What is the HECS-HELP upfront discount?

Important: The HECS-HELP discount has now been discontinued, effective 1 January 2023. Find out more here.

It’s back! From 2021, if you pay some of your uni fees upfront, you could get a 10% discount.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for the HECS-HELP discount, you need to be eligible for HECS-HELP.

At the moment, that means:

• Studying in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
• Be an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen on a Special Category Visa or someone on a Permanent Humanitarian Visa
• Residing in Australia for the subjects that you take (although if you’re an Aussie, you can take some subjects overseas – more info here)
• Having a Unique Student Identifier (USI)
• Meeting the pass rate requirement (which I explain more here)
• Have sufficient Student Learning Entitlement (for new enrolments from 2022) – I’ve written more about what this means here

To double-check your eligibility for HECS-HELP, check out the Study Assist website.

How does it work?

To access the discount, you need to pay at least $500 towards your university fees in a study period. You then get a 10% discount on the amount that you paid.

I want to pay all of my course fees upfront

If you want to pay all of your course fees upfront (your “student contribution amount”), you only need to pay 90% of the total fees. The federal government “will pay the other 10 per cent directly to your provider”.

I just want to pay part of my fees upfront

That’s totally fine! As long as you pay at least $500 upfront, you can access the discount.

Where can I learn more?

Check out Study Assist’s HECS-HELP Upfront Discount page for more info.

Good luck!💪

Tom

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