degrees at public universities (e.g. UQ, QUT, ACU, USQ, USC, etc.) | No |
| FEE HELP | >University-level courses (like associate degree, bachelor degree, master degree) >You are paying “full-fee” for your course (ie. you are not in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)) >This includes lots of post-graduate degrees at public universities, and all degrees are private universities and colleges (e.g. Bond, Torrens, ACAP) | Sometimes. Double-check because it’s charged at 20-25% of the amount you want to borrow. |
| VET Student Loans | >Eligible VET diploma courses >Different diplomas have different sized loans | Sometimes. Double-check because it’s charged at 20% of the amount you want to borrow. |
Loans for other things
| Loan | What can it be used for? | Is there a loan fee? |
| SA-HELP for SSAF | Pretty much all higher education providers charge a Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) every year. For full-time students, this amount is usually around $320. You can use SA-HELP to defer paying this amount until later. | No. |
| OS-HELP for overseas study | OS-HELP is for students who are enrolled in Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) and want to do some of their course overseas. Depending on where you’d like to go, and what you do to prepare, you can borrow between $7000-$9000. This amount is paid to your bank account so you can use it on things like airfares, accommodation and travel supplies. | No. |
What is the “combined loan limit”?
There is a combined limit on the amount of money you can borrow on these different loans. This “loan limit” is indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In 2021, you can borrow up to about $108,000 across these different loans. The exception is the students who plan to study medicine, dentistry or veterinary science – the loan limit for these courses is about $155,000.
Find out more about loan limits here on the Study Assist website.
When do you start paying back your loan?
Usually you start paying back your loan after you start earning more that $46,000 a year.
Learn more about paying back your loan here on the Study Assist website.
Where can you find more info?
Study Assist is full of information about study loans. It’s definitely worth checking out, so you know all your options!
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