Commonwealth Supported Places
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Tertiary education fees in Australia are payable for courses at tertiary education institutions. Responsibility for fees in
vocational education and training Vocational education is education that prepares people for a Skilled worker, skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self em ...
(VET) rests primarily with the state and territory governments, while fees policy in
higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
is largely controlled by the
Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime ...
. For most domestic students in higher education, the Commonwealth Government provides loans, subsidies, and/or social security welfare payments & benefits to relieve the cost of tertiary education. These benefits are not available to
international students International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their Secondary education, secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 m ...
. Some domestic students are supported by the government and are required to pay only part of the cost of tuition, called the "student contribution", and the government pays the balance. Some government supported students can defer payment of their contribution as a HECS-HELP loan. Other domestic students are full fee-paying (non-Commonwealth supported) and do not receive direct government contribution to the cost of their education. Some domestic students in full fee courses can obtain a FEE-HELP loan from the Australian government up to a lifetime limit of $150,000 for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science programs and $104,440 for all other programs. Student fees for vocational education vary between jurisdictions, with some states implementing fee-free courses in some fields and all offering some form of government subsidised training. Funding responsibilities for student fee subsidies are agreed between state and territory governments and the Commonwealth under the National Skills Agreement which commenced at the start of 2024.
Australian citizens The primary law governing nationality of Australia is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which came into force on 1 July 2007 and is applicable in all states and territories of Australia. All persons born in Australia before 20 August 1986 ...
(and in some cases overseas professionals completing bridging studies in order to be accredited
permanent residents Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...
) are able to obtain loans from the government under the Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) which replaced the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). As of April 2016, the amount of money owed to the Australian government under the HECS scheme was AUD$60 billion and is expected to increase to $180 billion by 2026. HELP is jointly administered by the Australian
Department of Education, Skills and Employment The Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) was a department of the Government of Australia, existing between 1 February 2020 to 1 July 2022 from a merger of the Department of Education (2019–2020) and Department of ...
and the
Australian Taxation Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Taxation in Australia, Australian federal taxation ...
(ATO). In addition, qualified students may be entitled to Youth Allowance or
Austudy Payment Austudy Payment is a Commonwealth Government of Australia income support payment for students above the age of 25 years of age, paid under the Social Security Act 1991. It commenced operation on the 1 July 1998. Students below the age of 25 ye ...
to assist them financially while they are studying. These support payments are means and assets tested. Further assistance is available in the form of
scholarships A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need, research ...
. Overseas students are charged fees for the full cost of their education and are ineligible for HELP loans, but may apply for international scholarships.


History

In 1940, the Curtin Labor government dramatically increased the number of scholarships to increase the number of university graduates and allowed women avail these scholarships as they were previously exclusive to men. In the 1960s, the Menzies Liberal government rapidly established new universities, mostly in outlying
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
s, and offered special research
scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...
s to encourage students to undertake
postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
research studies. Many of these universities are members of
Innovative Research Universities Australia Innovative Research Universities (IRU), formerly Innovative Research Universities Australia, is a network of eight comprehensive universities in Australia. The main purpose of the group is to undertake advocacy on issues related to higher edu ...
. In 1967, the government created a category of Commonwealth-funded non-university tertiary institutions, called
College of Advanced Education The College of Advanced Education (CAE) was a class of Australian tertiary education institution that existed from 1967 until the early 1990s. They ranked below universities, but above Colleges of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) which offer ...
(CAE), to provide cheaper and easier access to the equivalent of bachelor's degrees. In 1974, the
Whitlam Labor government The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 federal election, endi ...
abolished university fees to make
tertiary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
in Australia more accessible to working and
middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...
Australians. In 1989, the Hawke Labor government began gradually re-introducing fees for university study and setup the Higher Education Contributions Scheme (HECS).


Present status

In 1996, the Howard Coalition government, introduced tiers in the HECS fee structure (now called HECS-HELP). Fees are charged on the basis of the perceived value of courses. Courses considered to have most likelihood of generating higher income for students in the future (e.g.
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and
Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
) are the most expensive; those least likely to generate higher income (e.g.
Nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
and
Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...
) are the least expensive. Since 2007, HECS places are known as Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP). A student in a CSP is only entitled to study for a maximum of 7 years full-time (16 years part-time) at CSP rates after 2022. This is known as a Student Learning Entitlement (SLE). After that period the student has to take either a FEE-HELP loan (if available) or study at full-fee rates. If a student receives a HECS-HELP loan, the Commonwealth government pays the loan amount directly to the higher education provider on behalf of the student. An alternative option is FEE-HELP which provides eligible fee-paying students with a loan to cover their tertiary education fees.


Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) & Student Contribution (SC)

The Commonwealth government determines the number and allocation of
undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
"Commonwealth Supported Places" (CSP) with each public higher education provider each year, through the Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS). A CSP is a higher education place for which the Commonwealth government makes a contribution to the higher education provider towards the cost of a student's education. The student makes a contribution towards the cost of education, known as the "Student Contribution" (SC). Commonwealth supported places are available to citizens of Australia,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and
Australian permanent resident Australian permanent residents are residents of Australia who hold a permanent visa but are not citizens of Australia. A holder of a permanent visa may remain in Australia indefinitely. A 5-year initial travel facility, which corresponds to t ...
s. The majority of CSPs are managed through the Tertiary Admissions Centre (TACs) in each state or territory, although universities make the selections, deciding which students they will make offers to. The allocation is usually based on secondary school results (through the
ATAR Atar, Ahtra, Atash, Azar () or ''Dāštāɣni'',, s.v. ''agni-.'' is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is conside ...
scores),
TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...
qualifications and previous university results. The student contribution varies between courses, and is based on the expected earnings following a students' graduation, not the cost of providing the course. Higher education providers can set the student contribution level for each unit of study, up to a maximum level set by the government. It is said that, due to government underfunding of universities, universities almost always charge the highest level allowable. EFTSL (Equivalent Full-time Student Load) is a measure of a full-time student’s annual study load in terms of minimum number of units (subjects) undertaken by a student in a particular semester, anything less is considered a part-time student. Between 2012 and 2017, an eligible student who paid the entire or a part of the student contribution upfront received a 10% HECS discount on the amount paid (prior to 2012, the HECS discount was 20%). Only Australian citizens and permanent
humanitarian visa Humanitarian visas are Travel visa, visas granted by some countries in order to fulfill their international obligation to protect refugees from persecution. The criteria in the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, Convention Relating to t ...
holders were eligible for the up-front 10% HECS discount. The up-front discount was removed on 1 January 2017.


Total funding

The total funding available to institutions per equivalent full-time student is the combination of the student contribution (divided into 3 different amounts/bands) and the Commonwealth government contribution (divided into 8 different amounts/clusters). For 2017, these are:


Full fee-paying students

Full fee places for Australian undergraduate students were phased out in 2009 under reforms made by the Gillard government. Other students may obtain a full fee place (FFP) if they do not receive a Commonwealth supported place, subject to meeting relevant qualifications. Most postgraduate courses do not have Commonwealth supported places available and therefore, all these students are full fee-paying. Fee-paying students are charged the full cost of their course, with no Commonwealth contribution. Some fee-paying students can obtain loans under the Higher Education Loan Programme, called FEE-HELP loans, to cover all or part of their fees. This is available to Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens and permanent humanitarian visa holders. Undergraduate students who obtain these loans are charged a 20% loan fee on top of the amount borrowed. This does not apply to postgraduate courses. Students are able to borrow a lifetime maximum FEE-HELP loan of $112,134 for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science programs and $89,706 for all other programs (adjusted for
inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...
). In 2005, FEE-HELP loans replaced the Open Learning Deferred Payment Scheme (OLDPS), the Postgraduate Education Loan Scheme (PELS) and the Bridging for Overseas-Trained Professionals Loan Scheme (BOTPLS).


OS-HELP

OS-HELP is a loan scheme to assist some undergraduate domestic students to undertake some, but not all, of their course of study overseas. Students are able to obtain a loan up to $6,470 (if the student will not be studying in Asia) or $7,764 (if the student will be studying in Asia) every six months, but can only receive a total of two loans throughout their lifetime. Unlike other loans in the HELP, the loan amount is paid directly to the student and the terms for the loans are set out by the tertiary providers. As in the FEE-HELP loan scheme, a 20% fee applies on the amount borrowed. This 20% "administration fee" was removed for OS-HELP loans received after January 1, 2010.


SA-HELP

SA-HELP loan covers the SSAF (student services and amenities fee). Universities are not allowed to charge more than A$336 per year as SSAF.


HELP loans


HELP loan management

HELP debts do not attract interest (in the normal sense), but are instead indexed to the
Consumer Price Index A consumer price index (CPI) is a statistical estimate of the level of prices of goods and services bought for consumption purposes by households. It is calculated as the weighted average price of a market basket of Goods, consumer goods and ...
(CPI) on 1 June each year, based on the annual CPI to March of that year. The indexation rate applied on 1 June 2006 was 2.8% and 3.4% on 1 June 2007. Indexation applies to the part of the debt that has been unpaid for 11 months or more. Thus, indexation is calculated on the opening HELP debt balance on 1 July of the previous year plus any debt incurred in the first half of the current year (usually for first semester courses) less any compulsory and voluntary repayments, with bonus. Any HELP debt incurred on second semester courses (usually determined in June) will not be subject to indexation until the next year. After indexation, the new balance is rounded down to a whole dollar amount. Additionally, HELP debts are subject to a 25% fee which does not count towards a student’s HELP debt limit. As of 1 January 2017 the Commonwealth Government removed the 5% voluntary repayment bonus on all HELP debt repayments. If a person with an accumulated HELP debt dies, any compulsory repayment included on their income tax notice of assessment relating to the period prior to their death must be paid from their estate, but the remainder of their debt is cancelled.


