Fee Help

Overview

What is FEE-HELP?
When you attend university or an approved higher education provider, you can get a FEE-HELP loan to pay all or part of your tuition fees. A FEE-HELP loan does not cover costs like accommodation, laptops or text books. For 2025, the loan limit for most students is $126,839 [HESA 2003, S128-20]

Eligibility

To get a FEE-HELP loan, you must:

be an Australian citizen and study at least part of your course in Australia.
be a New Zealand Special Category visa (SCV) holder or permanent humanitarian visa holder and meet the residency requirements.
permanent residents can only get FEE-HELP for approved bridging studies.
be enrolled in a fee-paying place at a provider that offers FEE-HELP loans.
be enrolled in an eligible course at your provider by the census date (your provider can tell you if your course is eligible).
submit the Request for FEE-HELP form to your provider by the census date.
not have already borrowed up to your FEE-HELP limit.
If you are studying at a non-university, you will also need to meet the ‘pass rate’ requirements.

A student meets the citizenship or residency requirements under this section in relation to a unit of study if the student is:

(a)        an Australian citizen; or
(b)        a *permanent humanitarian visa holder who will be resident in Australia for the duration of the unit; or
(c)           if the student is undertaking, or is to undertake, the unit as part of a *bridging course for overseas trained professionals—a *permanent visa holder who will be resident in Australia for the duration of the unit.

A student is not entitled to *FEE-HELP assistance for a unit of study if:
(a) the unit forms a part of a *course of study; and(b) the course of study is, or is to be, undertaken by the student primarily at an overseas campus.

Entitlement to FEE HELP assistance

(1) Subject to this section and sections 104 1AA, 104 2, 104 3 and 104 4, a student is entitled to *FEE HELP assistance for a unit of study if:
(a) the student meets the citizenship or residency requirements under section 104 5; and
(ac) the student has been assessed by the higher education provider as academically suited to undertake the unit concerned; and
(b) the student’s *HELP balance is greater than zero; and
(c) the *census date for the unit is on or after 1 January 2005; and
(d) the student is not a *Commonwealth supported student in relation to the unit; and
(e) the unit meets the course requirements under section 104 10; and
(f) the unit:
(i) is, or is to be, undertaken as part of a *course of study; or
(ii) is a unit access to which was provided by *Open Universities Australia; or
(iii) is part of a *bridging course for overseas trained professionals; and
(g) the student:
(i) enrolled in the unit on or before the census date for the unit; and
(ii) at the end of the census date, remained so enrolled; and
(ga) if:
(i) subparagraph (f)(i) applies, the census date for the unit is on or after 1 January 2021 and before 1 January 2023 and the student commenced the course of study on or after 1 January 2021; or
(ii) subparagraph (f)(i), (ii) or (iii) applies and the census date for the unit is on or after 1 January 2023;
the student meets the *student identifier requirements under subsection (5); and
(h) the student *meets the tax file number requirements (see section 187 1); and
(i) the student has, on or before the census date:
(i) if access to the unit was provided by Open Universities Australia—completed, signed and given to an *appropriate officer of Open Universities Australia a *request for Commonwealth assistance in relation to the unit; or
(ii) in any other case—completed, signed and given to an appropriate officer of the higher education provider a request for Commonwealth assistance in relation to the unit or, where the course of study of which the unit forms a part is, or is to be, undertaken with the provider, in relation to the course of study.

FEE-HELP Providers

The current list of providers that offer FEE-HELP can be viewed at: