Australia - Apply for HECS Student Help Loan

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Procedure

To apply for a HECS-HELP loan, you will need a tax file number (TFN) and a Request for Commonwealth support and HECS?HELP form. Please note that the form is only available from your provider.

• fill out your form and make sure you include your TFN;
• submit your completed form to your provider before the census date (or earlier administrative date);
• your form must be signed for it to be valid.

If you cannot quote your TFN or supply a Certificate of application for a TFN on or before the census date, you will not be eligible for a HECS-HELP loan. If you do not have a TFN then you will need to arrange a Certificate of application for a TFN from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Note: You have six weeks from the census date of a unit to correct information you have submitted about your entitlement to HECS-HELP. This includes collecting and submitting the documents you need to prove that you are a citizen. But you still need to submit your Request for Commonwealth support and HECS-HELP form by the census date.

This six-week period cant be used as an extension of time so that you can apply for citizenship or so that you can get your form in. It also does not include signing a form if you forgot to on the census date. It just gives you the chance to collect the documents you need to prove that you have become a citizen or to change the information on a form youve already submitted.

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Required Documents

• Passport or Identification
• Tax File Number
• Commonwealth support and HECS?HELP form

Office Locations & Contacts

Contacts for Department of Education

For general information about Commonwealth supported places, HELP loans (including HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, SA-HELP, VET FEE-HELP and OS?HELP) and Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN):

• call 1800 020 108 (or 13 38 73 for VET FEE-HELP);
• for hearing, speech or TTY users phone 133 667 National Relay Service (NRS), then ask for 1800 020 108; or
• for speak and listen users phone 1300 555 727, then ask for 1800 020 108; or
• for international calls from outside Australia call +61 3 9938 2545.

Australian Taxation Office
PO Box 1032,
ALBURY NSW 2640
Phone: +61 2 6216 1111
http://www.ato.gov.au/

Eligibility

To be eligible for HECS-HELP, you must:

• be studying in a Commonwealth supported place;
• be an Australian citizen or permanent humanitarian visa holder;
• enroll with a provider in each unit, by the census date;
• meet the residency requirements;
• read the HECS-HELP, Commonwealth supported places information booklet; and
• submit a valid Request for Commonwealth support and HECS HELP form by the census date (or earlier administrative date) to your provider.

Fees

Explain the fees structure which is required for obtaining the certificate/document.

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Student HELP loan enquiry form

Sample Documents

Applying for a Commonwealth supported place

Processing Time

Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.

Related Videos

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Instructions

Students are eligible for HELP loans if they undertake, in Australia, at least one unit of study contributing to their course.

If you intend on studying from overseas via distance education for your entire course then you would not meet these residency requirements.

You will not meet the residency requirements if your institute believes that you will not be in Australia undertaking any units contributing to your course of study.

To access HECS-HELP, you need to:

• Apply for a course that is Commonwealth supported and upon acceptance;
• You must complete the course provider's enrolment requirements for your units of study on or before the close of enrolment date. There will be an opportunity to lodge in a late application before the Census date.
• Complete, sign and submit a Request for Commonwealth support and HECS-HELP form on or before the census date.

Required Information

• First name
• Last name
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Gender
• Email address
• Citizenship
• Phone number
• Mobile number
• Training provider

Need for the Document

HECS-HELP is a Commonwealth Government loan scheme available to eligible students enrolled in Commonwealth supported places. This loan scheme assists students with their student contribution payments and is a cost-effective way to fund your course studies.

The Australian Government pays the loan amount directly to your course provider on your behalf and a HECS-HELP debt is then recorded with the Tax Office against your Tax File Number. The debt is then to be repaid once your repayment income is above the minimum threshold.

The HECS-HELP scheme is both a student loan and a student discount. Eligible students may access a HECS-HELP loan to pay their student contribution amount. Alternatively, eligible students can access the HECS-HELP discount by receiving a 10% discount on any upfront payment of $500 or more, if they choose not to use a HECS-HELP loan.

The HECS-HELP discount works by increasing the value of a persons upfront payment. This means that they will actually pay less for their studies if they pay their whole or partial student contribution amount upfront.

Information which might help

The ATO is the Federal Government's main revenue collection agency. The ATO is responsible for managing HELP debt repayments.

Tax file number (TFN) is your unique identification number from the Australian Taxation Office for everything tax related, including making HELP debt repayments.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

To pay your full student contribution up front, you only need to pay 90% of the total because the Government pays the other 10%, the HECS HELP discount, directly to your institution.

Eligible students who dont want to pay any of their student contribution amounts up-front can use a HECS HELP loan for the whole amount. Students who use a HECS-HELP loan will be required to pay their debt through the tax system when they earn above the minimum threshold for compulsory repayment.

External Links

http://australiaawards.gov.au/Pages/about.aspx

http://www.ato.gov.au/

http://www.open.edu.au/getting-started/financial-assistance/hecs-help/

https://education.gov.au

Others

A Commonwealth supported place is a subsidized enrollment at university. The Australian Government subsidizes a Commonwealth supported place by paying part of the fees for the place directly to the university and the student pays the remainder of the fees through a 'student contribution' amount.