FEE-HELP

FEE‑HELP is a part of the Australian Government Higher Education Loan program (HELP) and assists eligible domestic fee paying students to defer payment of their tuition fees up to the combined HELP limit. It cannot be used for additional study costs such as accommodation or text books.

The total amount of FEE‑HELP you can use is known as the ‘FEE‑HELP limit’. Once you begin using FEE‑HELP, the amount of FEE‑HELP you have left to use is known as your ‘FEE‑HELP balance’.

If you take out a FEE-HELP loan, the Commonwealth pays the loan amount directly to FedUni on your behalf and a FEE-HELP debt is recorded for you with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Eligibility

To get a FEE-HELP loan, you must:

  • be an Australian citizen and meet the residency requirements (you must 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.
  • be enrolled in a fee-paying place.
  • submit a Request for FEE-HELP form and provide your tax file number (TFN) to FedUni by census date.
  • be enrolled in an eligible course of study by the census date for that course.
  • not have already borrowed up to your HELP Loan limit.

Applying for FEE-HELP

To apply for a FEE-HELP loan you must request a FEE-HELP eCAF via my Student Centre by completing the following steps.

  1. Log into my Student Centre
  2. Click the Commonwealth Assistance tile
  3. Select FEE-HELP eCAF from the menu
  4. Locate the applicable course and click Apply Now to request a FEE-HELP eCAF

Once you have requested a FEE-HELP eCAF you will receive an email from ecafsystem@education.gov.au which contains the information you require to complete your application.

IMPORTANT To complete your FEE-HELP loan application you must submit your Request for FEE-HELP assistance form (FEE-HELP eCAF) in the Government portal.

  • Go to the Government eCAF portal and login using your Passkey and date of birth
  • Follow the prompts, answer all questions and provide your Tax File Number (TFN) and Unique Student Identifier (USI)
  • Click Submit Form to finalise your FEE-HELP loan application
  • Ensure that you receive an email from the Government portal confirming submission of your FEE-HELP eCAF

You must complete your FEE-HELP eCAF in the Government portal by the due date of the tuition fees you are wanting to defer. If your form is not submitted by the census date you will not be entitled to a FEE-HELP loan for that semester. Your eCAF will expire within 12 weeks of being requested so please complete it as soon as possible.

Repayment

You will have to start repaying your HELP debt through the taxation system once you earn above the compulsory repayment threshold which is set by the Australian Government and adjusted each year. Please visit Study Assist to find out more information on repaying your HELP debt and the compulsory repayment threshold.