Repayments

HELP debts are administered by the
Australian Taxation Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Taxation in Australia, Australian federal taxation ...
and will be repaid compulsorily over time through the taxation system. If the HELP Repayment Income (HRI) of a person with a HELP debt exceeds a certain threshold, which for the 2014/15
financial year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...
is $53,345, a compulsory payment will be deducted from the person's tax for the year. The HRI is the person's taxable income plus any net rental loss claimed against that taxable income and adding fringe benefits, reportable superannuation contributions and foreign income received, normally exempt from taxation. Unlike marginal tax rates, the repayment rate applies on the full HRI, so that a person with a HRI below $45,881 in 2019/20 will not need to make a compulsory HELP repayment, but a person with a HRI of $80,000 would make a payment of $4,400. This is 5.5% of the HRI (not taxable income or the debt balance) of $80,000. The compulsory repayment amount cannot exceed the balance of the HELP debt. The rates for compulsory repayment since 2006 have been: It is also possible to make voluntary payments to further reduce the debt. Until 31 December 2004 voluntary payments over $500 earned a 15% bonus, from 1 January 2005 this was reduced to 10% and from 1 January 2012 this was reduced to 5%.Going to Uni websit

Retrieved on 3 August 2011
From 1 January 2017 the government removed the 5% repayment bonus.


See also

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Tertiary education in Australia Tertiary education in Australia is Tertiary education, formal education beyond high school in Australia, consisting of both government and private institutions and divided into two sectors; Higher education, Higher Education (provided by univer ...
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Education in Australia Education in Australia encompasses the sectors of early childhood education (preschool) and primary education (primary schools), followed by secondary education (high schools), and finally tertiary education, which includes higher education ( ...
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Taxation in Australia Income taxes are the most significant form of taxation in Australia, and collected by the federal government through the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Australian GST revenue is collected by the Federal government, and then paid to the sta ...


References


Citations


Sources


StudyAssist website

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website (previously Department of Education, Science and Training)

ATO Higher education loan schemes essentials site"International student funding comparisons: Australia and New Zealand" by Professor Nicholas Barr. The Guardian, 9 October 2001.


External links

Comprehensive websites:
StudyAssist
Australian government's official website for domestic students.
Department of Education and Training
official website.
ATO (Australian Taxation Office) higher education loan schemes essentials site
Important terms for both domestic and international students:
Definition of the "Domestic Student" (DS)
must be Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident visa or on a long-term humanitarian refugee visa. All others are considered the "International Student" (IS).
"Combined Rank" (CR)
for International Baccalaureate (IB) students: both domestic and international students with IB, must register & apply to
ACTAC (Australasian Conference of Tertiary Admission Centres)
for calculating the "Combined Rank" (CR). After obtaining CR, domestic students must apply to the state-based TAC for admissions. After obtaining CR, international students must apply directly to the university.
USI (Unique Student Identifier)
individual student's identification number for life for tertiary education across all institutes. Without one, a student can't get his final qualification testimonial (degree certificate), online access, or Commonwealth government financial assistance such as CSP, etc.
EFTSL (Equivalent Full Time Student Load)
a year of full-time study calculated based on number of units (subjects) undertaken by the student. Fee for CSP Domestic Students: Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) subsidised students:
Student Learning Entitlement (SLE)
during his lifetime a student can avail maximum 7 years o
full-time
subsidised study in Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) across all the degrees.
LCR (Low Completion Rate)
fail rate of more than 50 per cent of the units of study a student has attempted. LCR results in termination of CSP subsidised fee. To continue to receive the CSP subsidy, the students must pass at least 50% of all units (subjects) attempted.
Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) students
study fee partially subsidised by the government, most domestic students are the CSP students. Those domestic students who fail to secure a CSP must pay the full fee.
SCA (Student Contribution Amounts)
student's share of the fee for the CSP students, can be covered with the HECS-HELP and/or OS-HELP.
HECS-HELP loan: to pay for CSA portion of CSP students
does not cover the cost of accommodation, food living, and laptop etc.
OS-HELP loan: for the CSP students undertaking part of their course overseas
students cannot get OS-HELP if qualification will be awarded by an overseas university or higher education provider.
SA-HELP loan: for covering the SSAF (Student Services and Amenities Fee) for all domestic students including CSP and full-fee paying students
the maximum SSAF institutes can charge a student was A$326 in 2023. Fee for Full-fee paying Domestic Students only:
FEE-HELP loan: for full fee paying domestic students
while HECS-HELP is loan for subsidised CSP students, whereas FEE-HELP is a loan for domestic full fee paying students to cover their fee only but it does not cover the cost of accommodation, food living, and laptop etc.
SA-HELP loan: for covering the SSAF (Student Services and Amenities Fee) for all domestic students including CSP and full-fee paying students
the maximum SSAF institutes can charge a student was A$326 in 2023. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tertiary Education Fees in Australia Universities in Australia
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